Plaine Des Gaiacs Airfield

Plaine Des Gaiacs Airfield
Plaine Des Gaiacs Airfield
Part of Thirteenth Air Force
Coordinates	21°15′4.97″S164°55′19.61″E / 21.2513806°S 164.9221139°E
Type	Military airfield
Site information
Controlled by	United States Army Air Forces
Site history
Built	1930s
In use	1942-1944

Last updated February 15, 2024

Plaine Des Gaiacs Airfield is a former World War II airfield on New Caledonia in the South Pacific. It is located at Plaine Des Gaiacs near the village of Pouembout. The airfield was also known as De Gaiacs and was named for the Gaiac tree that grow in the area.

History

Plaine Des Gaiacs Airfield was built in the 1930s by the French colonists. After the fall of France in 1940, the Free French took control of the field. The airfield was expanded into two massive sealed runways by the US Army. It was initially used as a command and control base, then later becoming a staging and training base for aircraft bound for Australia or north to the New Hebrides combat zones.^{[ citation needed ]}

USAAF units assigned were:

13th Troop Carrier Squadron, 9 October 1942 - 17 December 1942^[1]
Headquarters, Thirteenth Air Force, 13–21 January 1943
Headquarters, XIII Fighter Command, 13–22 January 1943
11th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 22 July 1942 – 23 November 1942
42d Bombardment Group (Medium), 20 October 1943 – 20 January 1944
347th Fighter Group, 3 October 1943 – 29 December 1943
4th Reconnaissance Group, 22 November 1942 – 23 January 1943

The Royal New Zealand Air Force No. 9 Squadron operating Lockheed Hudson was based at Plaine Des Gaiacs from July 1942 until March 1943.^[2]

Postwar

The airfield was closed after the war and fell into disuse. Today it is overgrown with vegetation; the runways are still visible from the air and many small traces of the American occupation remain, such as fuel drums, metal, etc.^{[ citation needed ]}

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References

↑ Washburne, Seth (2011). The Thirsty 13th. Thirsty 13th LLC. p. 133. ISBN 978-0-615-39675-0.
↑ Ross, John (1955). Royal New Zealand Air Force. Historical Publications Branch. p. 130. ISBN 0898391873.

This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.
www.pacificwrecks.com

External links

Website for the airfield

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Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
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[1] Washburne, Seth (2011). The Thirsty 13th. Thirsty 13th LLC. p. 133. ISBN 978-0-615-39675-0.

[2] Ross, John (1955). Royal New Zealand Air Force. Historical Publications Branch. p. 130. ISBN 0898391873.

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