Schwimmer Airfield
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Schwimmer Airfield (also known as 14-Mile Drome) 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 near
Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New ...
,
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 was part of a multiple-airfield complex in the Port Moresby area, located north of the Laloki River. The airfield was known as 14 mile for its distance from Port Moresby, and also known as 'Laloki' or 'Lakoki Drome' for the river to the northwest of the airstrip. It was officially renamed "Schwimmer Airfield" on November 10, 1942, in honor of Charles Schwimmer, who lost in P-39D 41-6956 intercepting Japanese aircraft over Port Moresby.


History

Schwimmer Airfield was built by the US Army in early 1942 with a single runway long and wide. Around October 1942 it was re-surfaced with Marston Matting. No
revetment A revetment in stream restoration, river engineering or coastal engineering is a facing of impact-resistant material (such as stone, concrete, sandbags, or wooden piles) applied to a bank or wall in order to absorb the energy of incoming water an ...
s were built but the taxiway and parking areas were dispersed to the north of the runway in a semicircle. The crews lived in pyramid tents from the strip in scrub trees. Many units were rotated in and out of the airfield during its use. The major units assigned were: *
13th Bombardment Squadron In music or music theory, a thirteenth is the note thirteen scale degrees from the root of a chord and also the interval between the root and the thirteenth. The thirteenth is most commonly major or minor . A thirteenth chord is th ...
( 3d Bombardment Group),
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 ...
s *
9th Fighter Squadron 009 may refer to: * OO9, gauge model railways * O09, FAA identifier for Round Valley Airport * 0O9, FAA identifier for Ward Field, see List of airports in California * British secret agent 009, see 00 Agent * BA 009, see British Airways Flight 9 * ...
(
49th Fighter Group The 49th Fighter Group was a fighter aircraft unit of the Fifth Air Force that was located in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater during World War II. Activation and training The group was constituted as 49th Pursuit Group (Interceptor) on 20 November ...
),
P-40 Warhawk The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter-bomber that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry ...
* 39th Fighter Squadron ( 35th Fighter Group).
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 ...
s;
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 ...
s The airfield was closed after the war and today there is little evidence remaining of the facility. Houses have been built along much of the former runway area. The rest is overgrown and abandoned. Some wartime debris litter the area. Bomb storage bays are visible from the road.


See also

* USAAF in the Southwest Pacific *
Port Moresby Airfield Complex The Port Moresby Airfield Complex was a World War II military airfield complex, built near Port Moresby in the Territory of Papua and New Guinea. It was used during the Battle of New Guinea as a base of Allied air operations primarily in 1942 an ...
: Kila Airfield (3 Mile Drome) : Wards Airfield (5 Mile Drome) : Jackson Airfield (7 Mile Drome) : Berry Airfield (12 Mile Drome) : Durand Airfield (17 Mile Drome) : Rogers (Rarona) Airfield (30 Mile Drome) : Fishermans (Daugo Island) Airfield


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

{{USAAF 5th Air Force World War II Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Papua New Guinea Airports established in 1942 1942 establishments in the Territory of Papua