Built by the US Army 2nd Battalion of 43rd Engineer General Service Regiment (less Company E),[1] during the Battle of Milne Bay during World War II with assistance from the 105th Naval Construction Battalion.[2] Originally known as No. 3 Strip, the airfield was renamed Turnbull Field on 14 September 1942 in honour of Royal Australian Air Force Squadron Leader Peter Turnbull, who was killed in an aircraft crash.[3] The single runway was 5,000 feet (1,500 m) long x 100 feet (30 m) wide surfaced with marston matting. Taxiways and revetments extended off both sides of the runway.
The aerodrome was abandoned in February 1944 and has been disused since the end of World War II.
^105th Naval Construction Battalion Cruise book, 1946, p. 57/155, Seabee Archives, Port Hueneme, Ca. [1]
^"PNGAA Library". Pngaa.net. Retrieved 4 September 2015. That strip was named "Turnbull Field", after RAAF Squadron Leader Peter Turnbull who was killed whilst strafing the retreating Japanese, and crashed into one of the ravines near the later site of Alotau.
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