Location
Located at Tadji.

Construction
The Japanese Army built two parallel runways at the small village called Tadji in early 1943, a fighter and bomber strip. The two muddy runways were constructed primarily to serve as satellite fields, and staging and dispersal areas for Wewak skypearea airfields, and other forward strips.

Japanese Units Based at Tadji
248th Sentai (Ki-43)

American Missions Against Tadji
USAAF 5th AF August 1943 - April 21, 1944

Neutralization
Tadji was neutralized from the air by the 5th Air Force during their campaign against Wewak and preparations for the attack on Hollandia on April 22, 1944.

Allied Occupation
On April 22, 1944 in conjunction with the American landings at Hollandia, Tadji was also assaulted. Australian engineers commenced immediate repair of the north strip, and two days later several RAAF 76 Squadron P-40s were using the strip for patrols over the Hollandia area.

American Units Based at Tadji
433d TCG, 65th TCS (C-47 det) Nadzab May 3, - June 1944
433d TCG, 66th TCS (C-47 det) Nadzab May 12, - June 1944
433d TCG, 68th TCS (C-47 det) Nadzab May 12 - June 4, 1944 Nadzab
71st TRG, 110th TRS (P-40, P-39) Gusap May 25 - Sept 11, 1944 Biak
Australian RAAF Units Based at Tadji
78 Squadron (P-40) Cape Gloucester April 25, 1944 - ?

The strip was used by American and Australian aircraft. As the war moved on to the Philippines, several squadrons of Australian Beauforts remained behind at Tadji, using the base to stage bombing missions against Japanese positions in the Wewak area until the end of the war. The last bombing mission of the war in New Guinea was flown by Beauforts of the RAAF No 100 Squadron in early September 1945, an hourbefore the announcement of the Japanese official surrender.

Postwar
The airstrip avoided postwar scrap drives. Many aircraft remained there until the early 1970's when a six-week recovery operation funded by American David Talichet of Yesterday's Air Force (MARC), and collected by Australian Monty Armstrong removed the best airframes, and most of the American wrecks. Also, there were a few Japanese wrecks that remain on the field. They recovered a total of six P-40's, frames of Anson, Beauforts, and Tiger Moth UV-Q.

Tadji Strip
Marston matting covered runway, used by both the USAAF and RAAF. Today, this airstrip is still in use as the main airstrip into West Sepik Province. It is one of two air strips in Papua New Guinea, still surfaced by WWII Marston Matting (Pearced Steel Planking).

Crash Strip
This strip was used as an emergency landing strip. Overgrown since the war, the taxiways and runway are still clearly visible. RAAF No 12 RSU was based at the center of the strip, to salvage and work on crashed aircraft.

RAAF Dump Area
This area was a boneyard for the RAAF 12 RSU,and the airframes of several bomber remain, in two groups, the first lying together in a row:

B-25C "Feather Merchant" 41-12442
Recovered and moved for a memorial at Aitape High School, 1974