Port Moresby Airfield Complex

Port Moresby Airfield Complex
Port Moresby, New Guinea
Jackson Airfield (7 Mile Drome). Primary airfield in the Port Moresby Airfield Complex, 1943
Port Moresby Airfield Complex Location of Port Moresby Airfield Complex (Jackson Field)
Coordinates	09°26′36″S 147°13′12″E / 9.44333°S 147.22000°E / -9.44333; 147.22000
Site history
Built	1942
In use	1942-1945
Battles/wars	Battle of New Guinea
Garrison information
Garrison	USAAF Fifth Air Force Royal Australian Air Force

The Port Moresby Airfield Complex was a World War II military airfield complex, built near Port Moresby, Papua and New Guinea. It was used during the Battle of New Guinea as a base of Allied air operations primarily in 1942 and early 1943. It later became a support base as the battle moved to the north and western part of New Guinea. It was closed and the facility turned over to civil authorities after the end of the war in September 1945.

This complex of airfields is historically significant as it was from these airfields, the Royal Australian Air Force and the United States Army Air Forces supported Allied ground forces in the Battle of New Guinea. It represented the changing fortune of war in the Pacific and the end of the Japanese expansion in the Southwestern Pacific during World War II.

The pre-World War II Port Moresby Airport became one of the primary airfields (Jackson Airfield) used by the Allied forces during the New Guinea campaign (1942–1945), and was part of a multiple-airfield complex in the Port Moresby area.

When American forces arrived in April 1942, the airfield was further developed and expanded. Revetments were constructed to protect parked aircraft and defenses. With the end of the war, the USAAF withdrew from the complex in 1945, however it was used as a major disposal point for excess Allied aircraft, and for years disposed B-17s, P-47s, B-25s, P-38s, A-20Gs and even a few P-40s could be found in various states of decay in the area. Some were refurbished and inducted into museums around the world

Located: 1.8 miles South of Port Moresby 09°29′24.92″S 147°11′31.19″E / 9.4902556°S 147.1919972°E / -9.4902556; 147.1919972 (New Guinea - Kila Airfield (3 Mile Drome))