Cactus Air Force - Living Conditions

Living Conditions

Living conditions on Guadalcanal were some of the most difficult ever faced by Marine aviation. Pilots and mechanics lived in mud-floored tents in a flooded coconut plantation called "Mosquito Grove." These living conditions led to most Marines contracting tropical diseases such as malaria, dysentery, dengue fever, or fungal infections. At night, Japanese warships would periodically bombard the airfield, and by day, Japanese artillery shelling frequently struck. The worst night of bombardment was on October 13–14, 1942, when two Japanese battleships fired more than 700 rounds of heavy shells into Henderson Field—providing cover for the Japanese Navy's landing of Marine and army reinforcements further west on Guadalcanal.

Also, nearly every day around noon, flights of 20 to 40 Mitsubishi G4M "Betty" bombers would fly in at 20,000 feet (6,100 m) in a perfect "V formation" to bomb the Henderson Field. These were always escorted by a flight of Japanese fighter planes, and this bombing helped make life on Guadalcanal even more miserable.