Charters Towers Airport Explained

Charters Towers Airport
Iata:	CXT
Icao:	YCHT
Type:	Public
Operator:	Charters Towers Regional Council
Location:	Charters Towers, Queensland
Elevation-F:	955
Coordinates:	-20.0439°N 146.2734°W
Pushpin Map:	Queensland
Pushpin Label:	YCHT
Pushpin Map Caption:	Location in Queensland
Metric-Rwy:	Y
R1-Number:	01/19
R1-Length-M:	1,005
R1-Surface:	Gravel/Bituman
R2-Number:	06/24
R2-Length-M:	1,736
R2-Surface:	Asphalt
Footnotes:	Sources: AIP

Charters Towers Airport is an airport located in Columbia, Charters Towers, Queensland, Australia, 2.9NM north of the Charters Towers CBD.

History

During World War II, the United States Army Air Forces Fifth Air Force stationed the following units at the airfield:^[1]

8th Bombardment Squadron, A-20 Havoc (17–31 March 1942; 9 May 1942 – 28 January 1943)

90th Bombardment Squadron, A-20 Havoc (8 March 1942 – 28 January 1943)

431st Fighter Squadron (475th Fighter Group), P-38 Lightning (14 May – 1 July 1943)
432d Fighter Squadron (475th Fighter Group), P-38 Lightning (14 May – 11 July 1943)
433d Fighter Squadron (475th Fighter Group), P-38 Lightning (14 May – 17 June 1943)
16th Bombardment Squadron (Light) (27th Bombardment Group (Light)), A-24 Dauntless (1 April – 4 May 1942)
17th Bombardment Squadron (Light) (27th Bombardment Group (Light)), A-24 Dauntless (1 April – 4 May 1942)
91st Bombardment Squadron (Light) (27th Bombardment Group (Light)), A-24 Dauntless (24 March 1942)

In addition, 370th Service Squadron managed the day to day USAAF Base operations of the airfield.

Charters Towers Airport has a heritage listing for the Bore Sight Range and Compass Swinging Platform established during World War II.^[2]

Book: Maurer, Maurer. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II. 1969. reprint. 1982. Office of Air Force History. Washington, DC. 0-405-12194-6. 72556. 70605402.
1 August 2014.