May 1942

1942




1943


Justin Taylan 2004

Location
Located north of the Laloki River. Known as 14 mile for its distance from Port Moresby, and also known as 'Laloki' or 'Lakoki Drome' for the river to the northwest of the airstrip.

Construction
Built by the US Army in early 1942, this single runway was 5,300' x 100'. Later, around October 1942 it was surfaced with marston matting, by a black construction battalion. No revetments were built at the airfield, but taxiway and parking areas dispersed to the north of the runway in a semi-circle. Living quarters were pyramid tents a half mile from the strip in scrub trees.

Naming
Officially renamed 'Schwimmer Drome' on November 10, 1942, in honor of Charles Schwimmer, lost in P-39D 41-6956 intercepting Japanese aircraft over Port Moresby.

Missions Against 14 Mile
February 23, 1943 - 2am raid on the base by Japanese bomber, drops 10 bombs from the runway to 9th Fighter camp.

5th Air Force Units Based at Schwimmer
3rd BG, 13th BS (B-25s)
49th FG, 9th FS (P-40) Darwin 10-10-42 - 3-6-43 to Dobodura
35th FG, 39th FS (P-39, P-38) Townsville 10-18-42 - 12-15-43 Nadzab
6th PRG, 8th PRS (F-4s) Townsville Sept 9, 42 - ? to Dobodura

Today
Disused since the war, there is little trace of the original strip, settlers have built houses along much of the former runway area. The rest is overgrown and abandoned. Some wartime debris litter the area. Weapons bays are visible from the road for bomb storage prior to loading.

Henry Mayer explored the area and adds:
"I found a dozen Australian military force buttons and noticed a few horse shoes, mouth bits, harness buckles lying around. This is where i found the Australian yoke & bull whip badge in collection.   I then took a walk up the south part of mount lawes and noticed two fox holes at different elevations quarter of the way up along with 303 shell casings. I took this shot of schwimmer drome area from a outcropping of lawes which shows the road on the left flanking the Laloki river (dark green tree belt) and the laloki mental hospital on the right alongside the main road. The runway would have been where the patches of houses are in the middle while the line along the bottom is a old road which has ordnance bays flanking it on the lawes side. You can see twin peaks at the right and Jacksons a/port in the distant background. I also found what seems to be a few human bones stashed under a rock formation at this point, probably an old Koiari burial ground going by the broken pottery along the way."

B-17E "R.F.D. Tojo" Serial Number 41-2627
Crashed on December 26, 1943 wreckage remained until 1970s

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