Charters Towers Airport is an airport located in
Columbia,
Charters Towers
Charters Towers is a rural town in the Charters Towers Region, Queensland, Australia. It is by road south-west from Townsville on the Flinders Highway. During the last quarter of the 19th century, the town boomed as the rich gold deposits und ...
,
Queensland
Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
, Australia, north
of the
Charters Towers CBD.
History
World War II
During
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 ...
, the
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 ...
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 organ ...
stationed the following units at the airfield:
*
No. 22 Squadron RAAF
No. 22 (City of Sydney) Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) mixed Permanent and Reserve squadron that provides support for the RAAF in the Sydney region. Formed in 1936, the squadron served in Papua New Guinea during the Second Worl ...
,
A-20 Boston
The Douglas A-20 Havoc (company designation DB-7) is an American light 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 orde ...
*
3d Bombardment Group
3D, 3-D, 3d, or Three D may refer to:
Science, technology, and mathematics
* A three-dimensional space in mathematics Relating to three-dimensionality
* 3D computer graphics, computer graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geome ...
, (10 March 1942 – 28 January 1943) (Headquarters)
:
8th Bombardment Squadron
Eighth is ordinal form of the number eight.
Eighth may refer to:
* One eighth, , a fraction, one of eight equal parts of a whole
* Eighth note (quaver), a musical note played for half the value of a quarter note (crotchet)
* Octave, an interval b ...
, A-20 Havoc (17–31 March 1942; 9 May 1942 – 28 January 1943)
:
90th Bombardment Squadron
9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding .
Evolution of the Hindu–Arabic digit
Circa 300 BC, as part of the Brahmi numerals, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bot ...
, A-20 Havoc (8 March 1942 – 28 January 1943)
*
431st Fighter Squadron (
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 ...
),
P-38 Lightning
The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinc ...
(14 May – 1 July 1943)
*
432d Fighter Squadron (475th Fighter Group), P-38 Lightning (14 May – 11 July 1943)
*
433d Fighter Squadron (475th Fighter Group), P-38 Lightning (14 May – 17 June 1943)
*
16th Bombardment Squadron (Light) (
27th Bombardment Group (Light)),
A-24 Dauntless
The Douglas SBD Dauntless is a World War II American naval scout plane and dive bomber that was manufactured by Douglas Aircraft from 1940 through 1944. The SBD ("Scout Bomber Douglas") was the United States Navy's main carrier-based scout/dive ...
(1 April – 4 May 1942)
*
17th Bombardment Squadron (Light) (27th Bombardment Group (Light)), A-24 Dauntless (1 April – 4 May 1942)
*
91st Bombardment Squadron
0191 is the UK telephone dialling code used by Newcastle upon Tyne, 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 the ...
(Light) (27th Bombardment Group (Light)), A-24 Dauntless (24 March 1942)
In addition, 370th Service Squadron managed the day to day USAAF Base operations of the airfield.
Heritage listings
Charters Towers Airport has a heritage listing for the
Bore Sight Range and Compass Swinging Platform established during World War II.
See also
*
United States Army Air Forces in Australia
During World War II, the United States Army Air Forces established a series of airfields in Australia for the collective defense of the country, as well as for conducting offensive operations against the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy. From thes ...
(World War II)
*
List of airports in Queensland
This is a list of airports in the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland.
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List of airports
The list is sorted by the name of the community served, click the sort buttons in the table header to switch listin ...
References
External links
{{authority control
Airports in Queensland
Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Australia
Charters Towers
Queensland in World War II