Lae Nadzab Airport is a regional airport located at

Nadzab Nadzab Village is in the Markham Valley, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea on the Highlands Highway. Administratively, it is located in Gabsongkeg ward of Wampar Rural LLG. The Nadzab Airport is located East of Nadzab Village and was the site ...

outside Lae,

Morobe Province Morobe Province is a province on the northern coast of Papua New Guinea. The provincial capital and largest city is Lae. The province covers 33,705 km2, with a population of 674,810 (2011 census), and since the division of Southern Highlands ...

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

along the Highlands Highway. It is served by both private and regional aircraft with domestic flights. The airport replaced the

Lae Airfield Lae Airfield is a former World War II airfield and later, civilian airport located at Lae, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea. The airport was closed in the 1980s, in favour of Lae Nadzab Airport, which was able to accommodate larger jet air ...

in 1977. Nadzab is located on the Erap River, North of the

Markham River The Markham River is a river in eastern Papua New Guinea. It originates in the Finisterre Range and flows for to empty into the Huon Gulf at Lae. The river was named in 1873 by Captain John Moresby, R.N., in honour of Sir Clements Markham, then ...

. The settlements of Gabmatsung/Gabmatzung and Gabsonkek are located on the East side of the airport.

History

In about 1910 the Gabmatsung/Gabmazung

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...

mission station A Christian mission is an organized effort for the propagation of the Christian faith. Missions involve sending individuals and groups across boundaries, most commonly geographical boundaries, to carry on evangelism or other activities, such as ...

was established at Nadzab. and established an airfield for use by small planes until the outbreak of the Pacific War when it became overgrown with dense kunai grass.

World War II

In March 1942, the Japanese occupied Lae and Salamaua. Between April 1943 and July 1943, the Allied Geographical Section of

South West Pacific Area (command) South West Pacific Area (SWPA) was the name given to the Allied supreme military command in the South West Pacific Theatre of World War II. It was one of four major Allied commands in the Pacific War. SWPA included the Philippines, Borneo, the ...

conducted reconnaissance after the Japanese invasion. The Terrain Handbook states at page 18: ''Nazdab is located twenty-seven miles NW of Lae by road 900 yds by an indefinite width. Covered with kunai grass. Good dispersal area. Emergency landing ground for heavy freight planes. Extension to 2000 yds thought possible.' : The first parachute jump for the 503rd Parachute Regiment was during the Allied paratrooper assault on 5 September 1943. In conjunction with the

Amphibious Landing Amphibious warfare is a type of offensive military operation that today uses naval ships to project ground and air power onto a hostile or potentially hostile shore at a designated landing beach. Through history the operations were conducte ...

East of Malahang, was to be the start of the liberation of Lae from Japanese Occupation. After Lae was liberated, the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

built Nadzab airport and developed it into a massive

airbase An air base (sometimes referred to as a military air base, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base) is an aerodrome used as a military base by a military force for the operation ...

complex. It was home to many

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

and

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

units during the war when it was a forward base of operations against Japanese positions, and was vital afterwards as a staging area. Two parallel runways were built, running roughly east to west. Number 1 Strip was located to the north. Parallel and to the south was Number 2 Strip, closest to the

. Towards the end of the war, the 21st Air Depot Unit at Nadzab began to manage a storage and reclamation area for excess Allied aircraft and salvage area for repairs. The CRTC (Combat Replacement Training Center) flew out of the base into 1945 until it was turned over to the New Guinea government.

Post War

In 1962, the main strip at Nadzab was resealed by the Australian Commonwealth Department of Works and lengthened to make it suitable for Mirage fighters, even though they never materialised. However, it was always maintained by the Australian Department of Civil Aviation as an alternative to Lae in poor weather conditions. Today, the former 'East Base' or No. 1 & No. 2 runways are still in use by

Air Niugini Air Niugini Limited is the national airline of Papua New Guinea, based in Air Niugini House on the property of Jacksons International Airport, Port Moresby. It operates a domestic network from Port Moresby to 12 major airports while its subsidia ...

and for

civil aviation Civil aviation is one of two major categories of flying, representing all non-military and non-state aviation, both private and commercial. Most of the countries in the world are members of the International Civil Aviation Organization and work ...

