Lorengau

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lorengau ( 2°1′S, 147°16′E) is the capital of the Manus Province of Papua New Guinea. The town is located on the edge of Seeadler harbour on Manus Island, in the Admiralty Islands, and in 2000 was estimated to have a population of 5,829.

[edit] History

During World War II the Japanese captured Lorengau in April 1942 without struggle and established an administrative base and airstrip. In February 1944 the United States and Australian forces launched a six-week campaign to recaptured the facility, which was eventually achieved on May 18, 1944.

The Americans expanded the Japanese base and constructed a huge naval base at nearby Lombrum. An airstrip capable of handling heavy bombers was constructed at Momote and it was here that the invasion to capture the Philippines was staged.

After the war the base was scraped and all equipment was bulldozed into pits or the harbour.

[edit] External links

• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: -2.0208° 147.266667°
  • Mapping from Multimap or GlobalGuide or Google Maps
  • Aerial image from TerraServer
  • Satellite image from WikiMapia