Lae Airfield
Lae Airfield | |
|---|---|
| Part of Fifth Air Force | |
Located in Oro Province, Paupa New Guinea
  Lae Airfield Lae Airfield (Papua New Guinea) | |
| Coordinates | 06°43′59″S 146°59′45″E / 6.73306°S 146.99583°E[1] |
| Type | Civilian/Military Airfield |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by | United States Army Air Forces |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1930s (prewar airport) |
| In use | 1942–1945 |
Lae Airfield is a former World War II airfield and later, civilian airport in Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea. The airport was closed in the 1980s, in favor of Lae Nadzab Airport, which was able to accommodate larger jet aircraft. The airport was known as Lae Drome or Lae Aerodrome
History
The airport was built in 1927 and was an operating airport until 1977. The airport construction resulted in Lae becoming a major city in Papua New Guinea.
After World War 1 Eastern New Guinea came under British control with governance mandated to Australia. In 1921 when the military administration ended a gold prospector named Cecil John Levien was appointed District Officer of Morobe. On 1 January 1923 Levien acquired a mining right for the area and shortly after formed a syndicate called Guinea Gold (No Liability). [2]. The Guinea Gold syndicate formed Guinea Airways Limited in November 1927.[3] In 1927 Levien arranged for the construction of the airstrip to assist the gold mine productions around Wau[4].
The first flight into the airfield was a DH-37 flown by E. A. “Pard” Mustar. The aircraft was shipped from Essendon to Rabaulon the S.S. Melusia [5] and flown to Lae on 31 March 1927.
The Lae airport is probably best remembered for being the point of departure in July 1937 for Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan on their flight to Howland Island. Earhart's plane disappeared near Howland Island some 19 hours after departing Lae airport.
Occupied by the Japanese in February 1942 and developed into a forward airbase, the airfield was heavily bombed by Allied forces until its liberation in the Salamaua–Lae campaign in September 1943. The airstrip recovered to become a significant factor in the development of post-war PNG [6]
In 1977 the World War 2 United States Air Forcebase atLae Nadzab Airport became operational and the old airstrip continued to be used as the base for the Papua New Guinea Defence Force Air Transport Squadron until that unit was transferred to Port Moresby in 1992. [7].
The largest aircraft to use the airport prewar were Junkers G 31 Tri-Motor that serviced the gold fields at Bulolo. The problem with Lae's east/west runway was that it ran directly into hills, limiting the size of aircraft able to land.
Allied Units based at Lae Airfield
- Headquarters, 309th Bombardment Wing (1 February – 3 March 1944) B-24 Liberator
Former Airlines
- Bulolo Goldfields Air Service
- Guinea Airways
- Morlae Airlines (Port Moresby)
- Ansett Airways
- Trans Australia Airlines
- Air Niugini
See also
References
- ^ Lae Airfield (AYLA) at Great Circle Mapper
- ^ Kernot, C, 1999, Valuing Mining Companies: A Guide to the Assessment and Evaluation of Assets, Performance, and Prospects in Business and Economics CRC Press [1]
- ^ Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 10, (MUP), 1986 Levien, Cecil John (1874–1932) [2]
- ^ Lipscomb, A, McKinnon, R & Murray, J 1998 Lonely Planet [3]
- ^ Melusia SS Shuncho Maru, Wrecksite.eu accessed 8 Jan 2014 [4]
- ^ The old Lae airport, Dec 03, 2007, Malum Nalu accessed 8 Jan 2014 [5]
- ^ The old Lae airport, Dec 03, 2007, Malum Nalu accessed 8 Jan 2014 [6]
External links
Previously: Philippine Department Air Force (1941); Far East Air Force (1941-1942) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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