Mareeba Airfield is an airfield located south of

Mareeba Mareeba is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Mareeba in Far North Queensland, Australia. Between 2008 and 2013, it was within the Tablelands Region. The town's name is derived from an Aboriginal word meaning ''meeting of the water ...

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 Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Built in 1942 as a

US Army Air Force 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 ...

base 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 airfield had two runways, with a complement of taxiways, hardstands and a containment area. After the war, much of the airfield reverted to agricultural use, while the southern runway remains as an active airfield.

History

World War II

A major US Army Air Force Base during World War II, Mareeba housed both heavy bomber and fighter squadrons of that Service in 1942 and 1943. The Americans referred to it as Hoevet Field in honor of Major Dean Carol "Pinky" Hoevet who was killed on 16 August 1942. Known USAAF units assigned were: *

19th Bombardment Group 19 (nineteen) is the natural number following 18 and preceding 20. It is a prime number. Mathematics Nineteen is the eighth prime number. Number theory 19 forms a twin prime with 17, a cousin prime with 23, and a sexy prime with 13 ...

, (Headquarters) (24 July 1942 – 23 October 1943) : 28th Bombardment Squadron

B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engined heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). A fast and high-flying bomber, the B-17 dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during ...

, (23 July 1942 – 25 October 1943) : 30th Bombardment Squadron B-17 Flying Fortress, (23 July 1942 – 25 October 1943) : 93d Bombardment Squadron B-17 Flying Fortress, (23 July 1942 – 25 October 1943) *

63d Bombardment Squadron The 63d Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit that was last assigned to the 43rd Bombardment Wing at Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas, where it was inactivated on 31 January 1970. The squadron (aviation), squadron ...

B-17 Flying Fortress ( 43d Bombardment Group), (20 August 1942 – 23 January 1943) * 64th Bombardment Squadron B-17 Flying Fortress (43d Bombardment Group), (8 November 1942 – 20 January 1943) * 65th Bombardment Squadron B-17 Flying Fortress (43d Bombardment Group), (7 November 1942 – 20 January 1943) * 403d Bombardment Squadron B-17 Flying Fortress (43d Bombardment Group), (21 January – 11 May 1943) * 8th Fighter Group, (Headquarters) (February–16 May 1943) :

35th Fighter Squadron The 35th Fighter Squadron is a United States Air Force unit, assigned to the 8th Operations Group, stationed at Kunsan Air Base, South Korea. The squadron operates the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft conducting air superiority m ...

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 ...

(24 February – May 1943) :

36th Fighter Squadron The 36th Fighter Squadron is part of the US Air Force's 51st Operations Group at Osan Air Base, South Korea. It operates the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft conducting air superiority missions. The squadron was first activate ...

, P-39 Airacobra (22 February – 22 May 1943) :

80th Fighter Squadron The 80th Fighter Squadron (traditionally nicknamed the "Headhunters", and since 1971 also the "Juvats") is a General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter squadron of the United States Air Force, currently part of the 8th Operations Group of ...

, P-39 Airacobra (6 February – 21 March 1943) The airfield became operational in May 1942 with the first lodger unit being 100 Squadron RAAF. Following their departure in early July, the airfield was occupied by USAAF heavy bomber squadrons from the US 5th Air Force which flew hundreds of bombing raids on enemy targets in the South Pacific; most notably Rabaul. With the departure of the American units, Mareeba was used by No 5 Communication Unit and a variety of

Royal Australian Air Force The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...

(RAAF) support units, with No 24 Operational Base Unit disbanding in early 1946.

Modern use

Today, the airfield hosts a museum with several World War II vintage airplanes on display in a flyable condition, and a major maintenance facility for

Mission Aviation Fellowship Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) is an Evangelical Christian organization that provides aviation, communications, and learning technology services to more than 1,000 Christian and humanitarian agencies, as well as thousands of isolated mission ...

.
The airfield is home for the North Queensland Aero Club.

References

External links

Warbird Adventures Aviation Museum, Mareeba
{{authority control Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Australia Airports in Queensland Airports established in 1942 1942 establishments in Australia Queensland in World War II

History

World War II

Modern use

See also

References

External links