But Airfield

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But Airfield, also known as But West to the Japanese and But Drome to the Allies, was a World War II airfield near But, Papua New Guinea. It was mainly used by light and medium bombers. Construction began on February 6, 1943, by the Imperial Japanese Army. In its early days it had a single runway 1,200 meters long and 80 meters wide. Australian forces captured the airfield in April 1945, repaired the runway, and continued to use it. By the end of the war the runway had been extended to more than 1,500 meters and the base included 29 revetments. There were 17 bomber revetments on the north side and 12 on the south side. The defense included two searchlight batteries and 16 anti-aircraft guns (eight heavy and eight light). After the war the airfield was abandoned.