| Antill Plains Aerodrome | |
|---|---|
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Queensland, Australia   Antill Plains Aerodrome Antill Plains Aerodrome (Queensland)
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| Coordinates | 19°25′53″S 146°49′38″E / 19.43139°S 146.82722°ECoordinates: 19°25′53″S 146°49′38″E / 19.43139°S 146.82722°E |
| Type | Military Airfield |
| Site history | |
| In use | 1942-1945 |
Antill Plains Aerodrome was a World War II military aerodrome located 19.38 kilometres (12.04 mi) south of Townsville, Queensland, Australia. It takes its name from the nearby Antill Plains railway station (19°25′43″S 146°50′11″E / 19.4285°S 146.8363°E), which takes its name from pioneer Edmund Spencer Antill, who established the Jarvisfield pastoral run in 1862.[1][2] It is now at 1259 Old Flinders Highway, Oak Valley.[3] It is often misspelled as Anthill Plains due to the termite mounds in the area (locally known as anthills).[1]
The aerodrome was constructed in 1942, during World War II, for the Royal Australian Air Force as part of a group of airfields to be used as aircraft dispersal fields in the event of Imperial Japanese attack on the Townsville area. It was leased to the United States Army Air Forces.
The aerodrome had two runways, one running east–west and the other northeast–southwest. It was abandoned after the war. Today, the airfield is in regular use by the Barrier Reef Adventure Trikes (B.R.A.T.S) who fly their ultralights. There are numerous hangars and a model aero club at the end of runway 27. The airfield is now owned and operated by Andrew Hicks and is referred to locally as Montpelier Airpark.[4] It is the closest ultra-light airfield to town of the three in the area.
Units based at Antill Plains Aerodrome[]
- 33rd Bombardment Squadron of the 22nd Bomb Group - (B-26 Marauder's) 7 April 1942 – 20 July 1942.
Aircraft crashes[]
- 12 May 1942 - B-26 Marauder, Serial Number #40-1477 crashed on landing.
See also[]
- United States Army Air Forces in Australia (World War II)
- List of airports in Queensland
Notes[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Antill Plains Airfields" (in en-AU). Queensland Government. 2014-06-30. https://www.ww2places.qld.gov.au/place.
- ↑ Template:Cite QPN
- ↑ Template:Queensland Globe
- ↑ Montpelier Microlights Archived 16 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine.
- References
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.
External links[]
The original article can be found at Antill Plains Aerodrome and the edit history here.