Lae PNG workshops

[Mike K]

interesting vehicles , a bogged WOA staff car

https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/F07017/

[Lang]

Mike

Interesting Lae footage.

Lae is not landlocked it is on the beautiful Huon Gulf.

Some of those large tin buildings can still be seen around town. It is PNG second city. The area was a huge base of operations (Nadzab, the biggest WW2 airstrip complex in the Pacific at that time was just down the road and supplied through Lae). The outlying areas were stripped of their buildings after the war to set up elsewhere for commerce or scrapped - few structures were overtaken by the jungle.

The non-clothing is standard in such a humid climate and the dangers of disease are very low if people keep normally clean (not possible for jungle fighters). The "duty mosquito" does not come on the job until nightfall.

I lived with my family in Lae for 6 years, much of it shirtless like everyone else and a better period of my life would be hard to identify.

In the 70's we spent all our spare time wandering in the bush looking at dumps of vehicles and aircraft around the area. The eyes had been picked out by the scrappies in the 40's and 50's but there was still lots to be seen.

Unfortunately the urban drift from the villages has changed Lae from a tropical paradise into a city of crime and run down infrastructure.

Lang

[Lang]

Here is a bit of history of Lae.

A couple of points of interest was firstly Lae was one end of an air supply chain in 1931/32 to the goldfields at Bulolo and Wau (no roads in those days). In 1931 the Junkers and other aircraft on this 40 minute run carried more air freight than the whole rest of the world combined!

It was from Lae that Amelia Earhart and Noonan took off never to be seen again.

The Japanese occupied Lae in 1942 and it was from here Saburo Sakai flew to become one of the top WW2 aces.

On 10 March 1942 a task force comprising the carriers Yorktown and Lexington and the heavy cruiser Indianapolis (all later sunk) launched a force which flew over the 15,000ft Owen Stanley Ranges from the south coast and attacked and sunk several Japanese transports unloading troops for the Lae occupation.

The modern converted cargo liner Tenyo Maru was hit and the captain drove it onto the beach at the foot of the airstrip. The bow of the ship was a radar beacon for aircraft flying in bad weather for 20 years until it slid back during an earthquake in the 60's. Still a great scuba dive.

With the Australian 9th Division from the east, 6th Division from the south and 7th Division air landed at Nadzab to the north Lae was taken to become the main centre for New Guinea operations. Hence the workshops etc.

This is a good read with some photos http://malumnalu.blogspot.com.au/201...t-old-lae.html


Lang

[Lang]

Here are the Junkers G31 (forerunner to the famous JU52 but bigger) in Lae and unloading in Bulolo 1931

[Lang]

Here is a selection of photos of Lae.

In the second photo the Tenyo Maru "the pilot's wet weather friend" can be seen sticking out at the end of the strip. For the Australians, Salamaua can be seen on the horizon on the extreme left of the photo.

Interesting that the staff cars have kept all their chrome!

Ford V8 stockpile - they probably only needed 2 spare engines for the Chevrolet half of the CMP fleet.

[Lang]

More Lae Photos

In the 4th photo American engineers lay steel track for the Australian 9th Division vehicles landing up the coast for the attack on Lae.

[Lang]

Don't worry about the paint, just get them on board.