Schwimmer Airfield

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Schwimmer Airfield
14-Mile Drome
Fifth Air Force - Emblem (World War II).svg
Part of Fifth Air Force
Located near Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
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Schwimmer Airfield
Schwimmer Airfield (Papua New Guinea)
Site information
TypeMilitary airfield
Controlled by United States Army Air Forces
Location
Schwimmer Airfield
Coordinates 09°22′25.56″S147°13′56.82″E / 9.3737667°S 147.2324500°E / -9.3737667; 147.2324500
Site history
Built1944
In use1944

Schwimmer Airfield (also known as 14-Mile Drome) is a former World War II airfield near Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. It was part of a multiple-airfield complex in the Port Moresby area, located north of the Laloki River.

Contents

The airfield was known as 14 mile for its distance from Port Moresby, and also known as 'Laloki' or 'Lakoki Drome' for the river to the northwest of the airstrip. It was officially renamed "Schwimmer Airfield" on November 10, 1942, in honor of Charles Schwimmer, who was lost in his Bell P-39 Airacobra intercepting Japanese aircraft over Port Moresby.

History

Schwimmer Airfield was built by the US Army in early 1942 with a single runway 1,600 metres (5,300 ft) long and 30 metres (100 ft) wide. Around October 1942 it was re-surfaced with Marston Matting. No revetments were built but the taxiway and parking areas were dispersed to the north of the runway in a semicircle. The crews lived in pyramid tents 800 metres (0.5 mi) from the strip in scrub trees.

Many units were rotated in and out of the airfield during its use. The major units assigned were:

The airfield was closed after the war and today there is little evidence remaining of the facility. Houses have been built along much of the former runway area. The rest is overgrown and abandoned. Some wartime debris litter the area. Bomb storage bays are visible from the road.[ citation needed ]

See also

References

PD-icon.svg This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency