WWII Strauss Airfield Precinct

Strauss Airstrip, dating from 1942-45, is one of the last surviving and most intact World War Two pursuit fighter installations in northern Australia. An important strategic component of the Allied defence of northern Australia, Strauss played a pivotal role in the air war against Japan by providing a base for the use of P40 Kittyhawk and Spitfire fighter squadrons. Strauss was used by large numbers of American and British aircraft during the war, and has associations with Australia’s engagement during the 20th Century in the crucial alliance with the United States and Great Britain. Artefacts at Strauss Airstrip represent significant elements of a wartime airstrip with the potential to contribute to an understanding of the role of the pursuit fighter squadrons in Darwin during World War Two, in addition to informing the lives of servicemen in a (then) remote theatre of war.