The Espiritu Santo – Banika Shuttle
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Window 1 · VMF‑213, First Tour · Leg 3

The Espiritu Santo – Banika Shuttle

Three round trips between rear-area rest and the Guadalcanal front before VMF‑213 finally moves forward for good, relieving VMF‑124 at Banika, Russell Islands.

5sorties
74days
~1,910n. miles
159°E 162°E 165°E 9°S 13°S N SOLOMON ISLANDS NEW HEBRIDES 1 · Apr 4, 1943 2 · May 3, 1943 (return) 3 · May 30, 1943 4 · ground echelon, ship, ~early Jun 5 · flight echelon, air, Jun 17 ESPIRITU SANTO Turtle Bay GUADALCANAL Fighter One BANIKA Russell Is. · relieves VMF-124, Jun 17
Schematic map, not to navigational scale — the three Santo↔Guadalcanal sorties are drawn as offset curves purely so the repeated route stays legible; real tracks were not curved. Tap or hover any marker for details. Drawn from 01_Hack_Timeline.md (sourced to the VMF-213 War Diary and Sherrod's official history).
Santo ↔ Guadalcanal (air, both echelons eventually)
Guadalcanal → Banika (ship or air, see itinerary)
Squadron location

Full itinerary

#RouteEchelon / ModeDateDistance
1 Espiritu Santo → Guadalcanal Flight echelon · F4U-1 Corsair Sun Apr 4, 1943 ~570 nm
2 Guadalcanal → Espiritu Santo Flight echelon · F4U-1 Corsair Mon May 3, 1943 ~570 nm
3 Espiritu Santo → Guadalcanal Flight echelon (air) + ground echelon (ship) Sun May 30, 1943 ~570 nm
4 Guadalcanal → Banika Ground echelon · troop transport c. early-mid June 1943 ~100 nm
5 Guadalcanal → Banika Flight echelon · F4U-1 Corsair Thu Jun 17, 1943 ~100 nm