Gurney Airport

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Gurney Airport
IATA: GUR – ICAO: AYGN
Summary
Airport type		Public
Location		Alotau, Papua New Guinea
Elevation AMSL		88 ft / 27 m
Coordinates		10°18′41.51″S 150°20′01.52″E / 10.3115306°S 150.3337556°E / -10.3115306; 150.3337556
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	ft	m
09/27	5546	1690	Asphalt
Source: World Aero Data [1]

Gurney Airport is an airport in Alotau, Papua New Guinea (IATA: GUR, ICAO: AYGN). The airport is a single runway general aviation facility, however in December, 2008, the PNG Minister for Transport and Civil Aviation, Don Polye announced that aviation company Skyworld had been granted permission to operate direct flights from Cairns, Australia to Gurney.^[1]

Contents 1 Airlines and destinations 2 History 2.1 Allied Units based at Gurney Field 3 See also 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Airlines and destinations

• Air Niugini (Port Moresby)
• Airlines PNG (Losuia, Misima Island, Port Moresby)

[edit] History

Built by the US Army 96th Engineer General Service Regiment, Company E of 46th Engineer General Service Regiment and No. 6 Mobile Works Squadron RAAF during World War II. Consisting of two parallel runways with the first runway 6,000 feet (1,800 m) long x 150 feet (46 m) wide surfaced with bitumen and the second runway 5,340 feet (1,630 m) long x 100 feet (30 m) wide surfaced with marston matting. Taxiways and revetments extended off both sides of the runways. Known as Fall River Aerodrome and No. 1 Strip. The airfield was named Gurney Field on 14 September 1942 in honour of Royal Australian Air Force Squadron Leader C.R. Gurney, who was killed in an aircraft crash.

[edit] Allied Units based at Gurney Field

• 8th Fighter Group (18 September 1942 – February 1943)

Headquarters, 35th Fighter Squadron, P-40 Warhawk, 80th Fighter Squadron P-38 Lightning, P-39 Airacobra.

• 418th Night Fighter Squadron, (V Fighter Command), (2–22 November 1943), P-61 Black Widow
• 421st Night Fighter Squadron, (V Fighter Command), (4–27 January 1944), P-61 Black Widow
• No. 32 Squadron RAAF - (Lockheed Hudson)
• No. 75 Squadron RAAF (P-40)
• No. 76 Squadron RAAF (P-40)
• No. 100 Squadron RAAF
• No. 10 Repair and Salvage Unit RAAF

[edit] See also

• USAAF in the Southwest Pacific

[edit] References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

• Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0892010924.
• www.pacificwrecks.com

[edit] External links

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