Schwimmer Airfield

Schwimmer Airfield
14-Mile Drome
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
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: