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Strauss Airfield was an
Constructed by sections of the
Lt. Col Bernard L. Robinson Reports on the NT June 1942
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 Northern Territory Heritage Register {{NorthernTerritory-stub
airfield
An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...
in the Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...
of 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 ...
in the locality of Noonamah constructed between 19 March to 27 April 1942 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 ...
. It was also known as 27 Mile Field or Humpty Doo Strip.
History
Constructed by sections of the United States 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 ...
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 ...
, they built a single runway of wide with associated taxiways and dispersals.
The airfield was officially dedicated as Strauss Field in memory and honour of United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
Captain Allison W. Strauss who was killed piloting a P-40 Kittyhawk
The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and ...
from the 8th Pursuit Squadron ("The Blacksheep") of the 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 194 ...
after crashing into Darwin harbour during a Japanese air raid on the Darwin RAAF airfield on 27 April 1942.
On 13 October 2003, the Strauss Airfield was added to the Northern Territory Heritage Register
The Northern Territory Heritage Register is a heritage register, being a statutory list of places in the Northern Territory of Australia that are protected by the Northern Territory statute, the ''Heritage Act 2011''. The register is maintained b ...
.
Japanese Bombing Raids against Strauss Airfield
*26 November 1942 (03.20 am) *27 November 1942 (03:56 - 04:46 am)Units based at Strauss Airfield
* No. 76 Squadron RAAF (P-40) *No. 452 Squadron RAAF
No. 452 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) air traffic control unit. It was established in 1941 as a fighter squadron, in accordance with Article XV of the Empire Air Training Scheme during World War II. The squadron flew Supermar ...
(Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Griff ...
)
* No. 457 Squadron RAAF (Spitfire)
See also
*List of airports in the Northern Territory
This is a list of airports in the Australian territory of the Northern Territory.
__TOC__
List of airports
The list is sorted by the name of the community served, click the sort buttons in the table header to switch listing order. Airports n ...
References
External links
Lt. Col Bernard L. Robinson Reports on the NT June 1942
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 Northern Territory Heritage Register {{NorthernTerritory-stub