Darwin International Airport (IATA: DRW, ICAO: YPDN) is the only airport serving Darwin in the Northern Territory and the 10th busiest airport in Australia. Until the advent of long-range passenger jets, it was an important stopover for aircraft arriving from Europe and Asia. For Biggles, who would typically come to Australia via the "Imperial Route" through Singapore, Darwin would be his first landfall.
Prior to 1946, the airfield serving Darwin was at the coastal suburb of Parap, known as Parap Airfield, Darwin Aerodrome or Ross Smith Aerodrome (12°25′47″S 130°50′31″E). Very little of this location remains today except for Ross Smith Avenue which follows the main runway alignment and an old Qantas Empire Airways Hangar.[1][2]
From 1940, construction began of a new RAAF airbase east of Parap and military units moved in. During WW2, both Parap and RAAF Darwin were bombed several times. RAAF Darwin gained in importance, becoming a major launch point for air operations and later a transit point for air operations in Asia.[3]
From 1945, RAAF Darwin was made available for civilian aviation and Parap subsequently closed. Today, Darwin remains an important shared civilian and military aviation facility although much of it may not look like what Biggles would have seen.
Darwin has had several runways through the course of its history.[4] The first runway 09/27 was the main fighter runway during WW2. Another runway 18/36 was built for heavier aircraft and this still exists today. Most of the airbase and later civil airport facilities were clustered around the southern end near the 36 threshold. This is also where the present RAAF base facilities are located. When Darwin was opened to civilian traffic, the first civilian terminal was built next to this control tower. There was also an old runway 14/32 that crossed 18/36 with many aircraft dispersals but this has now been built over. In the 1950s, construction began of a new control tower. This is a distinctive cylindrical structure combining a water tower and a control tower with red and white chequered patterns at the top.[5] It was located in the middle of the main parking apron and is often seen on photos of Darwin in the 1950s and early 60s. Depending on when Biggles flew to Darwin, this would have where he might have found the air traffic manager West.
From 1955, construction began of the longer runway 11/29 and then a new civilian terminal to the north side of this runway.[6] Civilian operations moved out of the old location at the runway 36 threshold to this new terminal and this side of the airport is what passengers arriving at Darwin today will see.
The old red and white control tower has also been moved, and is now preserved as a display at the Australian Aviation Heritage Centre at the southern boundary of the RAAF base.
Darwin Airport and Biggles[]
Biggles transited Australia in Biggles Flies Again, Biggles in the South Seas and The Adventure of the Haunted Creek. While the texts in these cases do not specify which airport Biggles used, Darwin would be a reasonable assumption and in these cases, Biggles would have used Parap Airfield.
In Biggles in Borneo, RAAF Darwin served as the main supply base for Lucky Strike. Members of 666 Squadron took turns to pilot Liberators to Darwin for supplies. Similarly, Worrals used Darwin for her base in Worrals of the Islands.
Postwar saw Biggles coming to Australia on a number of occasions, first in Biggles Works It Out where he first met West and then again in Biggles in Australia. On these trips, he would still have been using runway 18/36 and would probably have seen the red/white chequerboard control tower.
Click here and also here for a good photos of Darwin taken in the 1950s/60s around Biggles's time. Note the distinctive cylindrical control tower in the middle of the apron. To the right is a large rectangular structure which is the civilian terminal. The nearest runway is 18/36 (36 threshold is at the right edge). Further away can be seen runway 14/32, which does not exist now. At the top of the picture, is a cleared area where construction of the new runway 11/29 and civilian terminal will shortly begin.
References[]
- ↑ Wikipedia:Parap Airfield
- ↑ See here for some photos of Parap Airfield
- ↑ RAAF Base Darwin. See also photo here for a good view of the runways and wartime dispersals.
- ↑ See section about Darwin
- ↑ Second Darwin Control Tower - 1950
- ↑ See the photo here which shows the construction plan for the new runway. Also seen at the older runways 18/36 and the now non-existent 13/31.
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