World War II Airstrip, Manbulloo - NT

  Airstrip

Position

DEG: -14.59886 132.189407
DMS: 14º 35' 55.9" S 132º 11' 21.87" E
UTM: 53 L 8384168mN 197178mE
Altitude: 133.16m

Description

Place Type

Infrastructure - Airstrip

Location

278.54kms SouthEast of Darwin - Driving 332 km (3 hours 29 mins)

Address & Contact

Manbulloo NT 0852
Phone: N/A
Email: N/A
Web: N/A

Information

Manbulloo Airfield is a World War II airfield built at Manbulloo Station, near Katherine, Northern Territory.
Works on the airfield were initially undertaken by the 43rd Engineer Regiment (US Army) in April 1942. The Allied Works Council completed the works and the airfield was operational by 19 May 1942. The runway was 1,981 metres (6,500 ft) long and 30 metres (98 ft) wide.
The B-24 Liberators from the 529th and 530th Bomb Squadrons moved to Manbulloo shortly after arriving from the United States in April 1943, with Headquarters of their parent unit, the 380th Bomb Group being at Fenton Airfield. With the Northern Territory being subjected to the occasional Japanese air raid at the time, it was decided to disperse the operational squadrons over several airfields. From Manbulloo Airfield the squadron attacked Japanese airfields, ground installations, shipping, and industries in the Netherlands East Indies and the Bismarck Archipelago. Other missions included disruption of enemy sea channels; dropping photoflash bombs and propaganda pamphlets. Both squadrons were reassigned to Long Airfield in late 1943.
The airfield was closed in 1944 and apparently abandoned. Today from the air no wartime buildings, taxiways or hardstands are evident, only the remains of the main NW-SE runway exist which is being used as an access road to an irrigated mango plantation, which was planted in 1972, the first commercial mango plantation in NT, it is now owned by Manbulloo Limited who export mangoes around the world. The remains of what appears to be a second runway (NNW-SSE) is faintly visible in aerial photography, along with some roads possibly a part of the airfield are also faintly visible. No evidence of a containment area is visible.
An access road to the airfield is joined to the Victoria Highway, however, the airfield is on private property as part of the million hectare cattle property Manbulloo Station.
PlaceID87468
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TrekNotes Near This Place (1)

Wildflowers

Weather

Closest Weather Station

Tindal at 22/03:30pm CST
Distance from World War II Airstrip, Manbulloo 22.43km E
TemperatureFeels LikeRel. HumidityDew PointPressureRainfallWind DirectionWind SpeedGusts
36.4°C39.1°C44%22.2°C1001.0hPa0.0mmSW11km/hr
6knots
15km/hr
8knots

Closest Climatic Station

Katherine Aviation Museum
Distance from World War II Airstrip, Manbulloo 19.48km NE
 JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Mean Max. °C34.633.934.234.032.130.130.432.335.837.737.435.9
Mean Min. °C24.223.923.120.816.813.813.014.620.123.724.624.5
Mean Rain mm261.9243.7207.345.95.00.41.11.76.833.288.1223.9

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