Tarakan is a small island at the east side of Borneo. The airfield was build long before WWII. and was a grass strip in those days. It was used by the Netherlands East Indies Air Force which flew there with Brewsters and Glenn Martins.
Now it is a concrete strip and much longer in length and used by commercial airlines.
In this video you can see it from the air ,filmed out of a Cessna from the MAF.
More info at: www.tarakan.nl
At approximately 2.08 and a little more, there is some sort of shrine in the foreground. What is it please? My father, a WW2 RAAF Spitfire pilot wrote that in 1945 this strip had to be possibly one of the worst in the South West Pacific. To make this strip anywhere serviceable, 400 drums of concrete had to be poured into the worst of the holes and then covered with the ingenious Marsden Matting. A successful landing was a feat in itself. If only those young pilots could see it now . . .
lynley04 4 months ago
well that's nice video.....
aditgokil1 8 months ago