Horn Island Airport is an airport on Horn Island in the

Torres Strait The Torres Strait (), also known as Zenadh Kes, is a strait between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, the northernmost extremity of the Australian mai ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, Australia.

World War II

The Civil Constructional Corps and the Department of Main Roads began construction of an advanced operational airbase on the island during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, commencing in 1940. RAAF Base Horn Island was completed in 1941 and was used as a staging base for Allied aircraft moving between Australia and

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...

. The airfield consisted of two intersecting runways, with revetments for aircraft parking

Japanese bombing raids against Horn Island Aerodrome

After Darwin, Horn Island was the second-most bombed area of Australia by the Japanese in World War II. * 14 March 1942 * 18 March 1942 * 30 April 1942 * 11 May 1942 * 6 July 1942 * 30 July 1942 * 1 August 1942 * 17 June 1943

Units based at Horn Island Aerodrome

7th Fighter Squadron The 7th Fighter Squadron is an active United States Air Force unit, assigned to the 1st Operations Group. It is stationed at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. Overview The 7th Fighter Squadron is an active United States Air Force unit, assign ...

49th Fighter Group The 49th Fighter Group was a fighter aircraft unit of the Fifth Air Force that was located in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater during World War II. Activation and training The group was constituted as 49th Pursuit Group (Interceptor) on 20 November 1 ...

, March 1942 - 18 April 1942 (

Curtiss P-40 The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and ...

s) *

No. 6 Squadron RAAF No. 6 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) training and bomber squadron. It was formed in 1917 and served as a training unit based in England during World War I. The squadron was disbanded in 1919 but re-formed at the start of ...

* No. 7 Squadron RAAF * No. 24 Squadron RAAF * No. 32 Squadron RAAF * No. 75 Squadron RAAF * No. 84 Squadron RAAF * No. 28 Operational Base Unit RAAF

Memorial

The Horn Island Veterans Memorial in front of the airport commemorates the American and Australian servicemen who fought and died in the defence of Horn Island and the Torres Strait during World War II. It was designed by Vanessa Seekee OAM and Gordon Cameron OAM from local materials.

Airlines and destinations

Aircraft crashes

*Aero Commander, 500-S, VH-UJP *A number of B-17 Flying Fortresses crash landed during World War II: ** B-17E Serial Number 41-2636 - crashed during night take off 13 July 1942 ** B-17E Serial Number 41-2655 - crashed during night take off 13 July 1942 ** B-17E "G.I. Issue" Serial Number 41-2421 - crash-landed on 16 July 1942 ** B-17E "Tojo's Nightmare" Serial Number 41-2497 - crashed attempting landing 24 March 1944 *A survey aircraft operated by Adastra Airways Lockheed Hudson VH-AGO crashed on approach after an engine failure on Monday 24 June 1957. 6 fatalities including one child.

References

External links

Wartime Magazine articleAviation Safety Investigation Report VH-UJP
* {{Airports in Queensland Airports in Queensland Airports established in 1941 Queensland in World War II