View source for Daly Waters Airfield

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}}
{{Use Australian English|date=May 2011}}
{{Infobox military installation
| name = Daly Waters Airfield
| ensign = 
| ensign_size =
| native_name = RAAF Base Daly Waters
| partof = <!-- for elements within a larger site -->
| location = {{NTcity|Daly Waters}}, [[Northern Territory]]
| nearest_town = <!-- used in military test site infobox -->
| country = Australia
| image = 
| alt = 
| caption = 
| image2 = <!--secondary image, major command emblems for airfields -->
| alt2 = 
| caption2 = 
| type = {{bulleted list|[[Military airfield]]|Defunct [[civil aviation|commercial airfield]]}}
| coordinates = {{Coord|16|15|42|S|133|22|50|E|type:airport_region:AU-NT|display=inline,title}}<!-- {{Coord}} -->
| gridref = 
| image_map = 
| image_mapsize = 
| image_map_alt = 
| image_map_caption = 
| pushpin_map = Northern Territory
| pushpin_mapsize = 300
| pushpin_map_alt = 
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in the [[Northern Territory]]
| pushpin_relief = 1
| pushpin_image = 
| pushpin_label = 
| pushpin_label_position = 
| pushpin_mark = 
| pushpin_marksize = 
| ownership = [[Department of Defence (Australia)|Department of Defence]]<!-- government department such as the MoD or the United States DoD -->
| operator = {{unbulleted list|Commercial aviation {{small|(1926{{spaced endash}} 1942)}}|{{nowrap|{{air force|Australia}} {{small|(1942{{spaced endash}} 1943)}}}}|Commercial aviation {{small|(1943{{spaced endash}} 1970)}}|{{nowrap|{{air force|Australia}} {{small|(1970{{spaced endash}} ''present'')}}}}}}<!-- where different from ownership such as the RAF or the USAF -->
| controlledby = <!-- such as RAF Bomber Command or the Eighth Air Force -->
| open_to_public = <!-- for out of use sites/sites with museums etc -->
| site_other_label = <!-- for renaming "Other facilities" in infobox -->
| site_other = <!-- for other sorts of facilities - radar types etc -->  
| site_area = <!-- area of site m2, km2 square mile etc -->
| code = <!--facility/installation code, applies to US -->
| built = <!-- {{Start date|YYYY}} -->
| used = {{bulleted list|{{Start date|1942}}{{spaced endash}} {{End date|1945}} {{small|(military use)}}||{{Start date|1970}}{{spaced endash}} ''present'' {{small|(military use)}}}}
| builder = 
| materials = 
| height = <!-- height of tallest part, not above sea level -->
| length = <!-- for border fences or other DMZs -->
| fate = <!--changed from demolished parameter-->
| condition = 
| battles =  [[Pacific War#Threat to Australia|Pacific War]], [[World War II]]
| events = 
| current_commander = <!-- current commander -->
| past_commanders = <!-- past notable commander(s) -->
| garrison = [[United States Army Air Forces]] (1942)<!-- such as the 25th Bombardment Group -->
| occupants = <!-- squadrons only -->
| website = 
| footnotes = <!-- catchall in case it's needed to preserve something in infobox that doesn't work in new code -->
}}
{{Infobox airport
| name = Daly Waters Airfield
| nativename =<small>RAAF Base Daly Waters</small>
| nativename-a =
| nativename-r =
| image =
| image-width =
| caption =
| IATA =
| ICAO = YDLW
| type = [[Military airfield]];<br/>Defunct [[airport|civil airport]]
| owner =Department of Defence
| operator = {{nowrap|{{air force|Australia}}}}
| city-served =
| location =
| elevation-f = 700
| coordinates = {{Coord|16|15|42|S|133|22|50|E|type:airport_region:AU-NT|display=inline}}
| pushpin_map = Northern Territory
| pushpin_label = YDLW
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in the Northern Territory
| website =
| metric-rwy = Y
| r1-number = 13/31
| r1-length-m = 2138
| r1-surface = Asphalt
| stat-year =
| stat1-header =
| stat1-data =
| stat2-header =
| stat2-data =
| footnotes = Sources: Australian [[Aeronautical Information Publication|AIP]] and aerodrome chart<ref name="AIP">{{AIP AU|YDLW|name=Daly Waters}}, [https://airportguide.com/airport/info/YDLW Aeronautical Chart]</ref>
}}
The '''Daly Waters Airfield''', also '''RAAF Base Daly Waters''', is a former [[civil aviation|commercial]] and sporadically-used [[military airfield|military]] [[airfield]] located at {{NTcity|Daly Waters}}, [[Northern Territory]], [[Australia]]. As an airfield on Australia's earliest international routes, Daly Waters was used throughout the 1920s and 1930s as a stop over for commercial airlines operating on the domestic route to [[Western Australia]] and international carriers flying from Australia into south-east Asia via Darwin. During [[World War II]], the airbase was used by the [[Royal Australian Air Force]] (RAAF) and the [[United States Army Air Force]] to undertake combat operations against the Japanese in [[New Guinea]], the [[Dutch East Indies]] and the islands to Australia's north. Following the war, the airbase was used commercially again up until the 1970s when the airfield was sporadically-used by the RAAF.

