The
wreck of the Tenyo Maru looms up at the end of the strip at Lae
in 1962. The Tenyo Maru was a luxury passenger liner which was
pressed into service as a mine layer during WW2. The vessel was sunk
off Lae on 10 March 1942 by US Navy Dauntless dive bombers. In the seventies,
the bow of the ship slipped below the surface during an earthquake thus
depriving PNG aviators of a useful landmark. The hangar on the left
was occupied by Mandated Air Lines.
Photo: Tony Burgess |