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Location
Located along Hansa Bay. Named for Nubia village. Known by the Japanese
as 'Hansa South'. This
airfield is to the south of Awar
Airfield (Condor Point).
Construction
Surveyed
for an airfield by the Japanese in March 1943. Construction
began from June - October 1943 by the 6th Airfield Construction
Battalion with assistance from troops and later the 24th
Airfield Company. They built a single, 3,500' x 170' (in
July 23, 1943). The airstrip was also listed as 3,750' x 170'
in October 23, 1943). A single taxiway and dispersal area with
revetments (4 bomber, 0 fighter) was looped off the side closest
to the Hansa Bay (E). A large battery of heavy anti-aircraft
guns was located half way down the strip on the western
side. Six heavy AA guns at Nubia Mission, with an additional
four just north of the mission.
Japanese Units Based at Nubia
Designated
an emergency refueling base during November 1943, as late
as March 1944 there were still airfield personell at the
strip, mostly repairing the runway. 45th Sentai (Ki-48) detachment
from Wewak July 30, 1943.
American Missions Against Nubia
April 12, 1943 - May 3, 1944
Australian Liberation
The airfield area was occupied by Australian Army forces
on June 14, 1944. The airifeld was not repaired and was abandoned. ATIU investigated several wrecks at the airfield in late June 1944.
Today
Abandoned after the war, today it is overgrown.
A few scattered huts are located in the vicinity but no villages.
John Douglas adds:
"There are reports of buried 55 gallon fuel drums
at Nubia, so they were both reasonably well developed. The book Japanese
Army Air Force Fighter Units and Aces records the loss
of Maj Shogo Takeuchi [19 Kills] over Hansa Bay. I have
found bomb craters near Nubia on recent visits. One bomb appears
to have landed very near a revetment and destroyed an Oscar.
Ki-48-II Lily Manufacture Number 1258
Abandoned at the airfield, studied by ATIU
Ki-48-II Lily Manufacture Number 1199
Abandoned at the airfield
Ki-43-II Oscar
Ki-43-I Oscar
Ki-43-I Oscar
References
Richard Dunn's Hansa
Bay History for additional information.
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Last Updated
October 1, 2009
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