Finschhafen Airport

Finschhafen Airport
IATA: FIN ICAO: AYFI LID: FIN
Summary
Airport type	Public
Location	Finschhafen, Papua New Guinea
Elevation AMSL	33 ft / 10 m
Coordinates	06°37′20.25″S 147°51′14.81″E / 6.6222917°S 147.8541139°E / -6.6222917; 147.8541139
Map
Finschhafen Airport
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 03/21 5,200 1,585 Asphalt
Source: World Aero Data [1]

Finschhafen Airport is a general aviation airport in Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea. (IATA: FIN, ICAO: AYFI). It is located on the south-east tip of Huon Peninsula at Finschafen. A half mile inland, parallel to Schneider Harbor, with Dregerhaffen to the south-east. It has no scheduled commercial airline service.^[2]

The airport was built during World War II in late 1943 by the United States Army 807th and 808th Aviation Engineer Battalions along with the 60th Naval Construction Battalion constructed a 6,000' x 100' coral and steel matting single runway running NNW to SSE. The tower was code named 'Harvest'. In mid-November 1943, the Seabees performed rough grading on the northern end of the strip, and crushed coral for the entire area. On 5 January the 808th departed, and the 60th CB completed the airfield, building fighter and medium bomber hardstands, mostly located to the north, with more to the east and a few on the southern side of the runway. Many aircraft shipped from the United States were assembled at Finschhafen and then flown to other airfields for operations.^[3][4]

• 86th Fighter Wing (1 May-1 August 1944)
• 8th Fighter Group (23 December 1943 – 20 February 1944)

Headquarters, 35th, 36th Fighter Squadrons, P-40 Warhawk, P-47 Thunderbolt

• 49th Fighter Group (19 April-17 May 1944)

Headquarters, 7th Fighter Squadron, P-40 Warhawk

• 348th Fighter Group (16 December 1943 – 29 March 1944)

Headquarters, 340th, 341st, 342d Fighter Squadrons, P-47 Thunderbolt

• 317th Troop Carrier Group (April–June 1944)

Headquarters, 319th Troop Carrier Squadron, C-47 Skytrain

• 22d Troop Carrier Squadron, (375th Troop Carrier Group), C-47 Skytrain
• 8th Combat Cargo Squadron, (2d Combat Cargo Group), C-46 Commando
• 418th Night Fighter Squadron, (380th Bombardment Wing), (28 March-12 May 1944)

At the war's end, millions of dollars of equipment both new and used was bulldozed into huge holes in the area and abandoned.^{[citation needed]}

• USAAF in the Southwest Pacific

 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 0-89201-092-4.