World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseJapanese took control of large parts of the Australian Territory of New Guinea, ie. the northeastern quarter of New Guinea island, in 1942. Between Apr and Jul 1943, Allied Geographical Section of South West Pacific Area conducted reconnaissance missions over the region. While the missions' primary concern was to assist in the planning of an invasion of New Guinea, the report did also note that the terrain near the village of Nadzab was suitable for the construction of a large airfield complex. On 5 Sep 1943, a combined airbourne and over land operation took place at Nadzab, and construction began within hours. By early 1944 it would house the headquarters of US Fifth Air Force, US 5th Bomber Command, and US 5th Fighter Command. Bombers, fighters, and various other types of combat and support aircraft busied over the two roughly east-to-west runways. By the fall of 1944, combat had moved away from Nadzab, but it remained vital nevertheless, now in the form of a large training and aircraft repair and salvage facility. After the war in 1945, Nadzab Airfield was turned over to the local administration; it would remain a military airfield. In 1962, it was lengthened to allow the operation of Mirage fighters (which ultimately would never be assigned to Nadzab). Papua New Guinea was granted self government in 1972, and thus took over the facilities at Nadzab. A joint modernization project between Papua New Guinea and Australia developed Nadzab into a civilian airport serving the city of Lae 42 kilomters (26 miles) to the east. The Lae Nadzab Airport remained in operation in this capacity through the time of this writing in 2017.

Nadzab Airfield Interactive Map

Photographs

Nadzab Airfield Timeline