421:), was bought disassembled in big crates to New Guinea and made its test flight on 10 April 1928. The first two G31s were called Peter and Paul, the third simply G31. This aircraft could carry two passengers and a ton of freight in the cargo compartment. In the first 19 days of operation the W34 No 1 earned gross revenue of £2,649 with field costs of £360. The second W34 was ordered on 8 June 1928 and arrived in December. By then No 1 W34 had carried 500 passengers and 300 tons of freight. Guinea Airways eventually purchased five of these simple, rugged and honest Junkers machines unmatched at the time by any other manufacturer. The aircraft could be loaded or unloaded in 15 minutes through a large open hatch on the roof with the gantry crane above the aircraft.
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In
September 1943 the Nadzab mission was invaded by US paratroopers dropping from 96 C-47s. Reconstruction of the airstrip began immediately. Overhead some 250 bombers and fighters provided cover by bombing Japanese troop positions and fuel depots. Next day elements of the 7th Australian Division
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planes were ideal and the German
Junkers aeroplanes played a major part in the exploration and development of what is today Papua New Guinea. To mine the gold required the construction on site of several 1500+ ton dredges with the heaviest part scaling over 3 tons.
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and raided Lae on 9 June 1942. The mission was called "TOW 9" and
Lieutenant Commander Lyndon Baines Johnson, the future 36th President of the United States, went on this raid as an observer on the aircraft, the
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Gateway to
Victory: The Establishment of the First U.S. Armed Forces in Australia 1941–42 : 3rd Bomb Group (M), 7th Bomb Group (H), 19th Bomb Group (H), 22nd Bomb Group (M), 27th Bomb Group (L), 49 Fighter
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In
February 1942 Nadzab was a mission station with a small landing strip which was quickly neglected when war broke out. It was never used by the Japanese. During Japanese occupation they upgraded the nearby
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attacking
Japanese-held Lae Airfield, New Guinea on 26–27 June 1942. Boeing B-17E Fortress 41-2633 (Sally) in Foreground. This aircraft was damaged by a storm in April 1945. Afterwards it was flown to
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254:, a gold prospector named Cecil John Levien was appointed District Officer of Morobe. On 1 January 1923 Levien acquired a mining right for the area and shortly after formed a syndicate called
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base, 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.
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were flown in to attack Lae from the north whilst the 9th
Australian Division landed to the east by sea to move on Lae in a pincer movement. The 503rd Bomber Group historian wrote:
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In
November 1927 the Guinea Gold syndicate became Guinea Airways Limited and Levien arranged for the construction of the airstrip to assist the gold mine productions around
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From 1922 to 1942 the airfield was part of a massive airlift operation to service the Bulolo goldfields and was one of the largest airlift operations in the world.
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The airport was built in 1927 and was an operating airport until 1977. The airport construction resulted in Lae becoming a major city in Papua New Guinea.
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Photo overlooking the old Lae airfield from "Top Town" – Lae CBD. At the bottom of the photo is the Amelia
Earhart memorial. Photo taken 29 January 2014
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Amelia
Earhart monument situated near old airfield. Note the Japanese anti-aircraft gun. Bronze plaque since stolen. Photo taken 7 January 2014
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Kernot, C, 1999, "Valuing Mining Companies: A Guide to the Assessment and Evaluation of Assets, Performance, and Prospects" in
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671:"Lyndon Baynes [sic] Johnson: His Time in Townsville and the Bombing Raid on Lae "Tow 9" – 9 June 1942"
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The Forgotten Fifth: A Photographic Chronology of the U.S. Fifth Air Force in the Pacific in World War Two
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The Lae airport is probably best remembered for being the point of departure in July 1937 for
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449:. Earhart's plane disappeared near Howland Island some 19 hours after departing Lae airport.
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The airstrip recovered to become a significant factor in the development of post-war PNG
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Linke, R 2006, The influence of German surveying on the development of New Guinea,
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Previously: Philippine Department Air Force (1941); Far East Air Force (1941-1942)
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and other third-level airlines until 1987. It was also used as the base for the
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Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Papua New Guinea
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Headquarters, 309th Bombardment Wing (1 February – 3 March 1944)
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The old Lae airfield started losing its thunder in 1977 when
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flown by E. A. "Pard" Mustar. The aircraft was shipped from
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medal for his participation in the above bombing raid. in
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575:, Volume 10, (MUP), 1986 Levien, Cecil John (1874–1932)
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on the S.S. Melusia and flown to Lae on 31 March 1927.
