STRAUSS AIRFIELD, NT
27 MILE FIELD
DURING WW2
Fighter Guide Map
Strauss Field, 28 miles south of Darwin, was built by the 808th Engineer Aviation Battalion, less Company A and HQ Detachment from 19 March to 27 April 1942. They built 5, 000 ft of runway that was 100 ft wide with 10 to 20 ft shoulders paved with 4 inches of clay bound gravel and a coat of diesel oil. Also built was 2, 000 ft of taxiway 30 ft wide with 10 ft shoulders paved with 3 inches of gravel and 12 dispersals without revetments.
The new airfield nearing completion, 27 miles down the track from Darwin was officially dedicated as Strauss Field in memory of Captain Allison W. Strauss. On 27 April 1942, a USAAF P-40 Kittyhawk piloted by Captain Allison W. Strauss of the 8th Pursuit Squadron ("The Blacksheep") of the 49th Fighter Group crashed in Darwin harbour during a Japanese air raid on the Darwin RAAF airfield. Captain Strauss was killed in the crash.
MILITARY AIRCRAFT CRASHES AT STRAUSS AIRFIELD DURING WW2
| DATE | LOCATION | SERVICE | AIRCRAFT | SERIAL NO. |
| 25 Nov 42 | Strauss airfield | RAAF | P-40 Kittyhawk | A29-51, #41-5738 |
| abt Jan 43 | Strauss airfield | RAAF | F.VC Spitfire | A58-19 (BR241) |
| abt Feb 43 | near Strauss airfield | RAAF | F.VC Spitfire | A58-15 (BR237) |
| abt Feb 43 | Strauss airfield | RAAF | F.VC Spitfire | A58-22 (BR386) |
| abt Feb 43 | Strauss airfield | RAAF | F.VC Spitfire | A58-60 (BR584) |
| 27 Feb 43 | Tabletop Range, near Litchfield Park, en route Wyndham from Strauss | RAAF | F.VC Spitfire | A58-69 (BS175) |
| abt Mar 43 | Strauss | RAAF | F.VC Spitfire | A58-62 (BS163) |
| abt Mar 43 | near Strauss | RAAF | F.VC Spitfire | A58-98 (BS237) |
| 6 Jul 43 | Batchelor area (over Strauss?) | RAAF | F.VC Spitfire | A58-32 (BR497) |
| abt Sep 43 | Strauss | RAAF | F.VC Spitfire | A58-121 (EE677), collided mid air with A58-201 (see below) |
| abt Sep 43 | Strauss | RAAF | F.VC Spitfire | A58-201 (JL314), collided mid air with A58-121 (see above) |
| 7 Sep 43 | 15 miles west of Strauss | RAAF | F.VC Spitfire | A58-227 (LZ884) |
| abt Dec 43 | Strauss | RAAF | F.VC Spitfire | A58-205 (JL378) |
| abt Jan 44 | near Strauss | RAAF | F.VC Spitfire | A58-63 (BS164), mid-air collision with A58-214 (see below) |
| abt Jan 44 | near Strauss | RAAF | F.VC Spitfire | A58-214 (LZ845), mid-air collision with A58-63 (see above) |
| abt Jan 44 | Strauss airfield | RAAF | F.VC Spitfire | A58-111 (EE636) collided on the ground with A58-20 (see below) |
| abt Jan 44 | Strauss airfield | RAAF | F.VC Spitfire | A58-20 (BS295) collided on ground with A58-111 (see above) |
| abt Mar 44 | Strauss | RAAF | F.VC Spitfire | A58-152 (EF557) |
| 15 Mar 44 | 10 miles NNE of Strauss airfield | RAAF | Spitfire | A58-63, collided with A58-214 below |
| 15 Mar 44 | 10 miles NNE of Strauss airfield | RAAF | Spitfire | A58-214, collided with A58-63 below |
| 24 Apr 44 | Darwin area | RAAF | F.VC Spitfire | A58-232 (MA353), missing during test flight from Strauss |
JAPANESE BOMBING RAIDS AT STRAUSS AIRFIELD DURING WW2
| 26 Nov 42 (03.20 a.m.) | Darwin town area, Strauss airfield & Hughes airfield |
| 27 Nov 42 (03:56 - 04:46 am) | Coomalie Creek, Hughes & Strauss airfields |
Can anyone help me with more information on this airfield?
REFERENCE
"Protect & Avenge"
"The 49th Fighter Group in World War II"
By S.W. Ferguson & William K. Pascalis
A Schiffer Military History Book
Can anyone help me with more information?
"Australia @ War" WWII Research Products
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© Peter Dunn OAM 2020 |
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This page first produced 14 July 2000
This page last updated 23 February 2020
