Published sources, including Crowl (1960:54) and Denfeld (1997:7), state that construction of the Japanese seaplane base at Puntan Flores started in 1934 and was completed in 1935. However, Higuchi (Personal Communication 2012) has discovered a Japanese documentary source that indicates construction began much earlier. These sources include a photograph of the Puntan Flores Seaplane Base under construction that is dated 1931. Peattie (1988: 248) suggested that construction was likely the primary responsibility of the civilian authorities with assistance from Japanese military engineers. Higuchi (2012:10), on the other hand, believes that the NKK civil engineers constructed the seaplane facility on behalf of the Japanese Navy. The Chamorro and Carolinian inhabitants of Puntan Flores were likely relocated to Garapan before commencement of construction. It is also likely that Saipan’s indigenous population participated in the construction of this base and worked on this base following its completion. According to Peattie (1988: 248), the Japanese constructed similar seaplane bases in 1934 in both Yap and Palau. According to Higuchi (Personal Communication 2012) the Puntan Flores Seaplane facility was referred to in Japanese sources as either the Sadog Tasi or Tanapag Seaplane Field. No documentary sources were identified regarding the function and nature of the Puntan Flores Base before 1941. It can, nevertheless, be inferred that this facility was constructed to serve both a military and civilian function. For most, if not all, of the 1930s the Puntan Flores Base exhibited the Northern Seaplane Ramp. The Southern Seaplane Ramp appears to have been added in 1940 or 1941 (Higuchi Personal Communication 2012). Starting in 1935, the Puntan Flores Seaplane Base was irregularly used by Kawanishi H6K Type 97 seaplanes operated by the civilian airline Dai Nippon Koku K.K. (Greater Japan Airlines) (Spennemann 2000). Regular service between Saipan, Yokohama and Palau was established by late 1938 or early 1939. This civilian air service continued following the beginning of the Pacific War in 1941 and included a regular Yokohama-Saipan-Chuuk-Ponape-Jaluit route. There is no indication that military aircraft were permanently based at Puntan Flores before 1939, nevertheless, it is likely that Japanese seaplanes at least periodically used this facility during this period. Between 1939 and 1940, the Japanese Military started formal militarization of its Micronesian possessions (Peattie 1988). This process likely included the permanent
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