An interactive map of the locations of the airfields on New Britain, New Ireland and the Admiralty Islands that were held, at some point during WW2, by Japanese forces.
In addition to the airfields around Rabaul, the Japanese also had airfields spread throughout the Bismarck Archipelago. Several were taken over by Allied forces during invasions, but many were left to wither away with no hope of resupply or reinforcement.
On the island of New Britain, the Gasmata, Arawe, and Cape Gloucester airdromes were wrested from Japanese control and were then used to press those invasions ahead. The Cape Gloucester drome became an Allied base and was used frequently as an emergency landing strip by damaged or fuel-starved planes and as an overnight stop when weather prevented a return to Nadzab.
On Los Negros and Manus Islands in the Admiralties, Momote and Lorengau airdromes would become operational bases and the harbor a major naval base for the Allies.
The New Ireland airdromes were all bypassed and remained in Japanese control until the end of the war.
For this map, the locations and orientations of airdromes were determined from WW2 aerial photography and war-era topographic maps. Information from photographs was given priority since some of the map locations appeared to be rough estimates when compared to satellite imagery.
I tend to use the terms airdrome and airfield interchangeably, though I’m not completely sure that I should. To my way of thinking, an airstrip would be a primitive runway with few, if any, services or could refer to the actual runway of an airfield. Airdrome would seem to be an update to the old fashioned aerodrome, and suggests a higher level of aviation services than would be found at an airstrip. Airfield, to me, suggest a facility purpose-built for aviation and the rendering of aviation services, such as fuel, mechanical, and aircraft storage.