==History==
Daly Waters was a refuelling stop for early pioneering flights through Darwin and [[Qantas|QANTAS]] flights to [[Singapore]] (also via Darwin). During the 1930s, the growth of international air travel meant the airport became a busy refuelling point, despite its isolation and rudimentary facilities.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://northernterritory.com/katherine-and-surrounds/things-to-do/daly-waters-aviation-complex |title=Daly Waters Aviation Complex |work=Things to do; Katherine and Surrounds |publisher=Government of the Northern Territory |access-date=18 August 2017 }}</ref> The airfield was served by QANTAS, [[Australian National Airways]] and Guinea Airways as well as being an important connection point for [[MacRobertson Miller Airlines]] flights to Western Australia.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/sites/default/files/shado/Learned%20Groups/Interest%20Groups/Engineering%20Heritage/Register/HRP.Stuart_Highway |title=Challenging terrain no match for engineering ingenuity |publisher=[[Engineers Australia]] Northern Division |access-date=1 February 2014 |archive-date=2 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202122151/http://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/sites/default/files/shado/Learned%20Groups/Interest%20Groups/Engineering%20Heritage/Register/HRP.Stuart_Highway |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===World War II===
In the early months of 1942, following the outbreak of [[Pacific War#Threat to Australia|hostilities in the Pacific against the Japanese]], the airfield was used a waypoint on the "Brereton Route" for operations between Australia and [[Java]]. It was a staging base for aircraft from {{QLDcity|Cloncurry}}, [[Queensland]] and then up to {{NTcity|Darwin}} area airfields. The RAAF requisitioned the airfield and on 15 March 1942 it became ''RAAF Base Daly Waters''; and operations commenced on 15 May 1942.

The 64th Bomb Squadron of the [[United States Army Air Forces]]{{'}} [[Fifth Air Force]] [[43rd Bombardment Group]] were based at Daly Waters from 16 May 1942 until 2 August 1942,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ozatwar.com/ozatwar/dalywaters.htm |title=Daly Waters |work=OzatWar |date=15 November 2006 |access-date=18 August 2017}}</ref> flying [[B-17 Flying Fortress]]es from the airfield. The squadron made numerous attacks on Japanese shipping in the [[Dutch East Indies]] and the [[Bismarck Archipelago]]. Other operations during this period included support for ground forces on [[New Guinea]]; attacks on airfields and installations in New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago, [[Sulawesi|Celebes]], [[Halmahera]], [[Yap]], [[Palau]], and the southern [[Philippines]]; and long-range raids against oil refineries on [[Seram Island|Ceram]] and [[Borneo]].

===Post-war use===
In late 1943, the RAAF base was wound down as the war proceeded north, and the airfield was returned to civil use.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.airforce.gov.au/raafmuseum/research/bases/daly_waters.htm |title=Daly Waters |work=[[Royal Australian Air Force]] Museum, Point Cook |publisher=Australian Government |date=2009 |access-date=18 August 2017 }}</ref> Commercial traffic continued at the airfield until 1970. [[Ansett Australia]] and [[Trans Australia Airlines|TAA]] operated one flight a week with TAA flying south in the morning and Ansett flying north in the evening. The last TAA flight took place on 1 April 1970 with Ansett concluding its operations a week or so later. The original Qantas hangar still stands, housing exhibits of photographs and equipment from the area's aviation past. The main runway, although deteriorated, appears to still be serviceable. The airfield is used by the RAAF for joint military manoeuvres.{{citation needed|date=August 2017}}

==Units based at Daly Waters airfield==
{| class="wikitable"
! Unit !! Aircraft  !! Assigned !! Reassigned !! Time at Daly Waters !! Notes
|-
| [[No. 2 Squadron RAAF]]  || [[Lockheed Hudson|Hudsons]] ||   ||    ||   ||
|- 
| [[No. 12 Squadron RAAF]] || [[CAC Wirraway|Wirraways]] ||   ||    ||   ||
|-
| [[No. 13 Squadron RAAF]] || Hudson  ||   ||    ||   ||
|-
| [[No. 34 Squadron RAAF]] || {{nowrap|[[de Havilland Dragon|Dragon]] & [[Avro Anson|Ansons]]}} ||   ||    ||   ||
|-
| No. 1 Repair and Salvage Unit RAAF  ||   ||    ||  || ||
|-
|colspan=6 | [[Fifth Air Force]], [[United States Army Air Forces]]
|-
| 64th Bombardment Squadron [[43d Bombardment Group]] || [[B-17 Flying Fortress]] || {{start date|1942|05|16|df=y}} || {{end date|1942|08|02|df=y}} || align=right|{{age in days|1942|05|16|1942|08|02}} days || Dispersed from Group HQ at [[Sydney]], New South Wales
|}

==See also==
* [[United States Army Air Forces in Australia]] (World War II)
* [[List of airports in the Northern Territory]]
* [[List of Royal Australian Air Force installations]]

==References==
{{Air Force Historical Research Agency}}
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{URL|www.airwaysmuseum.com/Museum%20Aeradio%20Daly%20Waters%20diorama.htm|Diorama of Aeradio station at Daly Waters ''ca.'' 1940}} at {{URL|http://www.airwaysmuseum.com}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080726210413/http://www.nt.gov.au/nreta/heritage/ntregister/declared/display.html?dwac NT Heritage Listing]
* [http://www.19thbg.org 19th Bombardment Association] (Includes extensive photo album)

{{Portal bar|Royal Australian Air Force|Aviation}}
{{RAAF Bases}}
{{Airports in Australia}}
{{Airports in the Northern Territory}}
{{authority control}}

[[Category:Royal Australian Air Force bases]]
[[Category:Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Australia]]
[[Category:World War II airfields in Australia]]
[[Category:Defunct airports in the Northern Territory]]
[[Category:Airports established in 1926]]
[[Category:Military installations established in 1942]]
[[Category:1926 establishments in Australia]]