 Lat
19° 15' 0S Long 146° 48' 0E
History
Staging point for many of the American troops
in Australia as they departed for the battlefields north in New
Guinea. In late July 1942, three nuisance raids were made against
Townsville
which was by then the most important air base in Northern Australia.
Japanese Air Raids on Townsville
July 25 - 29, 1942
American Troops In Townsville
Known to the Americans as Base Section 2, it was developed into a
major base. 1,500
American personelle arrived in January 1942, and 5,000 were there by March.
In addition to the RAAF, Australian Army and RAN and more US troops, the
Townsville area had 90,000 in uniform by the middle of 1943. After
that date, the numbers
of troops slowly decreased, as the war moved further to the north. Overall,
the residents of Townsville were very welcoming to the Americans
and troops. Subject to several nucance night air raids by long
range Japanese flying boats, this part of North Queensland was
directly impacted by the war.
 US Army 12th Station Hospital & Mortuary / Base
Section Two
Champman Street on Mysterton Estate
Clarence Le Mieux recalls:
"I was getting the shakes from Malaria,
taking aspirin did not work, so I had to go to the hospital at
Townsville, it was a row of houses downtown, built on stilts. The put beds down
there under the houses too. Anybody that got hurt would go there.
We took a truck from the airfield used to load bombs down there. When
we got there, there were three crew men from a mission wounded
there that they were waiting to treat, so they had no place for us. They
said, the best thing we can do for you is go over to that other
house and lay there until a bed opens up. In those days, the Army was segregated,
and the other house was for the Black Soldiers. We did not mind
going there as it was the only place for us. The black guys there were real
nice, they would go down to Peter's Ice Cream and get ice cream
for us. They gave us quinine to take to have us get better from the malaria.
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Black
GI's in Townsville
96th Battalion Corpss of Engineers (Colored)
91st Engineer Service regiment April 11, 1942 to Woodstock
577th Ordnance Ammunition Company July 4 - October 5, 1943 to Brisbane
623rd Ordnance Ammunition Company - Sept/Oct 1943
630th Ordnance Company - ? - July 1943
636th Ordnance Company - July 1943 - ? |
| Garbutt
Airfield (RAAF Townsville) |
Construction
Built prior to the war and owned by the Townsville
city council.
 Wartime History
During the war, it was developed into a major base for both the USAAF and RAAF. At the hight of its
use, it was one of the buiest airfields in all of Queensland.
5th AF missions flown from Garbutt were given the abreviation "TOW" for
Townsville.
Units Based at Garbutt
Many units from both the RAAF and USAAF were based or transisted
thru the strip.
USAAF Units
7th BG, 88th RS [436th BS] (B-17) [USN control] from Fiji Feb 20, 1942 - ?
8th FG, 35th FS (P-39) July 27, 1942 - September 18, 1942
8 FG ... 36 FS ... 04.04.42 - 26.04.42 & 30.06.42 - 18.09.42
35th FG, 39th FS (P-38) July 26, 1942 - October 18, 1942 to 14 Mile
38th BG, 405th BS (B-25) ? - October 25, 1942 to Port Moresby
35 FG, 40 FS (P-39) April 1942 - June 2, 1942 and again July 30 - Nove 25, 1942
19th BG, 435th BS (B-17) "Kangaroo Squadron" Feb 1942 - Nov 15, 1942 to USA
374 TCG, 6 TCS (C-47) October 2, 1943 - August 26, 1944
374 TCG, 22 TCS (C-47) Oct 11, 42 - January 24, 43 also Oct 4, 43 - Aug 29, 44
374 TCG, 33 TCS (C-47) Oct 5, 43 - April 44
317 TCG, 39 TCS (C-47) Jan 22, 42 - Feb 22, 42
317 TCG, 40 TCS (C-47) Jan 23, 43 - Oct 4, 43
317 TCG, 41 TCS (C-47) Jan 23, 43 - May 10, 43
317 TCG, 46 TCS (C-47) Jan 23, 43 - Oct 1, 43
6 PRG, 8 PRS (F4 [A Flight] May 8, 42 - August 42
RAAF Units
5 Comm Flt - November 30, 1942 - May 25, 1946
22 Squadron - September 22, 1942 - October 19, 1942
24 SQN ... 14.10.40 - 01.12.41 & 26.02.42 - 30.07.42
35 SQN ... 31.03.45 - 10.06.46
36 SQN ... 20.02.44 - 19.08.46
40 SQN ... 31.03.44 - 22.07.44
41 SQN ... 21.08.42 - 15.05.44
75 SQN ... 04.03.42 - 21.03.42 & 11.05.42 - 17.05.42
77 SQN ... 26.01.43 - 13.02.43
82 SQN ... 30.04.44 - 25.09.44
2 AAU (Air Ambulance Unit) ... 03.04.43 - 10.01.44
23 OBU (Operational Base Unit) ... 03.07.42 - 15.12.44
33 OBU ... 28.04.43 - 06.06.46
44 OBU ... 23.12.42 - 04.03.43
13 Aircraft Repair Depot (Det) ... 11.43 - 12.43
5 RSU (Repair & Salvage Unit) ... 26.05.44 - 11.03.45
12 Mobile Fighter Sector HQ ... 11.03.42 - 24.03.43
43 Radar Stn ... 24.08.42 - 08.10.42
Today
Post war, it was taken over by the Australian Defense Department
as 'RAAF Townsville'. It is still in use as a civilian airport and RAAF base.
4th Air Depot
This was a large repair and overhaul area of the base, where combat configurations of strafers were completed or other major repairs.
Keith Hopper adds:
"The former
4 ADG depot complex has been built over in the last 24 months, and the accomodation area at the base of Mount Louisa has been covered by houses within
the last five years."
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| Mount
St. John Aerodrome |
Location
Located in the suburbs north of Townsville.
Early in the war, was home to USAAF
P-39 interceptors that did anti-submarine patrols.
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| Ross River |
 Location
Located on the outskirts of Townsville, 15 minutes from town. Mount Stuart was visible from the strip. Photo via Peter Dunn.
Units Based at Ross River
8th FG, 36th FS (P-39) August 2 - September 14, 1942 to Milne Bay
Today
Never used as an airfield after the war. As Townsville expanded, it is now part of the town and developed with houses.
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| Stock Route |
 Location
Located on the outskirts of Townsville. Named Stock Route as it was the area cattle were mustered.
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Black River
USN Hospital near Townsville
Cleveland Bay
Bay located to the south-east of Townsville.
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