Coomalie Creek Airfield was a

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

(RAAF) airfield built in 1942 in what is now the locality of

Coomalie Creek, Northern Territory __NOTOC__ Coomalie Creek is a locality in the Northern Territory of Australia located about south-east of the territory capital of Darwin. The locality consists of land bounded to the east by the Adelaide River and whose western boundary lie ...

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 ...

. The airfield fell into disuse after the war ended. Since purchasing the surrounding land in 1977, private owners have restored the runway and rebuilt some wartime buildings to preserve the airfield's history. It was listed on 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 ...

in 2011, along with a nearby

anti-aircraft battery Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based ...

that was used for airfield defence.

History

The airfield was operated by No. 54 Operational Base Unit. The first unit to arrive was No. 31 Squadron, equipped with

Bristol Beaufighter The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter (often called the Beau) is a British multi-role aircraft developed during the Second World War by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It was originally conceived as a heavy fighter variant of the Bristol Beaufort ...

s, in November 1942. No. 1 Photo Reconnaissance Unit RAAF (1 PRU) arrived at the airfield in 1943 equipped with

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 ...

de Havilland Mosquito The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito is a British twin-engined, shoulder-winged, multirole combat aircraft, introduced during the Second World War. Unusual in that its frame was constructed mostly of wood, it was nicknamed the "Wooden Wonder", or ...

s and

CAC Wirraway The CAC Wirraway (an Aboriginal word meaning "challenge") was a training and general purpose military aircraft manufactured in Australia by the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC) between 1939 and 1946. It was an Australian development of ...

s. 1PRU was re-designated No. 87 Squadron RAAF on 10 September 1944. In November 1944, three

Dakotas The Dakotas is a collective term for the U.S. states of North Dakota and South Dakota. It has been used historically to describe the Dakota Territory, and is still used for the collective heritage, culture, geography, fauna, sociology, econom ...

from No. 34 Squadron were detached to the airfield, prior to staging north of Australia. No. 87 Squadron launched the last Australia-based operational RAAF mission of World War II from Coomalie Creek. The airfield was abandoned after World War II and is now in private ownership. Part of Leg 9 of ''

The Amazing Race 9 ''The Amazing Race 9'' is the ninth season of the American reality television show ''The Amazing Race.'' It featured eleven teams of two competing in a race around the world. The season premiered on CBS on February 28, 2006, and concluded on May ...

'' was conducted at Coomalie Creek Airfield.

Japanese air raids at Coomalie Creek Airfield

31 Squadron RAAF Beaufighter at Coomalie Creek destroyed in Japanese attack 1942 AWM P01164

* 23 November 1942 * 27 November 1942 * 2 March 1943 * 13 August 1943 * 21 August 1943 * 10 November 1943

References

RAAF News Top Stories Volume 48, No. 19, 19 October 2006

External links

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

History

Japanese air raids at Coomalie Creek Airfield

See also

References

External links