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Fenton Airfield

World War II airfield

Field	Value
image	82 Wing RAAF B-24s Fenton.jpg
image_size	300px
caption	Australian B-24 Liberators at Fenton in March 1945
name	Fenton Airfield
location	Douglas-Daly, Northern Territory, Australia
{{Location map	Northern Territory	label	Fenton Airfield
marksize	6	mark=Red_pog.svg
lat_dir	S	lat_deg=13	lat_min=37	lat_sec=23
lon_dir	E	lon_deg=131	lon_min=20	lon_sec=19	position=left
width	300}}
coordinates
type	Military airfield
used	1942-1945

Fenton Airfield was a World War II military airfield in the Northern Territory of Australia located at Tipperary Station in what is now the locality of Douglas-Daly and named after Flight Lieutenant Clyde Fenton.

Abandoned since 1945, the site is one of three surviving World War II-era heavy bomber airfields in the Katherine–Darwin region. The airfield is open to the public, and the main runway, taxiways and hardstands are accessible. Remnants of the control tower remain and aircraft wreckage can be found in the area.

History

The airfield was built by C Company and HQ Detachment of the 808th Engineer Aviation Battalion between 27 April 1942 and 16 July 1942. The single runway was 6000 x. Further development of the airfield was undertaken by No. 1 Airfield Construction Squadron RAAF, No 14 Airfield Construction Squadron RAAF and the Department of Main Roads (New South Wales) under the Allied Works Council. The runway was enlarged to approximately 7218 x, accommodating close to sixty aircraft dispersal bays, some with earthen revetments. It was named after Flight Lieutenant Clyde Fenton, a RAAF officer who recommended the site for the airfield.

Fenton Airfield was mainly used by Liberator bombers mounting long range raids against Japanese forces in the Netherlands East Indies, the northwestern area of operations, and the South West Pacific Area.

During its operational use, Fenton Airfield served as headquarters for Royal Australian Air Force squadrons and United States Army and Air Force units. Reconnaissance flights beginning at Fenton Airfield were flown over Timor Island, New Guinea and Celebes Islands, and attacks and armed reconnaissance missions were carried out against Japanese airfields, ground installations and shipping. On 29 February 1944 the USAAF 380th Bombardment Group flew a 16-hour mission from Fenton to Borneo, flying over 2500 NM.

The airfield was abandoned at the end of World War II. Over the years, it has reverted to the natural terrain from which it was built. The base infrastructure is gone; only concrete, building foundations, piles of rubble and occasional aircraft parts remain. In aerial photographs, the remains of some roads that likely led to dispersed parts of the base, such as the bomb dump and the administrative containment area, are faintly visible, but no structures remain.

Long Airfield was listed on the now-defunct Register of the National Estate on 25 March 1986 and on the Northern Territory Heritage Register on 11 September 1996.

Units based at Fenton Airfield

No. 1 Airfield Construction Squadron RAAF
No. 6 Repair and Salvage Unit RAAF
No. 11 Signals Unit RAAF
No. 14 Airfield Construction Squadron RAAF
No. 21 Squadron RAAF (B-24)
No. 23 Squadron RAAF (B-24)
No. 24 Squadron RAAF (B-24)
82nd Wing RAAF (No.'s 21, 23 & 24 Squadrons RAAF)
133 Heavy Anti Aircraft Battery Australian Army
United States Army Air Forces Fifth Air Force : 64th Bombardment Squadron (43d Bombardment Group), B-17 Flying Fortress 2 August-25 September 1942 : 43d Materiel Squadron : 319th Bombardment Squadron (90th Bombardment Group), B-24 Liberator, 5 February-23 June 1943 :: Deployed from: RAAF Base Darwin, NT : 380th Bombardment Group, B-24 Liberator, May 1943-9 August 1944 :: 528th Bombardment Squadron, 28 April 1943 – 20 August 1944 :: 529th Bombardment Squadron ::: Assigned to: Manbulloo Airfield, NT, 28 April-7 November 1943 ::: Assigned to: Long Airfield, NT, 7 November-10 July 1944 ::: Assigned to: RAAF Base Darwin, NT, 10 July–February 1945 :: 530th Bombardment Squadron :: 531st Bombardment Squadron ::: Assigned to: Manbulloo Airfield, NT, 28 April-5 December 1943 ::: Assigned to: Long Airfield, NT, 5 December-21 July 1944 ::: Assigned to: RAAF Base Darwin, NT, 25 July-1 March 1945
808th Engineer Aviation Battalion, United States Army
404th Quartermaster Air Depot Platoon, United States Army

Japanese Bombing Raids on Fenton Airfield

30 June 1943 (12:30pm)
6 July 1943 (12:02pm)
13 August 1943 (9:45pm)
13 August 1943 (11:12 pm)
21 August 1943 (03:07 am)
15 September 1943 (00:25 am)
18 September 1943 (03:50 am)

References

Pacific War Wrecks Database
OzatWarWebsite
Northern Territory Heritage Listing
Northern Territory Attractions
Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. .
US Air Force Historical Research Agency records search

References

"Place Names Register Extract for "Fenton Airfield"". Northern Territory Government.
{{cite AHD. 49. Fenton Airfield, Douglas Hot Springs Rd, Hayes Creek (sic), NT, Australia - listing on the now-defunct Register of the National Estate. (25 March 1986)
(11 September 1996). "WWII Fenton Airfield". Northern Territory Government.

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

former-royal-australian-air-force-bases airfields-of-the-united-states-army-air-forces-in-australia world-war-ii-airfields-in-australia defunct-airports-in-the-northern-territory military-airbases-established-in-1942 1942-establishments-in-australia northern-territory-places-listed-on-the-defunct-register-of-the-national-estate northern-territory-heritage-register military-airbases-closed-in-1945

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