Buka Airport

Buka Airport
IATA: BUA ICAO: AYBK
Summary
Airport type	Public
Location	Buka, Papua New Guinea
Elevation AMSL	11 ft / 3 m
Coordinates	05°25′20.34″S 154°40′21.60″E
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 04/22 5,125 1,562 Asphalt
Source:World Aero Data [1]

Buka Airport is an airport in Buka, Papua New Guinea (IATA: BUA, ICAO: AYBK). It is located at the southern end of Buka Island, near Buka Passage behind the town of Buka, and pre-war Chinatown.

In 2004, the airport experienced some closures due to land disputes. Residents of Ieta prevented service at the airport, demanding the government pay land fees.[2]

The Airport is the only airport serviced by a regular passenger transport service in the North Solomons Province.

The Airport terminal is about 1.5 kilometres from the Buka Township and the runway runs behind the town.

There is one navigational aid, the Buka NDB situated on nearby Sohano Island.

Airlines and Destinations

• Air Niugini (Port Moresby, Rabaul)

History

The origins of the airfield begin in 1941 when Australian troops built gun pits around a primitive airstrip in December 1941. On 2 January 1942 with the Japanese approaching, they prepared the airfield for demolition, blowing holes in the runway, and logs and pipes to prevent aircraft from landing. The following day, orders came to repair the field for fleeing aircraft from Rabaul to land. However, the airfield was occupied by the Japanese during mid-March 1942.

On 26 July, a Japanese Navy special detachment was sent to inspect Buka Airifeld, but considered it unacceptable as a prospect for a speedily constructed major airfield. None the less, by December 1942 the airfield was further improved by the Japanese with bitumen surfacing, an electrical power plant, underground fuel tanks, and new pillboxes and trenches. From December onwards many hulks were at the strip. Coastwatchers reported nighttime patrol flights during full moon. Also, scouting by a Betty bomber flying down each coast of Bougainville and returning by afternoon as part of regular reconnaissance.

On 13 May 1943 Allied reconnaissance observed 36 fighters and 6 bombers at the airstrip. On 1 October 1943 Allied reconnaissance observed 35 aircraft at Buka, including 19 dive bombers. During 1943, the airfield was attacked repeatedly by Allied bombers, widely cratering the runway, and other areas.

In January 1944, the Allies drove the Japanese out of Burka, and the airfield was used for operations against the Japanese over New Guinea. A detachment of the USAAF 419th Night Fighter Squadron flew P-61 Black Widows from the airfield from 25 Jan-27 May 1944 before moving forward into New Guinea.

Today the airport is the primary air portal into Bouganville, and even 60 years after the war, wreckage from the military use of the airfield by the Japanese and Americans is easily found in the area.

See also

• USAAF in the South Pacific

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from 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.
• Mauer, Mauer (1969), Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II, Air Force Historical Studies Office, Maxwell AFB, Alabama. ISBN 0892010975