43RD ENGINEER GENERAL SERVICES REGIMENT
US CORPS OF ENGINEERS
IN AUSTRALIA DURING WW2

visits since 14 August 2004

The 43rd Engineer General Services Regiment (43rd EGSR) was activated in April 1941. They had taken part in the US Army's manoeuvres in Tennessee, USA during June 1941.

23 January 1942 the 43rd sailed for Australia along with the 46th Engineer General Services Regiment. Both unit's equipment was to be shipped 3 weeks later.

26 February 42 the 43rd commanded by Lt. Colonel Heston R Cole landed at Melbourne.

In February 42 the 43rd began working on Camp Seymour at Melbourne getting the camp ready for the U.S. Army's 41st Infantry Division.

By mid-March the 43rd received it's equipment. With its arrival the 1st Battalion moved to the Northern Territory to join the 808th Engineer Aviation Battalion in the Darwin area. Its 2nd battalion moved to Adelaide to work on camps for the U.S. Army's 32nd Infantry Division due in by May 1942.

The 1st Battalion of the 43rd Engineer General Services Regiment arrives at Katherine on 26 April 1942. Carson's Field (later called Tindal Airfield) was originally built in 1942 by the 43rd Engineer Battalion, US Corps of Engineers and the Civil Construction Corps (CCC). It was located 17kms from Katherine in the Northern Territory and was located about 320kms by road south east of Darwin.

The 43rd Engineer General Services Regiment started to construct Manbullo airfield in the Northern Territory in April 1942. They had gravelled 915meters of the eventual 1,981 meter long runway by 19 May 1942. The Allied Works Council (AWC) then bitumened the runways and taxiways.

On 4 May 1942 Company E moves to Port Moresby Papua New Guinea to work on the airfield called Rorona. The First Battalion remained in the Northern Territory building airfields between Darwin and Birdum along the railway line.

On 8 August 1942, Companies D and F move to Milne Bay Papua New Guinea.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I'd like to thank Melvin Haba for his assistance with this web page.

Heaps of WW2 books available at Amazon.com

"Australia @ War"

This page first produced 14 August 2004

This page last updated 08 July 2006