Saidor Airport is an airport in Madang 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 ...

. . It is a general aviation airport located at the coast near

Saidor Saidor is a village located in Saidor ward of Rai Coast Rural LLG, Madang Province, on the north coast of Papua New Guinea. It is also the administrative centre of the Rai Coast District of Madang Province in Papua New Guinea. The village was the ...

, near Saul Point with Dekys Bay to the east and the

Bismarck Sea The Bismarck Sea (, ) lies in the south-western Pacific Ocean within the Papua New Guinea, Papua New Guinean exclusive economic zone. It is located north-east of the island of New Guinea and south of the Bismarck Archipelago. It has coastlines i ...

to the north.

History

A pre-

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, after the US Army landing at Saidor on 2 January 1944 to liberate the area from the Japanese, construction of a single runway running roughly ESE to WNW began. Initially, the airfield was only usable by light Liaison planes, later it was expanded to include extensive taxiways and revetments on the north and south side of the runway, and an apron at each edge of the runway. At the time of construction, Saidor was the most

forward airfield Advance airfield and forward airfield are military terms for a relatively primitive ad-hoc airfield used for refueling and re-arming air units as part of forward operations near the enemy. Also called advanced airfield for its advanced position, n ...

for Allied aircraft striking Japanese to the west. Many planes refueled and made emergency landings at the airfield.

Major USAAF units assigned

* 309th Bombardment Wing (1 March – 28 July 1944) (Headquarters) * 417th Bombardment Group (8 February – 9 September 1944) : Headquarters, 672d, 673d, 674th, 675th BS

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 ...

* 58th Fighter Group (3 April – 30 August 1944) : Headquarters, 69th, 310th, 311th FS,

P-47 Thunderbolt The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter, and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bombe ...

* 348th Fighter Group (29 March – 22 May 1944) : Headquarters, 340th FS, 341st FS, 342nd FS,

* 82d Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron (71st Reconnaissance Group), (5 April – 27 June 1944),

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 ...

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

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

History

Major USAAF units assigned

See also

References

External links