Donnington Airpark

Donnington Airpark^[1] (ICAO: YDOP) is located on the Flinders Highway at Woodstock, a suburb of Townsville, Queensland in Australia. It is also called Woodstock Airport and is known for its airshows.

There are rumours that it was built in 1942, and that the hard surfaced wartime runways have been removed, along with all of the buildings and former wartime structures. This is not true. Donnington Airpark was NOT a World War II airstrip. The airpark and associated grass runways were constructed on virgin bushland by Ray Smith in 1969, as a satellite airfield to Townsville, for general aviation. It has never had a sealed surface. There are other airfields in the Woodstock area. This correction has been added to this article on behalf of the owner Ray Smith.

World War II

During World War II, the United States Army Air Force Fifth Air Force may well have used an airfield in the vicinity of Woodstock during 1942 and 1943. More research will be needed to identify which airfields may have been used. American units assigned to this area were:^[2]

• 22d Bombardment Group, (Headquarters) (5 July 1942 – 29 September 1942; 4 February 1943-October 1943)

19th Bombardment Squadron, B-26 Marauder (4 July-15 September 1942; 4 February-11 July 1943)

33d Bombardment Squadron, B-26 Marauder (20 July-29 September 1942; 4 February-15 October 1943)

408th Bombardment Squadron, B-26 Marauder (20 July-29 September 1942; 4 February-15 October 1943)

• 35th Fighter Squadron, Curtiss P-40 (8th Fighter Group) (29 June-17 July 1942)
• 39th Fighter Squadron, P-38 Lightning (35th Fighter Group), (25 April-2 June 1942)

See also

• United States Army Air Forces in Australia (World War II)

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.