Berry Airfield (also known as 12-Mile Drome) is a former

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

airfield near

Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New ...

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

. It was part of a multiple-airfield complex in the Port Moresby area, located inland from Port Moresby. Also known as "12 Mile Drome" or "Bomana Drome", the airfield was named "Berry Airfield" in honor of P-39D 41-7165 pilot Major Jack W. Berry on November 10, 1942.

History

Berry Airfield was completed on May 15, 1943, however, there was little or no room for expansion without an extensive earth-moving project being put into action. The runway had an base of crushed rock and pit gravel approximately 4,500' by 150'. It also had 40 dispersal bays, and 4 alert areas that would accommodate 15 fighter aircraft. Berry hosted many units during its operational use, however, the only long-term unit assigned was the

8th Fighter Squadron The 8th Fighter Squadron is an active United States Air Force squadron, assigned to the 54th Fighter Group Air Education and Training Command, stationed at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico. It currently operates the General Dynamics F-16 ...

(

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 ...

) which flew

P-39 Airacobra The Bell P-39 Airacobra is a fighter produced by Bell Aircraft for the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. It was one of the principal American fighters in service when the United States entered combat. The P-39 was used by th ...

s from July 20, 1942 - November 8, 1942. Today, the road from Port Moresby runs over the top of the old main runway. The Bomana Police Training College is located at the site of the former strip, and the Bomana War Cemetery is at the far end of the strip. Some of the officer's and command tents for the airfield were located in the high ground around the former field. Some war debris is scattered around the area, including barrels, metal pieces, and other objects.

References

* Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. .
www.pacificwrecks.com

External links

{{authority control Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Papua New Guinea Defunct airports in Papua New Guinea Airports established in 1943

History

See also

References

External links