The Seabees in 1942 constructed the airfield . They built a x runway and a ramp area sufficient for 24 single-engine aircraft , dredging coral to expand the island . Of the area of the expanded island , the airfield took up . The Navy designated this airfield as '' ' Naval Air Facility French Frigate Shoals ' '' , an auxiliary of Naval Station Pearl Harbor . The 1946 Aleutian Islands earthquake generated a tsunami that swept clean Tern Island , and the Navy closed the naval air facility
1946 Aleutian Islands earthquake
1946 Aleutian Islands earthquake
French Frigate Shoals Airport