Sansapor Airfield (also known as Mar 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 located in the village of
Werur, in
Tambrauw Regency
Tambrauw Regency () is a Regencies of Indonesia, regency of Southwest Papua Province, Indonesia, in the Bird's Head Peninsula of Papua Island. It was created on 29 October 2008 from what had been an eastern part of Sorong Regency, originally as pa ...
,
Southwest Papua
Southwest Papua (; ) is the 38th provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia to be created, and was split off from West Papua (province), West Papua on 8 December 2022. Despite being named "southwest", this is actually a misnomer and this prov ...
,
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
. The airfield was abandoned after the war and has almost been reclaimed by nature. Since 2014 the field is being rebuild to airport status.
History
The US Army landed unopposed in the area on 31 July 1944. The airfield was built soon after the landing as a forward operational facility.
USAAF units assigned to Sansapor
*
86th Fighter Wing (19 August 1944 – 16 January 1945)
*
42d Bombardment Group, (16 September 1944 – 22 February 1945)
: Headquarters,
69th,
75th,
100th,
390th Bombardment Squadrons,
B-25 Mitchell
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 ...
*
12th Fighter Squadron 012 may refer to:
* Tyrrell 012, a Formula One racing car
* The dialing code for Pretoria
Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive bra ...
(
18th Fighter Group), (23 August-13 January 1945),
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 ...
*
70th Fighter Squadron
The 70th Fighter Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force squadron. The Squadron was constituted on 14 Dec 1940 as the 70th Pursuit Squadron (Interceptor). This squadron was activated on 1 Jan 1941 and patrolled the airspace around Fiji. ...
(18th Fighter Group), (23 August-19 January 1945),
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 ...
*
347th Fighter Group, (15 August-19 September 1944)
* Headquarters,
339th Fighter 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 ...
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. .
External links
Sansapor Airfield at Pacificwrecks.com
Airports in Southwest Papua
Defunct airports in Indonesia
Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in the South West Pacific theatre of World War II
World War II sites in Indonesia
{{Indonesia-airport-stub