Port Moresby Airfield Complex The Port Moresby Airfield Complex was a World War II military airfield complex , built near Port Moresby , New Guinea . It was used during the Battle of New Guinea as a base of Allied air operations primarily in 1942 and early 1943 . It later became a support base as the battle moved to the north and western part of New Guinea . It was closed and the facility turned over to civil authorities after the end of the war in September 1945 . This complex of airfields is historically significant as it was from these airfields , the Royal Australian Air Force and the United States Army Air Forces supported Allied ground forces in the Battle of New Guinea . It represented the changing fortune of war in the Pacific and the end of the Japanese expansion in the Southwestern Pacific during World War II . History . The pre - World War II Port Moresby Airport became one of the primary airfields ( Jackson Airfield ) used by the Allied forces during the New Guinea campaign ( 1942 – 1945 ) , and was part of a multiple - airfield complex in the Port Moresby area . When American forces arrived in April 1942 , the airfield was further developed and expanded . Revetments were constructed to protect parked aircraft and defenses . With the end of the war , the USAAF withdrew from the complex in 1945 , however it was used as a major disposal point for excess Allied aircraft , and for years disposed B - 17s , P - 47s , B - 25s , P - 38s , A - 20Gs and even a few P - 40s could be found in various states of decay in the area . Some where refurbished and inducted into museums around the world Airfields . Kila Kila Airfield ( 3 Mile Drome ) . Located : 1 . 8 miles South of Port Moresby The airfield was built by the Australians in 1933 , and during the 1930s it was Port Moresby ' s first airport . Taken over by the RAAF in January 1942 , it was expanded for use by military fighters , light bombers and transports . It ' s runway was a gravel bed overlaid with Pierced Steel Planking 5 , 000 ' x 100 ' . Included dispersal pads taxiways and several buildings . USAAF assigned units : By 1944 , the airfield was relegated to a support field and was returned to civil use after the war . Today , Kila Kila Airfield is now part of Port Moresby suburban area . It contains the Kila Police Barracks and a technical school . It ' s wartime past is mostly obliterated by modern development . Jackson Airfield ( 7 Mile Drome ) . Located : 2 . 4 mies Northeast of Port Moresby Named in honor of Squadron Leader John Francis Jackson , D . F . C . 75 Squadron Royal Australian Air Force , aged 34 . Killed in action while flying P - 40E A29 - 8 on 28 April 1942 . Jackson airfield was one of the primary airfields at Port Moresby at the start of the Japanese invasion of the island , and one of their principal targets . It based the first fighters that flew in defense of Port Moresby , RAAF 75 Squadron from March - May 1942 . It was originally a pre - war airstrip with two parallel runways . American B - 17 Flying Fortresses used the airfield en route to Clark Field on 9 September 1941 . During the war , it was further expanded and improved by the Australians and Americans . When American forces arrived in April 1942 , the airfield was further developed . Eventually there were three parallel runways , running roughly north - west to south - east . In the middle was the original runway , a fighter strip 3 , 000 ' x 100 ' surfaced with Pierced Steel Planking ( PSP ) . To the north - east side was a bomber strip 3 , 000 ' x 150 ' surfaced with PSP later expanded to 3 , 750 ' . On the south - west side was a crash strip 7 , 500 ' x 100 ' . Revetment were constructed to protect parked aircraft and defenses . A network of taxiways between Jackson and Wards Airfields made it possible to taxi between the two airfields . Assigned units : Today , the airfield is Papua New Guinea ' s international airport , and the air hub for all Air Niugini flights in and out of the nation . Also , a number of smaller regional airlines and helicopter and aviation services . At the western end of the airport are several large revetments for B - 17 and B - 24 bombers , still in excellent condition . Wards Airfield ( 5 Mile Drome ) . Located : 2 . 5 miles north - northwest of Port Moresby Named in honor of Australian Lt . Col . K . H . Ward , who was involved with its construction and was killed on August 27 , 1942 , during the fighting at Isurava on the Kokoda Trail . Constructed primarily by Australian engineers in 1942 , with American engineers grading and surfacing the runway . Consisted of two parallel 6 , 000 ' x 100 ' runways , with an extensive taxiway and revetment area , taxiway connected to Jackson Airfield ( 7 Mile Drome ) . During 1943 , Wards was the busiest airfield in the entire Southern Hemisphere . It was used by transport and heavy bomber and fighter aircraft . Assigned units : Today , Wards Airfield is now part of Port Moresby suburban area . The main runway of the airfield appears to be used as Kumuni Avenue , in the Waigani area of Port Moresby , where most of the government buildings and embassies are located . The revetments and most of the wartime facilities , however , are now part of history . Located on a hill behind Wards Drome . A large 5th Air Force insignia and USAAF star , drawn into the concrete . Concrete steps , a garden and path that went up the ridge towards the HQ . In the 1980 ' s traces of the paint still remained . Today , both the 5th AF logo and USSAF are partially broken , and the area is overgrown , but it still offers commanding views and an impressive remnant of the American era at Wards Airfield . Berry Airfield ( 12 Mile Drome ) . Located : 6 . 