Buka Airport is an

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

serving

Buka Island Buka Island is the second-largest island in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, in eastern Papua New Guinea. It is in Buka Rural LLG of North Bougainville District, with the Autonomous Region's and district's capital city of Buka, Bougai ...

in the

Autonomous Region of Bougainville In developmental psychology and morality, moral, political, and bioethics, bioethical philosophy, autonomy is the capacity to make an informed, uncoerced decision. Autonomous organizations or institutions are independent or self-governing. Auto ...

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 is located at the southern end of the island, near Buka Passage behind the town of Buka, and pre-war Chinatown. The airport terminal is about 1.5 kilometres from the Buka Township. In 2004, the airport experienced some closures due to land disputes. Residents of Ieta prevented service at the airport, demanding the government pay land fees. There used to be one navigational aid, the Buka NDB/DME situated on nearby Sohano Island. However this has been removed since Dec 2019.

History

World War II

The origins of the airfield begin in 1941 when Australian troops built gun pits around a primitive airstrip in December 1941. On 2 January 1942 with the Japanese approaching, they prepared the airfield for demolition, blowing holes in the runway, and logs and pipes to prevent aircraft from landing. The following day, orders came to repair the field for aircraft evacuating from

Rabaul Rabaul () is a township in the East New Britain province of Papua New Guinea, on the island of New Britain. It lies about to the east of the island of New Guinea. Rabaul was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province ...

to land. However, the airfield was occupied by the Japanese during mid-March 1942. On 26 July, an

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved followin ...

special detachment was sent to inspect Buka Airfield, but considered it unacceptable as a prospect for a speedily constructed major airfield. Nonetheless, by December 1942 the airfield was further improved by the Japanese with bitumen surfacing, an electrical power plant, underground fuel tanks, and new pillboxes and trenches. From December onwards many hulks were at the strip. Coastwatchers reported nighttime patrol flights during full moon. Also, scouting by a

Betty Bomber The Mitsubishi G4M is a twin-engine, land-based medium bomber formerly manufactured by the Mitsubishi Aircraft Company, a part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and operated by the Air Service (IJNAS) of the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1940 to ...

flying down each coast of Bougainville and returning by afternoon as part of regular reconnaissance. On 13 May 1943 Allied reconnaissance observed 36 fighters and 6 bombers at the airstrip. On 1 October 1943 Allied reconnaissance observed 35 aircraft at Buka, including 19 dive bombers. During 1943, the airfield was attacked repeatedly by Allied bombers, widely cratering the runway, and other areas. In January 1944, the Allies drove the Japanese out of Buka, and the airfield was used for operations against the Japanese over New Guinea. A detachment of

USAAF 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 ...

419th Night Fighter Squadron The 419th Night Fighter Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Thirteenth Air Force, being inactivated at Floridablanca, Luzon on 20 February 1947. The unit was formed in 1943. After training, it was ...

flew P-61 Black Widows from the airfield from 25 January – 27 May 1944 before moving forward into New Guinea. Buka Passage NAN1Jan44

Postwar

Today the airport is the primary air portal into Bougainville, and even 75 years after the war, wreckage from the military use of the airfield by the Japanese and Americans is easily found in the area.

Airlines and destinations

The airport services small narrow body jets or turboprop aircraft.

Facilities

A small single storey terminal building houses check-in counters for both airlines serving the airport.

References

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

External links

* {{authority control Airports in Papua New Guinea Autonomous Region of Bougainville Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in the Pacific Ocean theatre of World War II Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces Air Transport Command in the South West Pacific Theater Buka, Papua New Guinea 1941 establishments in the Territory of New Guinea