Batchelor Airfield, (ICAO: YBCR) is an airport located south of Batchelor, Northern Territory, Australia. The airport currently has no commercial air services; however, it is utilised by the Northern Australian Gliding Club and the Alice Springs Aero Club as a flight training base.
Batchelor Airfield
Northern Territory, Australia
2 Squadron RAAF Hudson and personnel Batchelor N.T. Oct 1942
U.S. Army General MacArthurarrived at Batchelor from Corregidor Island via Mindanao on 17 March 1942 aboard a USAAF B-17 Flying Fortress, before making his way to Melbourne. During December 1941, the 19th Bombardment Group began reconnaissance and bombardment operations against Japanese shipping and landing parties. By the end of the year, ground personnel joined infantry units defending the Philippines, while the air echelon moved to Batchelor to transport supplies from there to the Philippines and to evacuate personnel. From Batchelor, the unit moved to Java to take part in the defense of the Dutch East Indies, then was reassigned to Brisbane to regroup, resupply and rearm. The 27th Bombardment Group saw action from Batchelor over New Guinea, flying thirteen A-24s to Port Moresby. However, the group suffered heavy losses while in New Guinea. They were withdrawn after it was realised that they were not suited for their intended role without adequate fighter protection and they were desperately in need of adequate workshop facilities and spares backup. The aircraft of the unit was subsequently reassigned to other squadrons and the personnel returned to the United States.
The Americans created their own "tent town" at Batchelor, and tried to make life as comfortable as possible. To keep up with the war a newspaper was mimeographed. There was a hanging bedsheet and projector movie theatre, an agreeable swimming hole in the nearby Adelaide River, and a squadron store which sold any number of interesting items, acquired through questionable means or otherwise. The young American men often ventured into the bush which surrounded their field bivouacs to wonder at the three-metre high, solid mud termite mounds that towered above the scrub floor. Some caught the odd marsupial or exotic bird for pets, but learned early that the small grey bandicoots and kangaroos were impossible to domesticate. The newcomers were warned to be cautious of the venomous snakes in the area. The aboriginals were considered mysterious, although friendly.
Many Americans traded food items for native souvenirs and learned the curious pidgin English that flavoured the aboriginal dialect. They also swapped cigarettes for fresh fruit and wild yams to improve their lacklustre diet, but few Americans could tolerate the flesh of the lizards, snakes, fish and flying foxbats that their native hosts considered delicacies. Some learned of the shotguns supplied to their armament section and requisitioned these for bird hunting to enhance their meals. VIPs were sometimes surprised by a full course roast duck banquet, made possible by various marksmen. Life was not always completely mysterious to the newcomer Americans. The contesting Aussies shared a genuine camaraderie with their common love of sport. American baseball diamonds were scraped in the sand at every unit location and the Aussie sportsmen even went so far as to contest them at their own game.
Most operational units in early 1945 had moved further north whereby administrative units occupied the field until January 1946 when the military use of the airfield ended. Today there are some hangars used by the flying club, and some aircraft parking aprons. The main NW-SE runway is in good repair, and what appears to be a remnant of a parallel taxiway is visible in aerial photographs. The original E-W runway is gone although traces of it can be seen on aerial photos. Some wartime taxiways and hardstands remain to the south, along with the remnants of Gould airstrip, all of which are in a poor state of repair. The roads of the wartime containment area exist, now being the streets of the town, although none of the wartime buildings, or facilities have survived.
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
Bibliographyedit
Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN0-89201-092-4.
Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II(PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN0-405-12194-6. LCCN 70605402. OCLC 72556.
