Corunna Downs Airfield was a secret

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

(RAAF) base at Corunna Downs, south of

Marble Bar Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphosed ...

in the

Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, thinly populated region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Aboriginal peoples; its ancient landscapes; the red earth; and its vast mineral deposits, in particular iron ore. It is also a g ...

region of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. In 1942 the RAAF built a secret airbase on

Corunna Downs Station Corunna Downs Station is a pastoral lease that was once a sheep station but now operates as a cattle station in Western Australia. It is located approximately south of Marble Bar and south east of Port Hedland in the Pilbara region of Western ...

, adjacent to the 1891 homestead. The airfield, created especially for B-24 Liberator long-range

heavy bomber Heavy bombers are bomber aircraft capable of delivering the largest payload of air-to-ground weaponry (usually bombs) and longest range (takeoff to landing) of their era. Archetypal heavy bombers have therefore usually been among the larges ...

s, comprised two intersecting bitumen runways, a north–south (165°) runway and an east–west (107°) runway . No. 73 Operational Base Unit was responsible for operating the airfield during World War II. The RAAF No. 24 Squadron, No 25 Squadron and the

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...

380th Bomb Group flew long range missions against

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

shipping and base facilities in the Dutch East Indies. The base has been abandoned since World War II.

References

External links

Travel Attractions Website

Former Royal Australian Air Force bases World War II airfields in Australia Defunct airports in Western Australia Western Australia during World War II State Register of Heritage Places in the Shire of East Pilbara {{mil-aviation-stub

See also

References

External links