MacDonald Airfield was an airfield built alongside the former northern road, west of

Stuart Highway Stuart Highway is a major Australia, Australian highway. It runs from Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin, in the Northern Territory, via Tennant Creek and Alice Springs, to Port Augusta in South Australia; a distance of . Its northern and sou ...

, north of

Pine Creek, Northern Territory Pine Creek is a small town in the Katherine, Northern Territory, Katherine region of the Northern Territory, Australia. As at the 2016 Australia Census, 2016 Census there were 328 residents of Pine Creek, which is the fourth largest town betw ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

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 opposin ...

History

The airfield was constructed by the 43rd Engineer Regiment (

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

) in March 1942 with further improvements undertaken by the

808th Engineer Aviation Battalion 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...

between 11 May 1942 and 16 July 1942 and later by the

Allied Works Council The Allied Works Council was an organisation set up to oversee and organise military construction works in Australia during World War II. Established in February 1942, the Allied Works Council was responsible for carrying out any works required ...

and No 1 Airfield Construction Unit RAAF. Originally known as ''Burkholder Field'', the runway was long and wide. Renamed MacDonald Airfield in honour of

Wing Commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr in the RAF, the IAF, and the PAF, WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF, formerly sometimes W/C in all services) is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historical ...

Joshua Roger Gray McDonald of

No. 13 Squadron RAAF No. 13 (City of Darwin) Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) squadron. The unit saw combat during World War II as a bomber and maritime patrol squadron and is currently active as a mixed regular and reserve RAAF unit located in Darwi ...

who was killed at Laha on 10 December 1941. The

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

occupied the base on 24 November 1942 when No. 54 Operational Base Unit administered the base. The airfield became an

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...

communication camp and was abandoned in 1945. Image:McDonald Airfield - Layout.jpg, MacDonald Airfield Layout

Units based at MacDonald Airfield

* 43rd Engineer Regiment (US Army) *

* No. 1 Airfield Construction Unit RAAF *

No. 18 (Netherlands East Indies) Squadron RAAF No. 18 (Netherlands East Indies) Squadron was a joint Dutch and Australian bomber squadron of World War II. Formed in April 1942, the squadron was staffed by a mixture of Dutch and Australian personnel and placed under Royal Australian Air Forc ...

(

B-25 The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in e ...

) – (18 January 1943 until 7 May 1943) * No. 54 Operational Base Unit RAAF

References

Pacific War Wrecks Database
Former Royal Australian Air Force bases World War II airfields in Australia Defunct airports in the Northern Territory Airports established in 1942 1942 establishments in Australia {{NorthernTerritory-stub

History

Units based at MacDonald Airfield

See also

References