Losuia Airport is an airport in Losuia

Losuia

Losuia is a village on Kiriwina Island, part of the Kiriwina Islands, Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea. It is served by Losuia Airport....

, on the island of Kiriwina

Kiriwina

Kiriwina is the largest of the Trobriand Islands, with an area of 290.5 km². It is part of the Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea. Most of the 12,000 people who live in the Trobriands live on Kiriwina. The Kilivila language, also known as Kiriwina, is spoken on the island...

, 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...

.

History

Kiriwina Airfield was a coral surfaced 6000 feet (1,828.8 m) long x 150 feet (45.7 m) wide single runway, built by US Army Engineers with assistance from combat troops shortly after occupying the island on 30 June 1943 during World War II

World 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...

. A C-47 was the first aircraft to land at the airfield on 2 August 1943. US Navy Seabees expanded the airfield constructing a 7000 feet (2,133.6 m) taxiway, 25 fighter hardstands, a 5300 feet (1,615.4 m) taxiway and 16 bomber hardstands. Also known as South Drome, upon completion of North Drome on the northern part of Kiriwina.

Allied Units based at Kiriwina Airfield

• No. 22 Squadron RAAF
  No. 22 Squadron RAAF
  No. 22 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force mixed regular and reserve squadron that provides support for the RAAF in the Sydney region. Formed in 1936, the squadron served in Papua New Guinea during the Second World War, and later followed the Pacific war as far as the Philippines...
  
   Bostons
• No. 30 Squadron RAAF
  No. 30 Squadron RAAF
  No. 30 Squadron is a squadron of the Royal Australian Air Force . Raised in 1942 as a fighter unit, the Squadron saw action in the Second World War and later served in the target towing and surface-to-air missile roles. After a long period of disbandment lasting from the late 1960s, No...
  
   Beauforts
  Bristol Beaufighter
  The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter, often referred to as simply the Beau, was a British long-range heavy fighter modification of the Bristol Aeroplane Company's earlier Beaufort torpedo bomber design...
  
  
• No. 76 Squadron RAAF
  No. 76 Squadron RAAF
  No. 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...
  
   (Kittyhawks
  Curtiss P-40
  The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk was an American single-engine, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry into production and operational...
  
  )
• No. 78 Squadron RAAF
  No. 78 Squadron RAAF
  No. 78 Squadron was a Royal Australian Air Force fighter squadron of World War II. The Squadron was formed in July 1943 and was disbanded in April 1948 after seeing action in the South West Pacific.-History:...
  
   (Kittyhawks)
• No. 79 Squadron RAAF
  No. 79 Squadron RAAF
  No. 79 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force flight training unit which has been formed on four occasions since 1943. The squadron was established in May 1943 as a fighter unit equipped with Supermarine Spitfires, and subsequently saw combat in the South West Pacific theatre of World War II...
  
   (Spitfires
  Supermarine Spitfire
  The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
  
  )
• No. 6 Mobile Works Squadron RAAF
• No. 12 Repair and Salvage Unit RAAF
• No. 114 Mobile Fighter Sector RAAF