of the war, surrendering on 4 September 1945. The last holdout on Tinian, Murata Susumu, was captured in 1953. After the battle, Tinian became an important base for further US operations in the Pacific campaign. Camps were built for 50,000 troops. Fifteen thousand Seabees turned the island into the busiest airfield of the war, with six runways for attacks by United States Army Air Forces B-29 Superfortress bombers on enemy targets in the Philippines, the Ryukyu Islands, and mainland Japan, including the March 9/10 1945 Operation Meetinghouse firebombing of Tokyo and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. North Field was built over Airfields No. 1 and 3, and became operational in February 1945, while West Field was built over Airfield No. 2, and became operational in March 1945. Four 1,000-bed hospitals (110, 111, 112 and 113) were planned and located in preparation for the invasion of Japan. None were actually built, as the Japanese surrendered after the atomic bombs were dropped, which thus ended the need for the hospitals. See also North Field (Tinian) West Field (Tinian) Tinian Naval Base Notes References Further reading External links Tinian Tinian Tinian History of the Northern Mariana Islands United States Marine Corps in World War II Amphibious operations of World War II July 1944 events August 1944 events Amphibious operations involving the United States