Nadzab is located on the Erap River, 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) North of the Markham River. The settlements of Gabmatsung/Gabmatzung and Gabsonkek are located on the East side of the airport.[2]
History
In about 1910 the Gabmatsung/Gabmazung Lutheranmission station was established at Nadzab.[3] and established an airfield for use by small planes until the outbreak of the Pacific War when it became overgrown with dense kunai grass.[4]
Panoramic photo of Nadzab airport in Lae, Papua New Guinea
Nazdab is located twenty-seven miles NW of Lae by road 900 yds by an indefinite width. Covered with kunai grass. Good dispersal area. Emergency landing ground for heavy freight planes. Extension to 2000 yds thought possible.[5]''
Two parallel runways were built, running roughly east to west. Number 1 Strip was located to the north. Parallel and to the south was Number 2 Strip, closest to the Markham River. Towards the end of the war, the 21st Air Depot Unit at Nadzab began to manage a storage and reclamation area for excess Allied aircraft and salvage area for repairs. The CRTC (Combat Replacement Training Center) flew out of the base into 1945 until it was turned over to the New Guinea government.
Post War
In 1962, the main strip at Nadzab was resealed by the Australian Commonwealth Department of Works and lengthened to make it suitable for Mirage fighters, even though they never materialised. However, it was always maintained by the Australian Department of Civil Aviation as an alternative to Lae in poor weather conditions.[4]
Today, the former 'East Base' or No. 1 & No. 2 runways are still in use by Air Niugini and for civil aviation, mainly servicing Lae which is 45 kilometres (28 mi) away. Roads in the area were built by American forces.[6][7][8]
Nadzab airport was redeveloped by Australia in the early to mid 1970s as part of an independence gift from Australia to PNG which became independent in September 1975. The Australian Department of Housing & Construction, and Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) undertook the work. Specialised airport lighting was installed by DCA engineers Byron Sullivan and Frank Martinelli.
The airport in Lae was operating at the same time as Nadzab but business was significantly lost when the new airport complex became fully operational in 1977. Fierce political squabbling over the pros and cons of Lae and Nadzab continued until 1982, when, in an unsolved mystery, the Lae airport terminal was burned down.[9]
Lae airfield continued to be used by Air Niugini and other third-level airlines until 1987. It was also used as the base for the Papua New Guinea Defence Force until it was transferred to Port Moresby in 1992.[9]
It was symbolically renamed in 2023 after Japanese investment and redevelopment.[1]
^SB 55-10 Markham (5.4 MB). "Series T504, U.S. Army Map Service". Home > Finding Information > PCL Map Collection > New Guinea AMS Topographic Maps. University of Texas at Austin. Retrieved 4 March 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ ab"Nadzab airborne operation". Official Website of the 503d Parachute RCT Association of WWII. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
^Allied Geographical Section-Southwest Pacific Area-Terrain Handbook 4 (No.738). Lae and the Lower Markham Valley28 July "Archived copy"(PDF). Archived from the original(PDF) on 2014-02-03. Retrieved 2014-01-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) accessed 30 January 2014
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