COOMALIE CREEK AIRFIELD
NORTHERN TERRITORY
DURING WW2

visits since 26 December 2001

Fighter Guide Map

Coomalie Creek airfield was a World War 2 airfield located in the Northern Territory. The North West Area Headquarters were located approximately 6 kms south along the Stuart Highway. Coomalie Creek was located only about 10 miles from Batchelor airfield.

In the first weeks in November 1942, when 31 Squadron RAAF arrived at Coomalie Creek with their Beaufighters, Coomalie Creek airfield was still very new. Workmen were still finishing off the earthworks and the few essential camp buildings. The airfield was only available for limited use and aircraft had to take care not to collide with machinery or workmen.

When 31 Squadron arrived, everyone was in tents. The only buildings were the messes, cookhouses and a storeroom. Showers and toilets were all in the open. They were soon able to get a roof for the toilets. An orderly room, sick quarters and an operations/intelligence room were then built using voluntary labour. Slit trenches were also built in case of Japanese air raids.

31 Squadron flew their first operational mission out of Coomalie Creek on 17 November when six Beaufighters made strafing attacks on Moabissi and Bobanaro on Timor.

No 31 Squadron, Coomalie, March 1944. Beaufighter at Potshot.  Charles Eaton Photographic Collection via Mitch Williamson

The airfield still existed in 1995 and was then part of Coomalie Farm owned by Richard Luxton, a lecturer in Architecture at the University of Northern Territory in Darwin. Members of 31 Squadron RAAF revisited Coomalie Creek Airfield in August 1995 to mark the 50th anniversary. The saw a replica of their Squadron Chapel that had been rebuilt at Coomalie Creek. They had laid a 31 Squadron RAAF memorial plaque there back in 1988.

31 Squadron RAAF - Beaufighter
(Another Internet site on 31 Squadron by Alan Brassil)

UNITS BASED AT COOMALIE CREEK
No. 1 Photographic Reconnaissance Unit (1PRU) RAAF (Wirraways, Buffalos, Lancers, Lightnings and Mosquitioes)
31 Squadron RAAF (Beaufighters)

Section 51 Special Wireless Group were based near Coomalie Creek airfield. They were a secret intercept group who monitored Japanese radio signals.

MILITARY AIRCRAFT CRASHES IN THE COOMALIE CREEK AREA DURING WW2

JAPANESE AIR RAIDS AT COOMALIE CREEK AIRFIELD

Full size versions of the above photos are available on
my "Australia @ War" CD-Rom

REFERENCE BOOKS

"Coomalie Charlie's Commandos - 31 Squadron RAAF"
"Beaufighters at Darwin 1942-43"
by Kenneth Neal McDonald, DFC

Heaps of WW2 books available at Amazon.com

"Australia @ War"

This page first produced 25 October 1999

This page last updated 17 June 2007