Finschhafen Dreger Field

  October 1943 to present

  Papua New Guinea

CITY: Finschhafen

IATA/ICAO CODES: FIN / AYFI

COORDINATES: 6°37'S / 147°51'E

OTHER NAMES: Finschafen, Finschhaven

Right: looking south at Finschhafen Dreger Field, circa 1944.
Photo credit: Robert Rocker

The settlement of Finschhafen was founded in 1885 by the Deutsch-Neuguinea Kompagnie as their first settlement in New Guinea. It was unsuccessful due to malaria and tropical diseases, on most German colonists moved west to Stephansort (Bogadjim) in 1892. Prior to World War II, a Lutheran mission was established with 80 missionaries that ran several missions, schools, a port and a radio station. They also built an 800-meter airstrip.

On 10 March 1942, the Japanese Army invaded the area and used the Lutheran Mission buildings as their headquarters. The Allies thought the area was lightly defended, but in fact based the fresh Japanese 20th Division and a Special Naval Landing Force and Naval Base Unit occupied the area. There is no sign that the Japanese used the prewar landing strip, nor that they built another one. Allied aircraft attacked the Japanese base for the first time on 21 December 1942, and bombed it regularly in the following ten months.

On 22 September 1943 at dawn, a US Navy task force landed the 20^th Australian Brigade on a beach near Finschhafen, while the 22^nd Australian Militia approached from land. After ten days of hard fighting, the Australians captured the town of Finschhafen. During the battle, the Japanese lost roughly 1,500 troops, while about 4,000 men retreated to the surrounding hills. Finschhafen was developed into a major Allied base known by the US Army as "Base F (Finschafen)" [sic]. From November 1943, the 808^th Aviation Engineer Battalion built an airfield called Dreger Field, with a north-south, coral and Marston Mat, 1,800-meter runway - while under constant air attacks by Japanese aircraft from Rabaul. Finschhafen became an important base to support Allied island hopping operations and for training and support. Dreger Field was used as an important base for American fighters, medium bombers and transport aircraft. During late 1943-1945, many aircraft shipped from the United States were assembled at Finschafen and then flown to other airfields for operations.

At the end of the war, tons of military equipment - both new and used - were bulldozed into huge holes in the area and abandoned. Aircraft were smelted after the war for great profit. From the 1970's, several aircraft were recovered from some of these caches, and there are rumors about more of them still in existence in the area. Today, Dreger Field remains in use as a civilian airstrip, albeit in very poor condition. Little of the prewar town remains except for one old Lutheran building, used by missionaries to this day.

2^nd Combat Cargo Group, 8^th Combat Cargo Squadron (November 1944 to January 1945)