Gurney Airport
Encyclopedia
Gurney Airport is an airport serving Alotau
in the Milne Bay Province
of Papua New Guinea
.
The airport is a single runway general aviation facility, however in December, 2008, the PNG Minister for Transport and Civil Aviation, Don Polye announced that aviation company Skyworld had been granted permission to operate direct flights from Cairns, Australia
to Gurney.
. Consisting of two parallel runways with the first runway 6000 feet (1,828.8 m) long x 150 feet (45.7 m) wide surfaced with bitumen and the second runway 5340 feet (1,627.6 m) long x 100 feet (30.5 m) wide surfaced with marston matting. Taxiways and revetments extended off both sides of the runways. Known as Fall River Aerodrome and No. 1 Strip. The airfield was named Gurney Field on 14 September 1942 in honour of Royal Australian Air Force
Squadron Leader C.R. Gurney, who was killed in an aircraft crash.
The airfield was reopened in early 1966, as a part of the Australian colonial policy of having each of the provincial capitals served by daily flights. The last Sunbird PBY service to Samarai was in January of that year. A number of other WWII airfields were reopened in the area, such as Vivigani, and Misima (April 1964). Several airlines then operated daily passenger and freight services into Gurney, using larger aircraft.
of 88 feet (27 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway
designated 09/27 with an asphalt
surface measuring 1690 by 30 m (5,544.6 by 98.4 ).
Alotau
Alotau is the capital of Milne Bay Province, a province of Papua New Guinea. It is located on the northern shore of Milne Bay.The town is located within the area in which the invading Japanese army suffered their first land defeat in the Pacific War in 1942, before the Kokoda Track battle. A...
in the Milne Bay Province
Milne Bay Province
Milne Bay is a province of Papua New Guinea. Its capital is Alotau. The province covers 14,000 km² of land and 252,990 km² of sea, within the province there are more than 600 islands, about 160 of which are inhabited...
of Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
.
The airport is a single runway general aviation facility, however in December, 2008, the PNG Minister for Transport and Civil Aviation, Don Polye announced that aviation company Skyworld had been granted permission to operate direct flights from Cairns, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
to Gurney.
History
Built by the US Army 96th Engineer General Service Regiment, Company E of 46th Engineer General Service Regiment and No. 6 Mobile Works Squadron RAAF during World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Consisting of two parallel runways with the first runway 6000 feet (1,828.8 m) long x 150 feet (45.7 m) wide surfaced with bitumen and the second runway 5340 feet (1,627.6 m) long x 100 feet (30.5 m) wide surfaced with marston matting. Taxiways and revetments extended off both sides of the runways. Known as Fall River Aerodrome and No. 1 Strip. The airfield was named Gurney Field on 14 September 1942 in honour of Royal Australian Air Force
Royal Australian Air Force
The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...
Squadron Leader C.R. Gurney, who was killed in an aircraft crash.
The airfield was reopened in early 1966, as a part of the Australian colonial policy of having each of the provincial capitals served by daily flights. The last Sunbird PBY service to Samarai was in January of that year. A number of other WWII airfields were reopened in the area, such as Vivigani, and Misima (April 1964). Several airlines then operated daily passenger and freight services into Gurney, using larger aircraft.
Allied Units based at Gurney Field
- 8th Fighter Group8th Fighter WingThe United States Air Force 8th Fighter Wing is the host unit at Kunsan Air Base, Republic of Korea and is assigned to Seventh Air Force...
(18 September 1942 – February 1943)
- Headquarters, 35th Fighter Squadron, P-40 Warhawk, 80th Fighter Squadron P-38 LightningP-38 LightningThe Lockheed P-38 Lightning was a World War II American fighter aircraft built by Lockheed. Developed to a United States Army Air Corps requirement, the P-38 had distinctive twin booms and a single, central nacelle containing the cockpit and armament...
, P-39 Airacobra.- 418th Night Fighter Squadron418th Night Fighter SquadronThe 418th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 58th Tactical Fighter Training Wing, being inactivated at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona on 1 October 1976.-World War II:...
, (V Fighter Command), (2–22 November 1943), P-61 Black WidowP-61 Black WidowThe Northrop P-61 Black Widow was the first operational U.S. military aircraft designed specifically for night interception of aircraft, and was the first aircraft specifically designed to use radar. It was an all-metal, twin-engine, twin-boom design developed during World War II... - 421st Night Fighter Squadron, (V Fighter Command), (4–27 January 1944), P-61 Black WidowP-61 Black WidowThe Northrop P-61 Black Widow was the first operational U.S. military aircraft designed specifically for night interception of aircraft, and was the first aircraft specifically designed to use radar. It was an all-metal, twin-engine, twin-boom design developed during World War II...
- No. 32 Squadron RAAFNo. 32 Squadron RAAFNo. 32 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force unit based at RAAF East Sale in Victoria. It currently flies training and transport operations.- World War II :...
- (Lockheed HudsonLockheed HudsonThe Lockheed Hudson was an American-built light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built initially for the Royal Air Force shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and primarily operated by the RAF thereafter...
) - No. 75 Squadron RAAFNo. 75 Squadron RAAFNo. 75 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force fighter unit based at RAAF Base Tindal in the Northern Territory. The squadron was formed in 1942 and saw extensive action in the South West Pacific theatre of World War II, operating P-40 Kittyhawks. It was disbanded in 1948, but reformed the...
(P-40) - No. 76 Squadron RAAFNo. 76 Squadron RAAFNo. 76 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force flight training squadron. Established in 1942, the squadron operated P-40 Kittyhawk fighter aircraft and saw combat during World War II. Following the war it formed part of Australia's contribution to the occupation of Japan until it was...
(P-40) - No. 100 Squadron RAAFNo. 100 Squadron RAAFNo. 100 Squadron was a Royal Australian Air Force bomber and maritime patrol squadron of World War II. The Squadron was formed in 1942 and was disbanded in 1946.-Squadron history:...
- No. 10 Repair and Salvage Unit RAAF
- 418th Night Fighter Squadron
Facilities
The airport resides at an elevationElevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface ....
of 88 feet (27 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway
Runway
According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...
designated 09/27 with an asphalt
Asphalt
Asphalt or , also known as bitumen, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits, it is a substance classed as a pitch...
surface measuring 1690 by 30 m (5,544.6 by 98.4 ).
Airlines and destinations
See also
- USAAF in the Southwest PacificUnited States Army Air Forces in the South West Pacific TheatreDuring World War II, the United States Army Air Forces engaged in combat against the air, ground and naval forces of the Empire of Japan in the South West Pacific Theatre....