Cloncurry Airport

Cloncurry Airport
IATA: CNJICAO: YCCY
Summary
Airport type Public
Operator Cloncurry Shire Council
Location Cloncurry, Queensland
Elevation AMSL 616 ft / 188 m
Coordinates 20°40′07″S 140°30′16″E / 20.66861°S 140.50444°E / -20.66861; 140.50444Coordinates: 20°40′07″S 140°30′16″E / 20.66861°S 140.50444°E / -20.66861; 140.50444
Map
YCCY

Location in Queensland

Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
06/24 1,157 3,796 Asphalt
12/30 2,000 6,562 Asphalt
Sources: Australian AIP and aerodrome chart[1]

Cloncurry Airport (IATA: CNJ, ICAO: YCCY) is an airport in Cloncurry, Queensland, Australia.

History

QANTAS biplane at Cloncurry, 1923 Airco de Havilland DH.9C G-AUEF was acquired by QANTAS in 1923 for the Charleville - Cloncurry route. Pilot, Captain G. Matthews is on the left and Mr. A. N. Templeton is on the right.

Cloncurry Airport has been the focal point for many of Australia’s greatest innovations. Cloncurry was involved with the beginnings of QANTAS, and the original QANTAS hangar is still in use at the aerodrome, where "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Service" is still displayed above the hangar door.

The Royal Flying Doctor Service was founded there in 1928, now recognised the world over. The airport was also on route for early planes coming from overseas and a stopping place for contestants in the great air races of 1919 and 1934.

World War II

Due to the strategic importance of Cloncurry aerodrome on the main Darwin–Sydney air route, the Royal Australian Air Force expanded the aerodrome during World War II. Intended to be a major airbase should the Empire of Japan have occupied New Guinea and Papua.

During the Second World War, Cloncurry Airport was the site of a major United States Army Air Forces air base in 1942. As the war moved north, the USAAF units located north to forward bases.

List of wartime military units based at Cloncurry Aerodrome

HQ 19th Bomb Group assigned to Essendon Airport, Melbourne, Victoria
28th Bombardment Squadron, (28 March-5 May 1942)
Detachment operated from: Perth Airport, Perth, Western Australia, (28 March-18 May 1942)
30th Bombardment Squadron, (24 March-13 May 1942)
93d Bombardment Squadron, (29 March-18 May 1942)

Airlines and destinations

Aeroplane fuselage under construction, Cloncurry, ca. 1927 Brims Brothers Plywood Factory made the plywood which was used for construction of the aeroplane bodies by Qantas airlines in the 1920s.
AirlinesDestinations
Alliance Airlines Townsville
QantasLink operated by Sunstate Airlines Mount Isa, Townsville
Virgin Australia Brisbane[2]

See also

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 12/4/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.