URBEX HAWAII

Explored: 2025-3-30 Built: 1942 Abandoned: late 1955 HISTORY: 1939: Maui Airport opens as a civil airstrip. 1941: The military takes over the site immediately after Pearl Harbor. 1942: Construction begins on the 4-foot-thick bombproof Telephone Exchange building. 1943: The base officially commissions as Naval Air Station Puunene. 1943: The Telephone Exchange is completed to secure top-secret Pearl Harbor data lines. 1944: Base deployment peaks with 3,300 personnel and multiple tactical air groups. 1946: The Navy halts military operations after WWII ends. 1946: The Territory of Hawaii takes over commercial flight operations at the site. 1948: The Navy officially hands the land back to the territory via a quitclaim deed. 1952: All remaining commercial flights permanently move to Kahului Airport. 1955: The Puunene site is completely abandoned. 2026: The concrete storehouses and Telephone Exchange remain as ruins in the brush.