Oro Bay Airfield
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Oro Bay Airfield (also known as Cape Sudest Airfield) 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 in Oro 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 ...
. The airfield was abandoned after the war and today is almost totally returned to its natural state.


History

Oro Bay Airfield was primarily an emergency landing field, although it was briefly used as a headquarters base for the 308th Bombardment Wing (1 February-2 July 1944) and as an operational airfield for the
417th Bombardment Group The 417th Bombardment Group is an inactive United States Army Air Forces unit. Its last assignment was with V Bomber Command at Itami Airfield, Japan, where it was inactivated on 5 November 1945. During World War II, the group operated in the So ...
(28 January-4 February 1944) which flew
A-20 Havoc The Douglas A-20 Havoc (company designation DB-7) is an American light bomber, attack aircraft, Intruder (air combat), night intruder, night fighter, and reconnaissance aircraft of World War II. Designed to meet an Army Air Corps requirement for ...
s. Operational squadrons assigned to the airfield were: * 672d Bombardment Squadron: 28 January-4 February 1944 * 673d Bombardment Squadron: 28 January-4 February 1944 * 674th Bombardment Squadron: 28 January-4 February 1944 In addition, the 547th Night Fighter Squadron flew a night fighter variant of the
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 ...
and
P-61 Black Widow The Northrop P-61 Black Widow is a twin-engine United States Army Air Forces fighter aircraft of World War II. It was the first operational U.S. warplane designed specifically as a night fighter. Named for the North American spider ''Latrodect ...
from the airfield (5 September-6 October 1944).


See also

* USAAF in the Southwest Pacific


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

Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Papua New Guinea Airports established in 1944 {{PapuaNewGuinea-struct-stub