Horn Island Airport - Misplaced Pages

Airport in Queensland, Australia

Horn Island Airport

IATA: HID
ICAO: YHID

Summary

Airport type

Public

Operator

Torres Shire Council

Location

Horn Island, Queensland

Hub for

Torres Strait Air

Elevation AMSL

43 ft / 13 m

Coordinates

10°35′08″S 142°17′34″E / 10.58556°S 142.29278°E / -10.58556; 142.29278

Maps

YHIDShow map of Queensland

YHIDShow map of Australia

YHIDShow map of Southeast Asia

Runways

Direction	Length		Surface
Direction	m	ft	Surface
08/26	1,389	4,557	Asphalt
14/32	1,235	4,052	Asphalt

Sources: Australian AIP and aerodrome chart

Horn Island Airport (IATA: HID, ICAO: YHID) is a minor international airport on Horn Island in the Torres Strait, Queensland, Australia. Domestic fixed wing charter flights and scheduled flights are carried out by SkyTrans, Hinterland Aviation, Cape Air Transport, Horizon Airways, and Torres Strait Air. The only International services are carried out by Torres Strait Air, with charter flights to Papua New Guinea.

World War II

The Civil Constructional Corps and the Department of Main Roads began construction of an advanced operational airbase on the island during World War II, commencing in 1940. RAAF Base Horn Island was completed in 1941 and was used as a staging base for Allied aircraft moving between Australia and New Guinea. The airfield consisted of two intersecting runways, with revetments for aircraft parking.

Japanese bombing raids against Horn Island Aerodrome

After Darwin, Horn Island was the second-most bombed area of Australia by the Japanese in World War II.

14 March 1942
18 March 1942
30 April 1942
11 May 1942
6 July 1942
30 July 1942
1 August 1942
17 June 1943

Units based at Horn Island Aerodrome

7th Fighter Squadron of 49th Fighter Group, March 1942 – 18 April 1942 (Curtiss P-40s)
No. 6 Squadron RAAF
No. 7 Squadron RAAF
No. 24 Squadron RAAF
No. 32 Squadron RAAF
No. 75 Squadron RAAF
No. 84 Squadron RAAF
No. 28 Operational Base Unit RAAF

Memorial

The Horn Island Veterans Memorial in front of the airport commemorates the American and Australian servicemen who fought and died in the defence of Horn Island and the Torres Strait during World War II. It was designed by Vanessa Seekee OAM and Gordon Cameron OAM from local materials.

Airlines and destinations

Airlines	Destinations
QantasLink	Cairns
Skytrans Airlines	Badu Island, Bamaga, Boigu Island, Cairns, Coconut Island, Darnley Island, Mabuiag Island, Moa Island, Murray Island, Saibai Island, Warraber Island, Yam Island, Yorke Island
Torres Strait Air	Charter:Badu Island, Boigu Island, Coconut Island, Darnley Island, Mabuiag Island, Moa Island, Murray Island, Saibai Island, Warraber Island, Yam Island, Yorke Island Charter: Daru, Port Moresby

Aircraft crashes

Aero Commander, 500-S, VH-UJP
A number of B-17 Flying Fortresses crash landed during World War II:
- B-17E Serial Number 41-2636 – crashed during night take off 13 July 1942
- B-17E Serial Number 41-2655 – crashed during night take off 13 July 1942
- B-17E "G.I. Issue" Serial Number 41-2421 – crash-landed on 16 July 1942
- B-17E "Tojo's Nightmare" Serial Number 41-2497 – crashed attempting landing 24 March 1944
A survey aircraft operated by Adastra Airways Lockheed Hudson VH-AGO crashed on approach after an engine failure on Monday 24 June 1957. 6 fatalities including one child.

References

YHID – Horn Island (PDF). AIP En Route Supplement from Airservices Australia, effective 13 June 2024, Aeronautical Chart Archived 10 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine
"RAAF Base Horn Island". RAAF Museum.
Nick Place, "Our secret war", Royal Auto, November 2015, p. 18
"Horn Island Veterans Memorial". Monument Australia. Archived from the original on 9 November 2018. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
"Torres Strait Air".

External links

Wartime Magazine article
Pacific War Wrecks database
Aviation Safety Investigation Report VH-UJP
"Japanese Bombing Raid on Horn Island 14 March 1942". Australian @ War. Archived from the original on 9 November 2018. Retrieved 9 November 2018.

