Fanning Airfield NQ
The remains of the runway at Fanning (today)
By mid 1942, the Battles of the Coral Sea and Midway had been fought against the Japanese and won by the Allies. It was to be the turning point in the war in the Pacific but this was not known at that time. North Queensland had become a fortress with nearly 160,000 Australian and US troops training for the push into New Guinea and further north to defeat the Japanese outright.
Martin B-26 Maurader medium bomber at Reid River Airstrip
Between Townville and Charters Towers, several airfields were being constructed for both fighter and bomber aircraft and for aircraft repairs. (The bombers flying missions to Northern New Guinea and Rabaul and the fighters providing vital aerial support for the bombers.) Airfields such a Antil Plains, Woodstock, Reid River, Fanning, Macrossan, Charters Towers and Breddan all become operational in some form, leading up to early 1943. Most airfields had gravel runways and tented service huts and accommodation. It was basic, but this was war!!
However, with successive victories over the Japanese in New Guinea and the Solomon Islands and the war moving further north, most airfields were nearly deserted by early 1944, as the aircraft and their support units were relocated closer to the theatres of war.
One airstrip that stands out is Fanning. Named after the nearby railway station, it was originally to be a fighter aircraft repair strip. Two strips were built, Fanning No. 1 and Fanning No. 2, although the latter was never completed to operational standard. Fanning No. 1 had a length of nearly 1,500 metres with a gravel surface initially.
Fanning No 2 Airstrip (top) with Fanning No 1 and related dispersal taxiways (below) (photo: Google Earth) (Click to enlarge)
In late 1942, bitumen surfacing took place on some of the airstrips to provide all-weather access, particularly during the North Queensland monsoon season. Fanning was partly resurfaced, but by mid 1943, the requirement for aircraft servicing at Fanning had changed in favour of expanding that role at nearby Macrossan. At this point, Fanning was redesignated an emergency landing ground and despite the considerable resources used to build the airstrip and camp facilities, only a handful of aircraft movements had occurred by the end of the war. In 1946, the RAF decided that they did not have any further use for the site and ownership reverted to the station property.
The airstrip, has never been used since the war and today, is overgrown with grass and still void of any trees. It remains as evidence to the degree of uncertainty that existed in 1942-43 which saw this airstrip built but never used.
Blog Source:
Marks, R R. (1994) Queensland Airfields WW2 – 50 Years On. Mansfield Q: R & J Marks. pp. 90-92.
Queensland WWII Historic Places; Fanning. Available at: https://www.ww2places.qld.gov.au/place?id=887 (Accessed: 13 February 2022)