Corunna Downs Airfield

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Coordinates: 21°26′00″S 119°46′58″E / 21.43333°S 119.78278°E / -21.43333; 119.78278
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Corunna Downs Airfield
Japanese shipping and base facilities in the Dutch East Indies
Garrison information
OccupantsAustralia

United States

Airfield information
Runways
Direction Length and surface
NS 5,000 ft × 150 ft (1,524 m × 46 m) Dirt
EW 7,000 ft × 150 ft (2,134 m × 46 m) Dirt
Brockman's Station
LocationSalgash Corunna Downs Road, East Pilbara,
Pilbara region
Nearest cityMarble Bar
Built1942 (1942)
Built forRoyal Australian Air Force
Original useMilitary base
Current usePublic use
Designated26 May 2006 (2006-05-26)
Reference no.3695

Corunna Downs Airfield was a secret

Corunna Downs, 40 km (25 mi) south of Marble Bar in the Pilbara region of Western Australia during World War II.[2][3][4]
In 1942 the RAAF built a secret airbase on Corunna Downs Station, adjacent to the 1891 homestead. The airfield, created especially for B-24 Liberator long-range heavy bombers, comprised two intersecting bitumen runways, a north–south (165°) runway 5,000 ft × 150 ft (1,524 m × 46 m) and an east–west (107°) runway 7,000 ft × 150 ft (2,134 m × 46 m).[2]

No. 73 Operational Base Unit was responsible for operating the airfield during World War II.[5]

The RAAF

Japanese shipping and base facilities in the Dutch East Indies.[2][6]

The base has been abandoned since World War II.[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ Kerr, Colin (21 January 2013). "Bombers hidden in the desert". The West Australian. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  2. ^ a b c "Register of Heritage places – Assessment Documentation". InHerit. Heritage Council of Western Australia. 30 March 2007. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  3. ^ Images of World War Two airbase at Corunna Downs near Marble Bar, 1942, retrieved 8 January 2023
  4. ^ "Base played vital WWII role". Royal Australian Navy News. Vol. 38, no. 17. Australia, Australia. 11 September 1995. p. 13. Retrieved 8 January 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ISBN 978-0-9586209-1-8
  6. ^ 380th Bombardment Group U. S. A. A. F, retrieved 8 January 2023
  7. ^ "Airfield Opens". The Daily News. Vol. LXX, no. 24, 190. Western Australia. 24 October 1952. p. 8 (FINAL). Retrieved 8 January 2023 – via National Library of Australia.

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