Portals:

v t e Royal Australian Air Force bases
Current bases including bare bases	Amberley Darwin East Sale Edinburgh Gingin Glenbrook Pearce Richmond Tindal Townsville Wagga Williams Williamtown Woomera Range Complex including Woomera Base Curtin Learmonth Scherger
Former bases	Albion Park Archerfield Bairnsdale Bowen Bundaberg Cairns Camden Coffs Harbour Cunderdin Daly Waters Deniliquin Evans Head Fairbairn Gove Guildford Horn Island Jervis Bay Mallala Mascot Moruya Mildura Nabiac Narrandera Narromine Nowra Oakey Parafield Pokolbin Rathmines Parkes Sandgate Schofields Temora Tengah (Singapore) Tocumwal Ubon (Thailand) Uranquinty West Sale Western Junction
Overseas bases	Butterworth (Malaysia) Cocos Island (Cocos (Keeling) Islands) Port Moresby (Papua New Guinea)
Shared bases	Defence Establishment Orchard Hills
Flying boat bases	Lake Boga Rathmines
Other facilities	Delamere Air Weapons Range
RAAFs Curtin, Learmonth and Scherger are so-called "bare bases"

v t e Airports in Australia
Australian Capital Territory	Canberra
New South Wales	Albury Armidale Ballina Bathurst Broken Hill Cobar Coffs Harbour Cooma Dubbo Grafton Griffith Lismore Lord Howe Island Merimbula Moree Moruya Mudgee Narrabri Narrandera Newcastle Orange Parkes Port Macquarie Sydney Tamworth Taree Wagga Wagga
Northern Territory	Alice Springs Ayers Rock Darwin Elcho Island Lake Evella Groote Eylandt Hooker Creek Maningrida McArthur River Mine Milingimbi Gove Ramingining Tennant Creek Tindal
Queensland	Aurukun Badu Island Bamaga (Northern Peninsula) Barcaldine Bedourie Birdsville Blackall Blackwater Boigu Island Boulia Brisbane Bundaberg Burketown Cairns Charleville Chinchilla Cloncurry Coconut Island Coen Cooktown Cunnamulla Darnley Island Dirranbandi Doomadgee Emerald Gladstone Gold Coast Hamilton Island Hervey Bay Horn Island Hughenden Julia Creek Karumba Kowanyama Kubin (Moa Island) Lizard Island Lockhart River Longreach Mabuiag Island Mackay Moranbah Mornington Island Mount Isa Murray Island Normanton Palm Island Quilpie Redcliffe Richmond Rockhampton Roma Saibai Island St George Springvale Sunshine Coast Thangool Thargomindah Toowoomba (City) Toowoomba (Wellcamp) Townsville Warraber Island Weipa Whitsunday Coast Windorah Winton Yam Island Yorke Island
South Australia	Adelaide Ceduna Coober Pedy Kingscote Mount Gambier Olympic Dam Port Augusta Port Lincoln Prominent Hill Whyalla
Tasmania	Burnie Devonport Flinders Island Hobart King Island Launceston
Victoria	Avalon Bendigo Essendon Hamilton Melbourne Mildura Moorabbin Mount Hotham Portland Warrnambool
Western Australia	Albany Argyle Broome Busselton Carnarvon Derby Esperance Fitzroy Crossing Geraldton Halls Creek Jandakot Kalbarri Kalgoorlie Karratha Kununurra Lake Gregory Laverton Learmonth Leinster Leonora Meekatharra Mount Magnet Newman Paraburdoo Perth Port Hedland Ravensthorpe Shark Bay Springvale Wiluna
External territories	Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Norfolk Island Wilkins
This lists airports in Australia with scheduled passenger services. Statistics. Airports in bold are international airports.

v t e Airports in Queensland
Public airports	Abingdon Agnew Alpha Aramac Archerfield Arrabury Aurukun Barcaldine Batavia Biloela Bedourie Birdsville Blackall Blackwater Boigu Island Boulia Bowen Brisbane Bundaberg Burketown Caboolture Cairns Caloundra Camooweal Charleville Charters Towers Chillagoe Chinchilla Clermont Cloncurry Coen Cooktown Cunnamulla Darnley Island Dirranbandi Donnington Airpark Doomadgee Dunk Island Edward River Emerald Gayndah Georgetown Gladstone Gold Coast Goondiwindi Gympie Hamilton Island Hervey Bay Horn Island Hughenden Innisfail Julia Creek Karumba Kingaroy Kowanyama Kubin Lizard Island Lockhart River Longreach Mabuiag Island Mackay Mareeba Maryborough Moranbah Mornington Island Mount Isa Murray Island Muttaburra Normanton Northern Peninsula Palm Island Quilpie Redcliffe Richmond Rockhampton Roma St George Springvale Stanthorpe Sunshine Coast Taroom Thangool Thargomindah Toowoomba City Toowoomba Wellcamp Townsville Warwick Weipa Whitsunday Coast Windorah Winton
Private airports	Badu Island Ballera Century Mine Coconut Island Dysart Elrose Jacobs Well Middlemount Mount Gordon Osborne Mine Saibai Island Southport Springsure The Monument Trepell Warraber Island Whitsunday Yam Island Yorke Island
Military airports	Amberley Enoggera Oakey Scherger Townsville Williamson
Defunct airports	Aitkenvale Antill Plains Bohle River Breddan Eagle Farm Petrie Reid River Tarampa
Related	New South Wales Northern Territory South Australia Tasmania Victoria Western Australia Territories of Australia
Airports in bold are international airports

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