Oro Bay Airfield (also known as Cape Sudest Airfield) is a former
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 ...
airfield in Oro Province,
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
. The airfield was abandoned after the war and today is almost totally returned to its natural state.
History
Oro Bay Airfield was primarily an emergency landing field, although it was briefly used as a headquarters base for the
308th Bombardment Wing (1 February-2 July 1944) and as an operational airfield for the
417th Bombardment Group (28 January-4 February 1944) which flew
A-20 Havoc
The Douglas A-20 Havoc (company designation DB-7) is an American medium bomber, attack aircraft, night intruder, night fighter, and reconnaissance aircraft of World War II.
Designed to meet an Army Air Corps requirement for a bomber, it was or ...
s. Operational squadrons assigned to the airfield were:
*
672d Bombardment Squadron: 28 January-4 February 1944
*
673d Bombardment Squadron
The 673d Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Army Air Forces unit. Its last assignment was with the 417th Bombardment Group at Itami Airfield, Japan, where it was inactivated on 5 November 1945.
During World War II, the squadron ope ...
: 28 January-4 February 1944
*
674th Bombardment Squadron: 28 January-4 February 1944
In addition, the
547th Night Fighter Squadron flew a night fighter variant of the
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 by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinctive tw ...
and
P-61 Black Widow
The Northrop P-61 Black Widow is a twin-engine United States Army Air Forces fighter aircraft of World War II. It was the first operational U.S. warplane designed as a night fighter, and the first aircraft designed specifically as a night fight ...
from the airfield (5 September-6 October 1944).
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. .
www.pacificwrecks.com
External links
Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Papua New Guinea
Airports established in 1944
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