Jacquinot Bay Airport (IATA: JAQ, ICAO: AYJB) is an airport near Jacquinot Bay in the East New Britain Province on the island of New Britain in Papua New Guinea. The airstrip was liberated by the Australian Army in 1944, and an airstrip was built by 1945. There is no scheduled airline service.
Jacquinot Bay Airport | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Location | Jacquinot Bay, Papua New Guinea | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 210 ft / 64 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 5°39′09″S 151°30′25″E / 5.65250°S 151.50694°E | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  Jacquinot Location of airport in Papua-New Guinea | |||||||||||
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| Runways | |||||||||||
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History
editWorld War II
editThe Jacquinot Bay area was liberated by the Australian Army on 4 November 1944. The 2/3 Railway Construction Company and the 17th Field Company RAE began construction of an airfield and in February 1945, No. 1 Airfield Construction Squadron expanded the base. The airfield had a single coral 100 by 6,100 feet (30 m × 1,859 m) runway.
Royal Australian Air Force units based here included:
- No. 79 Squadron operating Mark VIII Spitfires
- No. 18 (NEI) Squadron operating North American B-25 Mitchell from February–June 1945[3]
Royal New Zealand Air Force units based here included:
- No. 2 Squadron operating Lockheed Venturas from June–September 1945[4]
- No. 16 Squadron operating F4Us from August–October 1945[4]: 326
- No. 19 Squadron operating F4Us from June–October 1945[4]: 328
- No. 20 Squadron operating F4Us from May–August 1945[4]: 328
- No. 21 Squadron operating F4Us from May–July 1945[4]: 328
Following the Japanese surrender several Japanese aircraft were flown from Vunakanau Airfield to Jacquinot Bay Airfield.
Postwar
editOn 15 November 1945 an RAAF C-47 #13339 crashed into a mountain on a flight from Jacquinot Bay to Rabaul, all 28 passengers and crew were killed.[5]
Facilities
editThe airport has one runway which measures 1,715 metres (5,627 ft) in length.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b Airport information for Jacquinot Bay, Papua-New Guinea (JAQ) at Great Circle Mapper.
- ^ PNG Airstrip Guide. August 2005.
- ^ Dunn, Peter. "Netherlands East Indies Air Force in Australia During World War 2". Oz at War.
- ^ a b c d e Ross, John (1993) [1955]. Royal New Zealand Air Force. Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War 1939–45. Nashville: Battery Press. p. 322. ISBN 0898391873.
- ^ "Douglas C-47A-25-DK". Aviation Safety network. Retrieved 17 June 2013.