External linksedit
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This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article includes a list of references related reading or external links but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations Please help improve this article by introducing more precise citations October 2013 Learn how and when to remove this message This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Batchelor Airfield news newspapers books scholar JSTOR October 2013 Learn how and when to remove this message Learn how and when to remove this message Batchelor Airfield ICAO YBCR is an airport located south of Batchelor Northern Territory Australia The airport currently has no commercial air services however it is utilised by the Northern Australian Gliding Club and the Alice Springs Aero Club as a flight training base Batchelor AirfieldNorthern Territory Australia2 Squadron RAAF Hudson and personnel Batchelor N T Oct 1942Batchelor AirfieldCoordinates13 03 21 S 131 1 41 E 13 05583 S 131 02806 E 13 05583 131 02806TypeMilitary Airfield and Civil AirfieldSite historyIn use1942 1945 Military 1946 Present Civil Contents 1 History 2 Units based at Batchelor 3 See also 4 References 4 1 Bibliography 5 External linksHistory editBuilt during World War II the airfield accommodated many Royal Australian Air Force RAAF United States Army Air Forces and Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force units flying bombing and escort missions against Japanese positions in the Dutch East Indies and the South West Pacific U S Army General MacArthur arrived at Batchelor from Corregidor Island via Mindanao on 17 March 1942 aboard a USAAF B 17 Flying Fortress before making his way to Melbourne During December 1941 the 19th Bombardment Group began reconnaissance and bombardment operations against Japanese shipping and landing parties By the end of the year ground personnel joined infantry units defending the Philippines while the air echelon moved to Batchelor to transport supplies from there to the Philippines and to evacuate personnel From Batchelor the unit moved to Java to take part in the defense of the Dutch East Indies then was reassigned to Brisbane to regroup resupply and rearm The 27th Bombardment Group saw action from Batchelor over New Guinea flying thirteen A 24s to Port Moresby However the group suffered heavy losses while in New Guinea They were withdrawn after it was realised that they were not suited for their intended role without adequate fighter protection and they were desperately in need of adequate workshop facilities and spares backup The aircraft of the unit was subsequently reassigned to other squadrons and the personnel returned to the United States The Americans created their own tent town at Batchelor and tried to make life as comfortable as possible To keep up with the war a newspaper was mimeographed There was a hanging bedsheet and projector movie theatre an agreeable swimming hole in the nearby Adelaide River and a squadron store which sold any number of interesting items acquired through questionable means or otherwise The young American men often ventured into the bush which surrounded their field bivouacs to wonder at the three metre high solid mud termite mounds that towered above the scrub floor Some caught the odd marsupial or exotic bird for pets but learned early that the small grey bandicoots and kangaroos were impossible to domesticate The newcomers were warned to be cautious of the venomous snakes in the area The aboriginals were considered mysterious although friendly Many Americans traded food items for native souvenirs and learned the curious pidgin English that flavoured the aboriginal dialect They also swapped cigarettes for fresh fruit and wild yams to improve their lacklustre diet but few Americans could tolerate the flesh of the lizards snakes fish and flying foxbats that their native hosts considered delicacies Some learned of the shotguns supplied to their armament section and requisitioned these for bird hunting to enhance their meals VIPs were sometimes surprised by a full course roast duck banquet made possible by various marksmen Life was not always completely mysterious to the newcomer Americans The contesting Aussies shared a genuine camaraderie with their common love of sport American baseball diamonds were scraped in the sand at every unit location and the Aussie sportsmen even went so far as to contest them at their own game Most operational units in early 1945 had moved further north whereby administrative units occupied the field until January 1946 when the military use of the airfield ended Today there are some hangars used by the flying club and some aircraft parking aprons The main NW SE runway is in good repair and what appears to be a remnant of a parallel taxiway is visible in aerial photographs The original E W runway is gone although traces of it can be seen on aerial photos Some wartime taxiways and hardstands remain to the south along with the remnants of Gould airstrip all of which are in a poor state of repair The roads of the wartime containment area exist now being the streets of the town although none of the wartime buildings or facilities have survived Units based at Batchelor editNo 12 Squadron RAAF No 34 Squadron RAAF No 18 Netherlands East Indies Squadron RAAF United States Army Air Forces Fifth Air Force 19th Bombardment Group 24 30 December 1941 B 17 Flying Fortress B 24 Liberator 27th Bombardment Group Light March 4 May 1942 A 24 Dauntless 7th Fighter Squadron 49th Fighter Group 9 April 19 September 1942 P 38 LightningDispersed from group headquarters at RAAF Base Darwin dd 78th Bombardment Squadron 38th Bombardment Group 30 April 12 August 1942 B 25 MitchellDispersed from group headquarters at Eagle Farm Airport Qld dd dd See also editUnited States Army Air Forces in Australia World War II List of airports in the Northern TerritoryReferences edit nbsp This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency Bibliography edit OzatWar website Gliding Federation of Australia NT Sites RAAF Museum website Maurer Maurer 1983 Air Force Combat Units of World War II Maxwell AFB Alabama Office of Air Force History ISBN 0 89201 092 4 Maurer Maurer ed 1982 1969 Combat Squadrons of the Air Force World War II PDF reprint ed Washington DC Office of Air Force History ISBN 0 405 12194 6 LCCN 70605402 OCLC 72556 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Batchelor Airfield Photos of aircraft at Batchelor Airfield Portals nbsp Royal Australian Air Force nbsp Aviation Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Batchelor Airfield amp oldid 1210654317, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