, mainly servicing Lae which is away. Roads in the area were built by American forces.www.pacificwrecks.com
/ref> Nadzab airport was redeveloped by Australia in the early to mid 1970s as part of an independence gift from Australia to PNG which became independent in September 1975. The Australian Department of Housing & Construction, and Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) undertook the work. Specialised airport lighting was installed by DCA engineers Byron Sullivan and Frank Martinelli. The airport in Lae was operating at the same time as Nadzab but business was significantly lost when the new airport complex became fully operational in 1977. Fierce political squabbling over the pros and cons of Lae and Nadzab continued until 1982, when, in an unsolved mystery, the Lae airport terminal was burned down.
/ref> Lae airfield continued to be used by

and other third-level airlines until 1987. It was also used as the base for the

Papua New Guinea Defence Force The Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF) is the military organisation responsible for the defence of Papua New Guinea. It originated from the Australian Army land forces of the territory of Papua New Guinea before independence, coming into be ...

until it was transferred to Port Moresby in 1992.

Airlines and destinations

Allied units assigned to Nadzab

* Headquarters,

Fifth Air Force The Fifth Air Force (5 AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It is headquartered at Yokota Air Base, Japan. It is the U.S. Air Force's oldest continuously serving Numbered Air Force. The organizat ...

(15 June – 10 August 1944) * Headquarters,

V Bomber Command The V Bomber Command is an inactive United States Army Air Forces unit. It was last assigned to Fifth Air Force, based at Irumagawa AB, Japan. It was inactivated on 31 May 1946. During World War II the unit initially controlled Fifth Air For ...

(21 February – 15 August 1944) * Headquarters,

V Fighter Command The V Fighter Command is a disbanded United States Air Force headquarters. It was established as the 2nd Interceptor Command in June 1941, with responsibility for air defense of the northwest United States and training fighter units in its are ...

(January–July 1944) *

91st Reconnaissance Wing 0191 is the UK telephone dialling code used by Newcastle, Durham, Sunderland and other nearby areas in the north east of England. Areas covered Numbering in the 0191 area is officially divided into three distinct areas, each with their own batc ...

(30 March – 10 August 1944) *

54th Troop Carrier Wing The Type 054 (NATO Codename Jiangkai I) is a class of Chinese multi-role frigates that were commissioned in the People's Liberation Army Navy Surface Force in 2005. They superseded the Type 053H3 frigates. Only two ships, ''Ma'anshan'' (525), and ...

(18 April – 5 October 1944) *

3d Bombardment Group 3-D, 3D, or 3d may refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics Relating to three-dimensionality * Three-dimensional space ** 3D computer graphics, computer graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data ** 3D film, a ...

(3 February – 12 May 1944) : Headquarters, 89th, 90th Bomb Squadrons,

A-20 Havoc The Douglas A-20 Havoc (company designation DB-7) is an American medium bomber, attack aircraft, night intruder, night fighter, and reconnaissance aircraft of World War II. Designed to meet an Army Air Corps requirement for a bomber, it was o ...

* 22d Bombardment Group (13 January – 11 August 1944) : Headquarters, 2d, 19th, 33d, 408th Bomb Squadrons,

B-26 Marauder The Martin B-26 Marauder is an American twin-engined medium bomber that saw extensive service during World War II. The B-26 was built at two locations: Baltimore, Maryland, and Omaha, Nebraska, by the Glenn L. Martin Company. First used in t ...

B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in ...

38th Bombardment Group The 38th Bombardment Group is an inactive unit of the United States Air Force. It was most recently assigned as the operational (flying) component of the 38th Bombardment Wing, stationed at Laon-Couvron Air Base, France, where it was inactivate ...