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In 1921 when the military administration ended after
222:. The airport was closed in the 1980s, in favour of
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For the civil airport in Lae, Papua New Guinea, see
322:. Nine days after the raid, Johnson was awarded a
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278:runway to be used as a satellite of Lae Airfield.
288:Bombing was excellent. The mission was uneventful
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769:(#40-1488) was probably named after the cartoon
210:airfield and later, civilian airport located at
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587:Lipscomb, A, McKinnon, R & Murray, J 1998
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48:Located in Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea
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357:Photo of original Air Niugini terminal at
297:was appointed Lieutenant Commander in the
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419:c/n 2601 CoR 195-crashed Wau 6 March 1930
389:The first flight into the airfield was a
658:. Aerothentic Publications of Australia.
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348:former wartime United States Air Force
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365:Lae airfield continued to be used by
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1646:Defunct airports in Papua New Guinea
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531:Air Force Historical Research Agency
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781:The aircraft was also known as the
702:The old Lae airport, Dec 03, 2007,
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652:Michael John Claringbould (1999).
603:Fortress Against The Sun: The B-17
573:Australian Dictionary of Biography
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453:Allied Units based at Lae Airfield
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417:The first Junkers W34 B, VH-UGZ (
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525: This article incorporates
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1258:8th Photographic Reconnaissance
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371:Papua New Guinea Defence Force
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930:5th Interceptor (Provisional)
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471:Bulolo Goldfields Air Service
139:United States Army Air Forces
1661:Airports established in 1927
1651:Airports in Papua New Guinea
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1620:Sir Ignatius Kilage Stadium
746:. Accessed 25 January 2014.
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313:on 8 June 1942, arrived in
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488:Trans Australia Airlines
301:on 21 June 1940. Eleven
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606:. Da Capo Press; 2001.
361:. Taken 29 January 2014
559:Business and Economics
548:at Great Circle Mapper
527:public domain material
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106:6.73306°S 146.99583°E
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600:Gene Eric Salecker.
413:Junkers W34 aircraft
177:: LAE (historical),
166:Airfield information
1595:Lae Botanic Gardens
1232:421st Night Fighter
1227:418th Night Fighter
1179:375th Troop Carrier
1174:374th Troop Carrier
1169:317th Troop Carrier
1153:71st Reconnaissance
961:91st Reconnaissance
721:accessed 8 Jan 2014
706:accessed 8 Jan 2014
624:Noel Tunny (1991).
546:Lae Airfield (AYLA)
445:on their flight to
111:-6.73306; 146.99583
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1600:Lae Nadzab Airport
1294:66th Troop Carrier
1289:65th Troop Carrier
1279:21st Troop Carrier
1237:547th Intelligence
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1148:6th Reconnaissance
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783:Arkansas Traveller
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638:978-0-646-08883-9
295:Lyndon B. Johnson
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1107:24th Pursuit
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956:86th Fighter
951:85th Fighter
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1559:Bumbu River
1204:Bombardment
1102:8th Fighter
1008:Bombardment
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406:Junkers W34
367:Air Niugini
324:Silver Star
252:World War I
171:Identifiers
158:In use
109: /
97:146°59′45″E
85:Coordinates
1640:Categories
1564:Busu River
1533:Voco Point
1387:Fourteenth
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614:. p. 365–.
561:CRC Press
516:References
311:Townsville
94:06°43′59″S
1583:Landmarks
1547:Geography
1528:Tent City
1488:Chinatown
1397:Twentieth
1392:Fifteenth
1197:Squadrons
925:V Fighter
860:Airfields
309:departed
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161:1942–1945
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680:2 March
305:of the
238:History
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1508:Nadzab
1463:9 Mile
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181:: AYLA
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1367:Tenth
1362:Ninth
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939:Wings
906:Units
839:USAAF
753:Notes
628:Group
391:DH-37
150:Built
1538:Yalu
682:2014
633:ISBN
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