Turnbull Field | |
---|---|
Part of Fifth Air Force | |
Located in Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea | |
Type | Military airfield |
Site information | |
Controlled by | United States Army Air Forces |
Site history | |
Built | 1942 |
In use | 1942–1944 |
Turnbull Field was an aerodrome near Gili Gili, Papua New Guinea.
Built by the US Army 2nd Battalion of 43rd Engineer General Service Regiment (less Company E), [1] during the Battle of Milne Bay during World War II with assistance from the 105th Naval Construction Battalion. [2] Originally known as No. 3 Strip, the airfield was renamed Turnbull Field on 14 September 1942 in honour of Royal Australian Air Force Squadron Leader Peter Turnbull, who was killed in an aircraft crash. [3] The single runway was 5,000 feet (1,500 m) long x 100 feet (30 m) wide surfaced with marston matting. Taxiways and revetments extended off both sides of the runway.
The aerodrome was abandoned in February 1944 and has been disused since the end of World War II.
Kutini-Payamu is a National Park located in Queensland, Australia, 1,940 kilometres (1,210 mi) northwest of Brisbane and 100 kilometres (62 mi) east of Weipa in the Cape York Peninsula, Queensland. Within the National Park is the Iron Range, Scrubby Creek mining site and the Aboriginal Shire of Lockhart River. During World War II several Australian Army units were stationed in the area.
The Battle of Milne Bay, also known as Operation RE or the Battle of Rabi (ラビの戦い) by the Japanese, was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II. Japanese naval infantry, known as Kaigun Tokubetsu Rikusentai, with two small tanks attacked the Allied airfields at Milne Bay that had been established on the eastern tip of New Guinea. Due to poor intelligence work, the Japanese miscalculated the size of the predominantly Australian garrison and, believing that the airfields were defended by only two or three companies, initially landed a force roughly equivalent in size to one battalion on 25 August 1942. The Allies, forewarned by intelligence from Ultra, had heavily reinforced the garrison.
Operation Husky order of battle is a listing of the significant military and air force units that were involved in the campaign for Sicily, July 10 – August 17, 1943.
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This is the complete order of battle of Allied and Japanese forces during the Borneo campaign of 1945. As the campaign was fought in three geographically separate areas and the same air and naval units supported more than one of these battles the order of battle is split into the three areas.
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The Port Moresby Airfield Complex was a World War II military airfield complex, built near Port Moresby in the Territory of Papua and New Guinea. It was used during the Battle of New Guinea as a base of Allied air operations primarily in 1942 and early 1943. It later became a support base as the battle moved to the north and western part of New Guinea. It was closed and the facility turned over to civil authorities after the end of the War in September 1945.
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The Battle of Goodenough Island, also known as Operation Drake, was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II. The Allies landed on Goodenough Island, Papua, and clashed with a Japanese Kaigun Rikusentai. The Japanese troops had been stranded on the island during the Battle of Milne Bay in late August 1942. "Drake Force", consisting of the Australian 2/12th Battalion and attachments, landed on the southern tip of Goodenough Island at Mud Bay and Taleba Bay on 22 October, tasked with denying the Japanese use of the island prior to the Buna campaign. Following a short but intense fight, the Japanese forces withdrew to Fergusson Island on 27 October. After the battle, Goodenough Island was developed into a major Allied base for operations later in the war.
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That strip was named "Turnbull Field", after RAAF Squadron Leader Peter Turnbull who was killed whilst strafing the retreating Japanese, and crashed into one of the ravines near the later site of Alotau.
10°18′13″S150°23′19″E / 10.303699°S 150.388648°E