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Parap Airfield was the civilian aerodrome of
The airfield was established in the suburb of Parap to act as the Australian Terminal as part of the 1919 England to Australia air race. It operated as a combined civilian and military airfield.
The
Qantas Empire Airways Ltd Hangar - NT Heritage Listing
Former Royal Australian Air Force bases Transport in Darwin, Northern Territory Defunct airports in the Northern Territory World War II airfields in Australia Airports established in 1919 {{NorthernTerritory-stub
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin ( ; Larrakia: ) is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. With an estimated population of 147,255 as of 2019, the city contains the majority of the residents of the sparsely populated Northern Territory.
It is the small ...
, in Australia between 1919 and 1946. Located in the coastal suburb of Parap, it was also known as ''Darwin Aerodrome'' and '' Ross Smith Aerodrome''.
History
The airfield was established in the suburb of Parap to act as the Australian Terminal as part of the 1919 England to Australia air race. It operated as a combined civilian and military airfield.
The Royal Australian Air Force
"Through Adversity to the Stars"
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(RAAF) deployed its No. 12 Squadron to the aerodrome in September 1939 after the declaration of war against Germany and amidst increasing suspicion regarding Japanese imperialism. By early 1942, the aerodrome was mainly used by the RAAF, although Guinea Airways
Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...
retained a civilian presence. No. 34 Squadron RAAF
No. 34 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) VIP transport squadron. It operates Boeing 737 Business Jets and Dassault Falcon 7Xs from Defence Establishment Fairbairn in Canberra. The squadron was formed in February 1942 fo ...
was formed on 23 February 1942 at the aerodrome.
The Japanese bombed the aerodrome in a number of raids on Darwin during 1942, resulting in extensive damage to the town and hangar. The hangar was extensively damaged after suffering a direct hit and the damage can still be seen in the north-east corner of the original steel frame.
No. 6 Communications Flight RAAF
The numero sign or numero symbol, №, (also represented as Nº, No, No. or no.), is a typographic abbreviation of the word ''number''(''s'') indicating ordinal numeration, especially in names and titles. For example, using the numero sign, t ...
was based at the aerodrome from August 1942 and delivered mail and food supplies to army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
and RAAF outposts, as far afield as the Wessel Islands
The Wessel Islands is a group of uninhabited islands in the Northern Territory of Australia. They extend in a more or less straight line from Buckingham Bay and the Napier Peninsula of Arnhem Land, and Elcho Island, to the northeast. Marchin ...
.
In 1945 the Department of Aviation made RAAF Darwin available for shared civil aviation purposes and as a result, the civilian airport at Parap was closed down by the end of 1946.
Airfield details
The main runway was in the location of present-day Ross Smith Avenue, in the suburb of Parap.See also
* List of airports in the Northern TerritoryExternal links
Qantas Empire Airways Ltd Hangar - NT Heritage Listing
Former Royal Australian Air Force bases Transport in Darwin, Northern Territory Defunct airports in the Northern Territory World War II airfields in Australia Airports established in 1919 {{NorthernTerritory-stub