 During World War II , <unk> Charles <unk> Brooke ordered the construction of airstrips in <unk> , <unk> , <unk> , <unk> , and <unk> . Construction of the <unk> airstrip was started in 1934 under the direction of C. W. Bailey , a Works and Building Inspector for the British Royal Air Force ( RAF ) . All the airstrips were completed except for the <unk> airstrip , where construction was discontinued in October 1938 due to financial reasons . Japanese forces landed in <unk> on 16 December 1941 . <unk> fell into Japanese hands when they conquered <unk> on 24 December 1941 . When the Japanese invaded <unk> , Charles <unk> Brooke already left for Sydney ( Australia ) before the attack while his officers were captured by the Japanese and interned at the <unk> <unk> camp . During the Japanese occupation , the Japanese used the airstrip for military purposes . However , the airstrip was heavily bombed by Allied forces . The British began reconstruction of the airstrip after the war ; during the project many <unk> bombs were unearthed . 
