Mallard Field

  June 1944 to present

  Senegal

CITY: Dakar

IATA/ICAO CODES: DKR/ GOOY

COORDINATES: 14°44'N / 17°29'W

OTHER NAMES: Mallard Field (WWII), Yoff (until 1996), Leopold Sedar Senghor International (1996-present)

Right: Mallard Field terminal in its ATC days, with Lt. William P. Pearson in the foreground.
Photo credit: Bob Pearson

After the Allied position in Morocco and Algeria had been made secure, negotiations were opened with Pierre Boisson, Vichy Governor-General of French West Africa, for the peaceful occupation of Dakar and the whole of that Vichy-held territory. On 7 December 1942, General Eisenhower reached a broad understanding with Admiral Jean Darlan and Governor Boisson, and negotiations were then turned over to Boisson and Brig. Gen. Cyrus R. Smith, Air Transport Command Chief of Staff, who had gone out to Africa as chief of a special United States Army West African Mission. By the terms of the Smith-Boisson agreement, the United States secured the use of airdromes, harbors, roads, and other facilities in French West Africa, and the authority to construct a new airfield near Dakar for which both the United States and the colony would contribute labor and materials. This base started to be built in the village of Yoff, north of Dakar, and came to be known as Mallard Field.

During the construction of Mallard Field, the USAAF found the runways on the existing Dakar Ouakam airfield too short to accommodate heavy bombers and large transports. Instead, it took over a small airfield near Rufisque, about 30 km away from Dakar, and enlarged it. This became known as Eknes Field, and was the main ATC base in French West Africa until June 1944, when all personnel and facilities were moved to Mallard Field.

Dakar's location at the most westerly point in Africa made it a natural landfall on the airway across the South Atlantic to North Africa and Europe. By taking the direct overwater route from Natal to Dakar, the distance was cut down to only 1,872 statute miles, nearly 1,400 miles less than the route by way of Ascension Island, Accra, and Roberts Field, Liberia. The limited range of some aircraft made it necessary for them to take the longer route, but four-engine planes could easily make the jump direct to Dakar. Massive amounts of cargo were stored at Mallard, which were then transported along the North African Cairo-Dakar transport route for cargo, transiting aircraft and personnel. From Dakar, flights were made to Villa Cisneros, Spanish Sahara, or to Atar, Mauritania depending on the load. In addition to being the western terminus of the North African route, Dakar was the northern terminus for the South African route, which transported personnel to Pretoria, South Africa with numerous stopovers.

After the war, Dakar Yoff became an important stopover point on the routes between Europe and South America, or North America and Southern Africa. It became one of the five main hubs of the now defunct multi-national airline Air Afrique. Dakar Yoff was renamed Leopold Sedar Senghor International in 1996, honoring Senegal's first president. On 7 December 2017, all airline operations were transferred to the newly-built Blaise Diagne International Airport, 43 km of downtown Dakar.

Air Transport Command North African Wing (June 1944 to unknown date)