(4 March – 1 October 1944) : Headquarters, 71st, 405th, 822d, 823d Bomb Squadrons,

43d Bombardment Group The Poor Relief Act 1601 (43 Eliz 1 c 2) was an Act of the Parliament of England. The Act for the Relief of the Poor 1601, popularly known as the Elizabethan Poor Law, "43rd Elizabeth" or the Old Poor Law was passed in 1601 and created a poor la ...

(4 March – 2 July 1944) : Headquarters, 64th, 65th, 403d Bomb Squadrons,

B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models ...

90th Bombardment Group 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...

(23 February – 10 August 1944) : Headquarters, 319th, 320th, 321st, 400th Bomb Squadrons,

* 345th Bombardment Group (16 February – July 1944) : Headquarters, 499th Bomb Squadron *

8th Fighter Group 008, OO8, O08, or 0O8 may refer to: * The Streetwear Brand @008us , inspired by Ian Fleming & Virgil Abloh *"030", the fictional 030 Agent of MI6 * '' 038: Operation Exterminate'', a 1965 Italian action film * '' Explosivo 030'' a 1940 Argentine c ...

(14 March – 17 June 1944) : Headquarters, 6th, 35th, 36th Fighter Squadrons,

P-47 Thunderbolt The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bomb ...

, some

P-40 Warhawk 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 *

35th Fighter Group Military units *35th Fighter Wing, an air combat unit of the United States Air Force *35th Infantry Division (United States), a formation of the National Guard since World War I *35th Infantry Regiment (United States), a regiment created on 1 July 1 ...

(5 October 1943 – 7 February 1944) : Headquarters, 39th FS,

, 41st FS, P-39 Airacobra,

475th Fighter Group 475th may refer to: *475th Air Base Wing, inactive United States Air Force unit *475th Bombardment Squadron, inactive United States Air Force unit * 475th Fighter Group, World War II predecessor of 53d Weapons Evaluation Group *475th Test Squadron, ...

(24 March – 15 May 1944) *

6th Reconnaissance Group Alec Trevelyan (006) is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the 1995 James Bond film ''GoldenEye'', the first film to feature actor Pierce Brosnan as Bond. Trevelyan is portrayed by actor Sean Bean. The likeness of Bean as Alec Tre ...

(17 February – August 1944) : Headquarters, 8th, 20th, 25th, Recon/Photo Squadrons (F-7, F-5) *

71st Reconnaissance Group 020 is the national dialling code for London in the United Kingdom. All subscriber numbers within the area code consist of eight digits and it has capacity for approaching 100 million telephone numbers. The code is used at 170 telephone exch ...

(20 January – 8 August 1944) * 374 Troop Carrier Group (1 September – 14 October 1944) : Headquarters, 6th, 21st Troop Carrier Squadrons,

C-47 Skytrain The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF, and SAAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in ...

375th Troop Carrier Group 375th may refer to: *375th Air Mobility Wing, unit of the United States Air Force assigned to Eighteenth Air Forcestationed at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois *375th Bombardment Squadron The 375th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States ...

(1 September – 14 October 1944) * 433d Troop Carrier Group (25 August 1943 – 17 October 1944) : Headquarters, 65th, 66th, 67th, 68th, 70th Troop Carrier Squadrons,

421st Night Fighter Squadron 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest ...

(27 January – 28 June 1944) * Allied Intelligence Bureau (''Ferdinand'' )

Accidents and incidents

* On 18 November 1987, Douglas C-47B Skytrain P2-006 of the

was damaged beyond repair in an

emergency landing An emergency landing is a premature landing made by an aircraft in response to an emergency involving an imminent or ongoing threat to the safety and operation of the aircraft, or involving a sudden need for a passenger or crew on board to term ...

shortly after take-off. An engine had lost power and a wing was ripped off in the subsequent

belly landing A belly landing or gear-up landing occurs when an aircraft lands without its landing gear fully extended and uses its underside, or belly, as its primary landing device. Normally the term ''gear-up landing'' refers to incidents in which the pilot ...

Notes

References

External links

* *
{{authority control Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Papua New Guinea Morobe Province Lae Airports established in 1910