Lae Nadzab Airport
| Lae Nadzab Airport | |||
|---|---|---|---|
IATA: LAE – ICAO: AYNZ
  LAE | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Operator | Papua New Guinea Office of Civil Aviation | ||
| Location | Lae / Nadzab, Papua New Guinea | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 239 ft / 73 m | ||
| Coordinates | 06°34′11″S 146°43′34″E / 6.56972°S 146.72611°E | ||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 09/27 | 8,004 | 2,440 | Asphalt |
| Source: DAFIF[1][2] | |||
Lae Nadzab Airport is a regional airport located 42 km outside of Lae, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea along the Highlands highway. It is served by both private and regional aircraft with domestic flights. The airport replaced the Lae Airfield in 1977.
Airlines and destinations
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Air Niugini | Hoskins, Madang, Lorengau, Mount Hagen, Port Moresby |
| Airlines PNG | Goroka, Hoskins, Madang, Port Moresby |
| North Coast Aviation | Bulolo, Finschhafen, Kabwum, Lablab, Omora, Satwag Wau, Yalumet |
| Travel Air | Hoskins, Madang, Port Moresby, Rabaul, Wewak |
History
Pre WW2
About 1910 under German New Guinea a Lutheran mission station was established at Nadzab in the area of the curent airport.
Before the construction, the Lae Airfield was used as the main airport.
WW2
In February 1942, Lae Airfield was occupied by the Japanese and was developed into a forward airbase. As part of the Lae defences, the Japanese created many tunnels around that airport.
Between April 1943 and July 1943, the Allied Geographical Section of South West Pacific Area (command) conducted reconnaissance after the Japanese invasion. The Terrain Handbook states at page 18;
Nazdab is located twenty-seven miles NW of Lae by road 900 yds by an indefinite width. Covered with kunai grass. Good dispursal area. Emergency landing ground for heavy freight planes. Extension to 2000 yds thought possible.[3]''
In September 1943 the airfield was heavily bombed by Allied forces until its liberation in the Salamaua–Lae campaign.
Once Lae was liberated the United States Army built Nadzab airport and developed it into a massive airbase complex. It was home to many United States Army Air Forces and Royal Australian Air Force units during the war when it was a forward base of operations against Japanese positions, and was vital afterwards as a staging area.
Two parallel runways were built, running roughly east to west. Number 1 Strip was located to the north. Parallel and to the south was Number 2 Strip, closest to the Markham River. Towards the end of the war, the 21st Air Depot Unit at Nadzab began to manage a storage and reclamation area for excess Allied aircraft and salvage area for repairs. The CRTC (Combat Replacement Training Center) flew out of the base into 1945 until it was turned over to the New Guinea government.
Today, the former 'East Base' or No. 1 & No. 2 runways are still in use by Air Niugini and for civil aviation, mainly servicing Lae which is 45 km away. Nearly every road in the area was built by American forces, and one can still see World War II era taxiways in the overgrown areas outside the modern landing area.[4][5][6]
Post WW2
The old Lae airfield started losing its thunder in 1977 when Nadzab Airport became operational. Fierce political squabbling over the pros and cons of Lae and Nadzab continued until 1982, when, in an unsolved mystery, the Lae airport terminal was burned down.[7]
Lae airfield continued to be used by Air Niugini and other third-level airlines until 1987. It was also used as the base for the Papua New Guinea Defence Force until it was transferred to Port Moresby in 1992.[7]
Allied units assigned to Nadzab
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Accidents and incidents
- On 18 November 1987, Douglas C-47B Skytrain P2-006 of the Papua New Guinea Defence Force was damaged beyond repair in an emergency landing shortly after take-off. An engine had lost power and a wing was ripped of in the subsequent belly landing.[8]
See also
References
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.
- ↑ Airport information for AYNZ from DAFIF (effective October 2006)
- ↑ Airport information for LAE at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective Oct. 2006).
- ↑ Allied Geographical Section-Southwest Pacific Area-Terrain Handbook 4 (No.738). Lae and the Lower Markham Valley28 July accessed 30 January 2014
- ↑ This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.
- ↑ Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.
- ↑ www.pacificwrecks.com
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 The old Lae airport, Dec 03, 2007, Malum Nalu accessed 8 Jan 2014
- ↑ "P2-006 Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lae Nadzab Airport. |
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