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Location
Lat 2 degrees 34' 30" S, Long 140 degrees 31' 00" E. Located 1.75 miles north-west of Lake Sentani parallel and to the south of Cyclops Drome. Weversdorp village was located to the north-west.
Construction
Single
runway built by the Japanese, to the south of Cyclops
Drome.
Wartime History
Liberated by the 186th Infantry
on April 26, 1944. It was badly cratered by previous
American bomber raids, and completely useless. The barracks
in the
area had also been laregly destroyed by bombing. It appeared
to have not been operational for some time.
American Improvement & Usage
The strip
was improved by the Americans, expanded to 5,000' x 115' with 300' overruns at each end and 50' shoulders, oriented ESE to WNW and surfaced with soil and gravel compacted and sealed. With accomidations and emergency equipment. Also, fuel and oil tanker trucks, weather and major repair facilities. Tower code name "Bolster".
Fully developed, this airfield was a huge airbase
complex basing fighters, and heavy bombers.
American Units Based at Sentani
475th FG, 431st FS (P-38) Nadzab May 15 - July 12, 44 Biak
475th FG, 433nd FS (P-38) Nadzab May 15 - July 14, 44 Biak
475th FG, 432nd FS (P-38) Nadzab May 15 - July 12, 44 Biak
Japanese Aircraft Wrecks
Dozens of wrecks were abandoned at the strip, several were evaluated by US Army TAIU.
Ki-61 Manufacture
Number 966
Captured by US Army on April 24, 1944
Ki-61 Manufacture
Number 985
Captured by US Army on April 24, 1944
Today
By July 1, 1945, this airfield was still operational, and remained in use after the war by the Dutch. Today, the airfield is still in
use and the principal entry point into that half of the
island. It is the only one of the WWII airfields still
in use. Airport code 'DJJ'.
John Voss visited in 1992 recalls:
"As my DC-9 was just about to touch down at Sentani
all of the taxiways and runways of Hollandia airfield
could be readily seen."
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Last Updated
October 1, 2009
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