 Lat
2° 31' 60S Long 140° 41' 60E
History
Occupied by the Japanese in April 1942. It was the site
of several airstrips: Hollandia, Sentani and Cyclops Aerodromes.
American Occupation
Prior to the American landing, a reconnances party was landed
in March 1944 by submarine USS Dace. The group, consisiting of Ameircan,
Australian, Indoesian and New Guineans (Mariba, Yali, McNicol, Buka)
landed in two groups. Only
7 of the 12 landed survived the aborted mission. Liberated by
American amphibious task force Code named Operation
Reckless on April 22, 1944 that caught the Japanese largely
by surprise, and evenhundereds that willingly surrendered. Japanese
units included
the remnants of the 41st, 20th and 51st Divisions that moved inland
to try to escape. Also, many support personel and airfielld personel.
After American occupation, the area was a huge staging area for
later operations, including the invasion of Luzon in
the Philippines. MacArthur had retained
Company A of the 1st Tank Battlaion, 1st Marine Division to support
the landings that had particpated in the actions on West
New Britain, but a swamp beyond the beachhead prevented their dive
inland.
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at Hollandia
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207th Antiaircraft
Artillery AW
207th Antiaircraft Artillery AW
572nd Quartermaster Railhead
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458th Aviation Squadron
593rd Port Port Co
415th Army Band
741st Antiaircraft Artillery Gun |
Today
After Indonesian gain control of Western New Guinea, Hollandia's
name became Jayapura.
 Tanahmerah Bay
(Red Beach)
Several US tanks hulks lie to the east
of Depapre at the base of the track built be the Americans that connects
Tanahmerah to Jayapura (Hollandia) to the East. Following a Navy
bombardment, elements of the 19th and 21st Infantry Regiments made
landings at beaches Red Beach 1 and Red Beach 2.
 Humbolt Bay (White Beach)
Natural
harbor located to the East of Hollandia town. The
41st Infantry Division landed against light opposition
on April 22, 1944. After the invation, the bay became a major American staging base, for future landings in the Philippines.
US
Army 'Base G' Hollandia
US
Army letter base designation. Name
for the US Army Base G at Hollandia located at the shore of Humbolt
Bay. This was a major American base from late April 1944 until the
end of the war.
| Hollandia
Drome |
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April 12, 1943
March 21, 1944
1944
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Construction
Built by the Japanese. This was
a large Japanese airfield complex, with two runways,
a western runway of 4,500' and a second southern runway
was 6,200 x 340' (as of October 10, 1943). There were larger
bomber ravetments to the west of the strip, with (24)
ravetments and an additional (27) to the east of the field,
connected by taxiways to the two runways, for a total of
(51) ravetments.anti-aricraft defenses included (4) light
guns, later upgraded. A barracks area was located to the
north of the strip, and road connected the strip to Hollandia
town. In a later photo from March 21, 1944 the shorter
runway is reported as being used as a parking and taxi
area., and ravetments around the north of the two strips
and to the north-east.
Japanese Units
Based at Hollandia Area airfields:
7th Koku Kyoikutai
7th Sentai (Ki-49) mid-1943
33rd Sentai (Ki-43)
63rd Sentai (Ki-43) Dec 43 - Feb 1944 det Wewak
& Negros
77th Sentai (Ki-43)
248th Sentai (Ki-43) |
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American Usage
Captured by US Army forces after the April 22, 1944 landings, and developed into a major airfield area.
American Units based at Hollandia, Cyclops and
Today
It is still in
use and the principal entry point into that half of the
island. It is the only one of the WWII airfields still
in use. Located to the west of Sentani.
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 Cyclops
Airfield and mountain near Hollanida, MacArthur's HQ at Hollanida.
Museum
Jayapura
Located inside the Cenderawasih University
campus.
 Sentani
Located inland from Hollandia, site of Sentani Airfield, parallel, to the south Cyclops Drome. Also, Lake Sentani a large freshwater lake.
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