Kerevat Airfield (prewar: Tavilo Plantation; variant: "Keravat") was an

aerodrome An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes inc ...

located near Kerevat,

East New Britain East New Britain is a Provinces of Papua New Guinea, province of Papua New Guinea, consisting of the north-eastern part of the island of New Britain and the Duke of York Islands. The capital of the province is Kokopo, not far from the old capital ...

province,

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 ...

. Situated on the northern coast, it was south west of

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 ...

. The airfield was constructed by the

Imperial Japanese The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From 1910 to 19 ...

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 ...

during September 1943. Kerevat Airfield was neutralized by Allied Powers' air bombing from 1944, who ran missions on the airfield between June 20, 1943, and May 16, 1944. The airfield was abandoned after the cessation of hostilities; however, the airstrip is still visible.

Structure

The airfield's single

runway In aviation, a runway is an elongated, rectangular surface designed for the landing and takeoff of an aircraft. Runways may be a human-made surface (often asphalt concrete, asphalt, concrete, or a mixture of both) or a natural surface (sod, ...

was located on Ataliklikun Bay east of Vunakanauwas. The runway was long and wide and ran parallel to the Keravat River in an east–west direction, to the southwest of Rabaul. It was not an all-weather concrete runway. Though the runway was upgraded, it was never fully operational, and its use was limited to crash landing as the airstrip, riddled with problems, was generally subject to drainage and other engineering problems, making it difficult for use for regular flight operations.

World War II history

The 552nd

Kōkūtai A ''kōkūtai'' () was a military aviation unit in the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS), similar to the Group (military aviation unit), air groups in other air arms and services of the time. Some comparable units included ''wing'' in th ...

( D3A2 Val) unit was stationed here from December 18, 1943, to January 25, 1944. There were nine bombings of the airfield during the period June 20, 1943, to May 16, 1944, by American missions; these bombings were on June 20, 1943, by 13th Air Force

B-24 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 desi ...

s; on February 22, 1944, by 13th AF B-24s, with fighter escorts; on February 23, 1944, by ten 13th AF

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

s; April 17, 1944, by ten 13th AF fighter bombers, that pounded the runway; April 18, 1944, twelve 13th AF B-25 and nine fighter-bombers which failed to bomb Rapopo, instead bombing the airstrip at Keravat; April 20, 1944, by forty 13th AF fighter bombers; April 22, 1944, by 13th AF B-25s; and on May 10, 1944, by 13th AF fighters on a sweep, which hit trucks; and on May 16, 1944, by 13th AF fighter bombers which hit trucks and a saw mill was also damaged. The five airports that provided umbrella type defense to the Rabaul airport and the capital town, the stronghold of the Japanese forces during the war, were Kerevat, Lakuani,

Vunakanau Vunakanau is situated on a plateau just outside Rabaul, Papua New Guinea. Vunakanau Airfield was used in World War II. In the 1970s Vunakau was proposed to be used as the new airstrip replacing Rabaul Rabaul () is a township in the East New B ...

and Tobera; all of them were frequently bombed by allied forces. Two “Flying Nightmares”

PBJ-1 The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Brigadier General Billy Mitchell, William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allies of World War ...

s bombed Kerevat and the other airports with 100-pound bombs so that Japanese fighters could not use them.

References

Bibliography

* * {{authority control East New Britain Province World War II airfields in Papua New Guinea Defunct airports in Papua New Guinea