4 miles Northeast of Port Moresby Officially named Berry Airfield in honor of P - 39D 41 - 7165 pilot Major Jack W . Berry on November 10 , 1942 . The airfield was constructed in early 1942 , being completed on 15 May . The airfield had an 8 inch base of crushed rock and pit gravel for a single earth runway approximately 4 , 500 ' by 150 ' . It also had 40 dispersal bays , and 4 alert areas that would accommodate 15 fighter aircraft . Assigned units : Today the former main runway has been converted to a road which goes to Port Moresby . The Bomana Police Training College is located at the site of the former strip , and the Bomana War Cemetery is at the far end of the strip . All in all , the former airfield site is obliterated by the march of time and development in the area . Schwimmer Airfield ( 14 Mile Drome ) . Located : 6 . 9 miles North - northeast of Port Moresby Named in honor of Charles Schwimmer on 10 November 1942 , lost in P - 39D 41 - 6956 intercepting Japanese aircraft over Port Moresby . Built in 1942 and surfaced with PSP . No revetments were built at the airfield , but taxiway and parking areas dispersed to the north of the runway in a semi - circle . Living quarters were pyramid tents a half mile from the strip in scrub trees . Assigned units : The airfield was abandoned after the war , and today no evidence remains that this was a military airfield , being completely obliterated by the passage of time and human redevelopment of the site . Durand Airfield ( 17 Mile Drome ) . Located : 5 . 8 miles North - Northwest of Port Moresby Named in honor of P - 39 pilot Edward D . Durand missing in action on April 30 , 1942 Opened in early 1942 , was as a frontline airfield for fighters and medium bombers during all of 1943 . Consisted of a single main runway , running roughly NW - SE was constructed by the 808th Airborne Engineers , and completed in August 1942 . The runway was separate from the dispersal and camp areas , where revetments were carved into hillsides and taxiways elevated for drainage . Gun pits built of 55 gallon drums for anti - aircraft were built on the surrounding hills , and buildings on concrete slabs , or tents on gravel from the nearby quarry . A single main runway , running roughly NW - SE was constructed by the 808th Airborne Engineers , and completed in August 1942 . The runway was separate from the dispersal and camp areas , where revetments were carved into hillsides and taxiways elevated for drainage . Gun pits built of 55 gallon drums for anti - aircraft were built on the surrounding hills , and buildings on concrete slabs , or tents on gravel from the nearby quarry . Assigned units : Abandoned after the war ended , vegetation has returned to the area once cleared off for an airfield . Presumably elements of the facility remain under the vegetation canopy as an outline of the main runway can be discerned . Rogers Airfield ( 30 Mile Drome ) . Located : 35 . 5 miles northwest of Port Moresby Named in honor of Major Floyd " Buck " W . Rogers ( C . O . of 3rd Bombardment Group , 8th BS Bombardment Squadron ) who was KIA piloting A - 24 41 - 15797 . The airfield was built by the US Army , construction was initiated during the middle of 1942 . On May 4 , 1942 , US Army 43rd Engineering Regiment , Company E moves to this location begin construction . Originally , the single runway was to be surfaced with marston matting , but the matting bound for this airfield was instead retained for use in Port Moresby . Without matting , this airstrip was not capable of handling heavy bombers . The first usage of the competed runway was during the first week of June , 1942 . When built , it was described as a secret airfield . Probably , one of the first landings at the airfield when a damaged P - 39 Airacobra piloted by Paul G . Brown on 17 May 1942 . Later , the Airacobra was repaired and flew back to base . The airfield was used to base fighters from July 1942 until the end of August 1943 . Afterwards , the airfield continued to be used as a crash strip . Assigned units : The airfield was apparently used as a private airport until the 1970s , then abandoned . Today , the outline of the main runway can be seen in aerial imagery ; the entire area has returned to a natural vegetation cover , being overgrown with kunai grass . Fishermans Airfield . Located : 10 . 2 miles West - Southwest of Port Moresby Built by the RAAF c . 1944 as an emergency airfield on Daugo Island . Abandoned since the end of World War II , today the remains of the runway can be seen in aerial images .