- Fenton Airfield
Fenton Airfield was an airfield at
Tipperary Station ,Hayes Creek, Northern Territory ,Australia duringWorld War II .The airfield was built by C Company and HQ Detachment of the
808th Engineer Aviation Battalion between27 April 1942 till16 July 1942. The airfield was named afterFlight Lieutenant Clyde Fenton . The single runway was 6,000ft (1,828.8m) long and 100ft (30.48m) wide.Mainly utilised by Liberator bombers mounting long range raids against Japanese forces in the
Netherlands East Indies North Western Area of Operations and theSouth West Pacific Area .Further development of the airfield was undertaken by
No. 1 Airfield Construction Squadron RAAF ,No 14 Airfield Construction Squadron RAAF andNew South Wales Department of Main Roads under theAllied Works Council . The runway was enlarged to approximately 7,218ft (2,200m) long and 164ft (50m) wide and about sixty aircraft dispersal bays, some with earthen revetments.In late 1945, the airfield was abandoned. The remnants of the control tower remain and items of aircraft wreckage can be found in the area.
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)
*43rd Materiel Squadron ,Fifth Air Force ,United States Army Air Force
*64th Bombardment Squadron of43rd Bomb Group , Fifth Air Force, United States Army Air Force(B-17)
*82nd Wing RAAF (No.'s 21, 23 & 24 Squadrons RAAF)
*319th Bombardment Squadron of90th Bomb Group , Fifth Air Force, United States Army Air Force (B-24)
*528th Bombardment Squadron of380th Bomb Group , Fifth Air Force, United States Army Air Force (B-24)
*529th Bombardment Squadron of380th Bomb Group , Fifth Air Force, United States Army Air Force (B-24)
*530th Bombardment Squadron of380th Bomb Group , Fifth Air Force, United States Army Air Force (B-24)
*531st Bombardment Squadron of380th Bomb Group , Fifth Air Force, United States Army Air Force (B-24)
*808th Engineer Aviation Battalion ,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
* [http://www.pacificwrecks.com/provinces/australia_darwin.html#fenton Pacific War Wrecks Database]
* [http://www.ozatwar.com/airfields/fenton.htm OzatWarWebsite]
* [http://www.nt.gov.au/nreta/heritage/ntregister/declared/display.html?fenton Northern Territory Heritage Listing]
* [http://hk.travelnt.com/search/product-detail.aspx?product_id=9000460&category=ATTRACTION Northern Territory Attractions]Australia-mil-stub
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