Rekata Bay


Rekata Bay, also known as Suavanau, is a bay located on the northeast coast of Santa Isabel Island in the Solomon Islands between Santa Isabel and Papatura Island.

History

Before the Second World War a copra plantation was built at Suavanau Point by Burns, Philp & Company Limited, known as the Suavanau Plantation.
During the war, the Japanese Imperial Navy constructed a seaplane base at Rekata Bay in the middle of 1942. It was used for offensive operations, mainly the nightly Washing Machine Charlie raids on Henderson Field, Guadalcanal. It was also used as an emergency landing and ditching area for aircraft damaged during the Battle of Guadalcanal. The base was bombed by U.S. forces from August 1942 to August 1943. In the following month, the Japanese evacuated the base. A U.S. Navy team flew in during 1943 and examined 15 wrecked Japanese aircraft. A single PBY from No. 6 Squadron RNZAF finally visited the abandoned base on 28 August 1945, losing a man, who was possibly eaten by a saltwater crocodile.
In the 1990s a small airstrip was built at Suavanau Point.