Bull's Eye Curaçao

After the occupation of the Netherlands in May 1940, Curaçao also involved preparations for war. However, the Netherlands had hardly any resources to defend the island, but after the United States became involved in the war in December 1941, it sent a contingent of military personnel to the island in January 1942. This included a group of A20 Havoc bombers from the US Army Air Force.

For their training, they used a huge target set out in stone in the Hato plain that was used as a practice target to drop dummy aerial bombs. Later combat aircraft also used the target for machine gun training. This target was initially called ‘The Range’ but was later renamed ‘The Bull's Eye’.

After the war, the Dutch MLD also used it for its training but in the 1970s the area was left to nature. In 2015, volunteers restored the target with the original coral rock and erected a memorial.

Do you have more information about this location? Inform us!

Source

• Text: TracesOfWar
• Photos: Wessel van Steen