Lae Airfield

Lae Airfield is a former World War II airfield and later, civilian airport located at Lae, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea. The airport was closed in the 1980s, in favour of Lae Nadzab Airport, which was able to accommodate larger jet aircraft. The airport was known as Lae Drome or Lae Aerodrome

History

The airport was built in 1927 and was an operating airport until 1977. The airport construction resulted in Lae becoming a major city in Papua New Guinea.

Post WW1

In 1921 when the military administration ended after World War I, a gold prospector named Cecil John Levien was appointed District Officer of Morobe. On 1 January 1923 Levien acquired a mining right for the area and shortly after formed a syndicate called Guinea Gold (No Liability).

In November 1927 the Guinea Gold syndicate became Guinea Airways Limited and Levien arranged for the construction of the airstrip to assist the gold mine productions around Wau.

WW2

In February 1942 the airfield was occupied by the Japanese and was developed into a forward airbase. As part of the Lae defences, the Japanese created many tunnels around the airport. During Japanese occupation they also upgraded the nearby Malahang runway to be used as a satellite of Lae Airfield.

Lae

Lae(/ˈlæɪ/) is the capital of Morobe Province and is the second-largest city in Papua New Guinea. It is located near the delta of the Markham River and at the start of the Highlands Highway, which is the main land transport corridor between the Highlands region and the coast. Lae is the largest cargo port of the country and is the industrial hub of Papua New Guinea. The city is known as the Garden City and home of the University of Technology.

History

Lucas (1972) describes the history of Lae into four periods; the mission phase (1886–1920), the gold phase (1926 until World War II), the timber and agricultural phase (until 1965) and the industrial boom (from 1965 with the opening of the Highlands Highway

Between 1884 and 1918 the German New Guinea Company established trading posts in Kaiser Wilhelmsland, German New Guinea and on 12 July 1886, a German missionary, Johann Flierl, a pioneer missionary for the Southern Australian Lutheran Synod and the Neuendettelsau Mission Society, sailed to Simbang in Finschhafen, Kaiser-Wilhelmsland and arrived at Lae shortly after.

Lae Atoll

Lae Atoll (Marshallese: Lae, [lʲæ͡ɑɑ̯ɛ̯ɛɛ̯]) is a coral atoll of 20 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ralik Chain of the Marshall Islands. Its total land area is only 1.5 square kilometres (0.58 sq mi), but it encloses a lagoon with an area of 17.7 square kilometres (6.8 sq mi). It is located approximately 47 kilometres (29 mi) east of Ujae Atoll. The population of Lae Atoll was 319 in 1998.

History

Lae Atoll was claimed by the Empire of Germany along with the rest of the Marshall Islands in 1884, and the Germans established a trading outpost. After World War I, the island came under the South Pacific Mandate of the Empire of Japan. Following the end of World War II, Lae came under the control of the United States as part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. It has been part of the independent Republic of the Marshall Islands since 1986.

References

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LAE

LAE may refer to:

See also