Schwimmer Airfield

Schwimmer Airfield 14-Mile Drome
Part of Fifth Air Force
Located near Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea Schwimmer Airfield Schwimmer Airfield (Papua New Guinea)
Coordinates	09°22′25.56″S 147°13′56.82″E / 9.3737667°S 147.2324500°E / -9.3737667; 147.2324500
Type	Military airfield
Site information
Controlled by	United States Army Air Forces
Site history
Built	1944
In use	1944

Schwimmer Airfield (also known as 14-Mile Drome) is a former World War II airfield near Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. It was part of a multiple-airfield complex in the Port Moresby area, located north of the Laloki River.

The airfield was known as 14 mile for its distance from Port Moresby, and also known as 'Laloki' or 'Lakoki Drome' for the river to the northwest of the airstrip. It was officially renamed "Schwimmer Airfield" on November 10, 1942, in honor of Charles Schwimmer, lost in P-39D 41-6956 intercepting Japanese aircraft over Port Moresby.

History

Schwimmer Airfield was built by the US Army in early 1942 with a single runway 5,300 feet (1,600 m) long and 100 feet (30 m) wide. Around October 1942 it was re-surfaced with Marston Matting. No revetments were built but the taxiway and parking areas were dispersed to the north of the runway in a semicircle. The crews lived in pyramid tents .5 miles (0.80 km) from the strip in scrub trees.

Many units were rotated in and out of the airfield during its use. Major units assigned were:

• 13th Bombardment Squadron (3d Bombardment Group), B-25 Mitchells
• 9th Fighter Squadron (49th Fighter Group), P-40 Warhawk
• 39th Fighter Squadron (35th Fighter Group). P-39 Airacobras; P-38 Lightnings

The airfield was closed after the war and today there is little evidence remaining of the facility. Houses have been built along much of the former runway area. The rest is overgrown and abandoned. Some wartime debris litter the area. Bomb storage bays are visible from the road.

See also

• USAAF in the Southwest Pacific
• Port Moresby Airfield Complex

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.

• 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

External links

USAAF Fifth Air Force in World War II
Previously: Philippine Department Air Force (1941); Far East Air Force (1941-1942)
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