Nanumea Airfield was built by United States Navy Seabees during the Pacific War as an alternative strip to Nukufetau and Funafuti airfields, in order to allow for further dispersal of aircraft in the Ellice Islands (now Tuvalu).

On 7 September 1943, ten Betty bombers of the 755th Kōkūtai from Tarawa Atoll dropped 20 bombs on Nanumea.

On September 19th, F4F-4s of VMF-441 landed on the strip and continued to use the runway for the remainder of the construction period.

The Seabees also built a camp and operation facilities for the airfield, including an 8,000-barrel tank farm for aviation gasoline.

[7] After the Pacific War, the airfield was dismantled and the land returned to its owners, however as the coral base was compacted to make the runway, the land now provides poor ground for growing coconuts.