Bell Block was the original site of
New Plymouth
New Plymouth ( mi, Ngāmotu) is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, Devon from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. ...
Airport.
History
Opened in 1933 with five grass landing strips, the main strip 5000 ft long.
Union Airways operated its main trunk
De Havilland Express airliners into the airport. A large hangar and maintenance facilities were built for the Union Airways use.
During
World War II, the
RNZAF commandeered the airport as RNZAF Base Bell Block. After the war, the airport was returned to civilian ownership.
[Wings over Cambridge, RNZAF World War II bases North Island]
Government airline
New Zealand National Airways Corporation continued to use the maintenance facilities after Union Airways were absorbed into the nationalised airline.
Lockheed Lodestar and
Douglas DC-3
The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner
manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II.
It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version ...
Skyliner airliners were the main form of transport to use the airport.
As aviation developed and airliners grew larger, Bell Block became too restricted for modern airliners due to its undulating grass runways and restrictive approach terrain. NZNAC wanted to introduce their new
Fokker Friendship onto provincial routes and retire its ageing DC-3s, which would require a paved main runway.
New Plymouth City Council decided to build a new paved runway and terminal at the end of Brown Road, which was completed in 1966.
Bell Block was closed and turned into a light industrial and warehousing estate. The large maintenance hangars still stand within the estate.
References
Defunct airports in New Zealand
New Plymouth
Transport buildings and structures in Taranaki
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