Horn Island Airport

Airport in Queensland, Australia

Horn Island Airport (IATA: HID, ICAO: YHID) is a minor international airport on Horn Island in the Torres Strait, Queensland, Australia. The only International services are carried out by Torres Strait Air, with charter flights to Papua New Guinea.

World War II

The Civil Constructional Corps and the Department of Main Roads began construction of an advanced operational airbase on the island during World War II, commencing in 1940. RAAF Base Horn Island was completed in 1941 and was used as a staging base for Allied aircraft moving between Australia and New Guinea.^[2] The airfield consisted of two intersecting runways, with revetments for aircraft parking.

Japanese bombing raids against Horn Island Aerodrome

After Darwin, Horn Island was the second-most bombed area of Australia by the Japanese in World War II.^[3]

• 14 March 1942
• 18 March 1942
• 30 April 1942
• 11 May 1942
• 6 July 1942
• 30 July 1942
• 1 August 1942
• 17 June 1943

Units based at Horn Island Aerodrome

• 7th Fighter Squadron of 49th Fighter Group, March 1942 – 18 April 1942 (Curtiss P-40s)
• No. 6 Squadron RAAF
• No. 7 Squadron RAAF
• No. 24 Squadron RAAF
• No. 32 Squadron RAAF
• No. 75 Squadron RAAF
• No. 84 Squadron RAAF
• No. 28 Operational Base Unit RAAF

Memorial

The Horn Island Veterans Memorial in front of the airport commemorates the American and Australian servicemen who fought and died in the defence of Horn Island and the Torres Strait during World War II. It was designed by Vanessa Seekee OAM and Gordon Cameron OAM from local materials.^[4]

Airlines and destinations

Aircraft crashes

• Aero Commander, 500-S, VH-UJP
• A number of B-17 Flying Fortresses crash landed during World War II:
  • B-17E Serial Number 41-2636 – crashed during night take off 13 July 1942
  • B-17E Serial Number 41-2655 – crashed during night take off 13 July 1942
  • B-17E "G.I. Issue" Serial Number 41-2421 – crash-landed on 16 July 1942
  • B-17E "Tojo's Nightmare" Serial Number 41-2497 – crashed attempting landing 24 March 1944
• A survey aircraft operated by Adastra Airways Lockheed Hudson VH-AGO crashed on approach after an engine failure on Monday 24 June 1957. 6 fatalities including one child.

See also

• List of airports in Queensland

References

1. YHID – Horn Island (PDF). AIP En Route Supplement from Airservices Australia, effective 13 June 2024, Aeronautical Chart Archived 10 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine
2. "RAAF Base Horn Island". RAAF Museum.
3. Nick Place, "Our secret war", Royal Auto, November 2015, p. 18
4. "Horn Island Veterans Memorial". Monument Australia. Archived from the original on 9 November 2018. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
5. "Torres Strait Air".

External links

• Wartime Magazine article
• Pacific War Wrecks database
• Aviation Safety Investigation Report VH-UJP
• "Japanese Bombing Raid on Horn Island 14 March 1942". Australian @ War. Archived from the original on 9 November 2018. Retrieved 9 November 2018.