Pattimura Air Force Base (Laha Airport)

Pattimura Air Force Base is a Type B installation of the Indonesian Air Force located in Ambon, Maluku Province, Indonesia. The military facility operates as a joint-use airfield with Pattimura Airport, located 38 kilometers west of Ambon's city center. The military installation is situated southeast of the passenger terminal, directly across the runway.

The Dutch colonial government established the facility in 1939 as Laha Airfield to support operations for the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force (ML-KNIL). In 1941, the Dutch reinforced the installation with additional ML-KNIL troops from Java and Australian forces. By early 1942, the garrison consisted of two companies of the Australian 2/21st Battalion and approximately 300 Dutch troops. Ground defenses included Dutch 75 mm field guns, 37 mm anti-tank guns, and both 75 mm and 40 mm anti-aircraft batteries. Aviation assets assigned to the base included ML-KNIL Brewster F2A Buffalo aircraft from No. 2 Flight, Group IV, and a flight of Royal Australian Air Force Lockheed Hudson Mk II light bombers from No. 13 and No. 2 Squadrons.

Japanese forces initiated a ground assault on 31 January 1942, utilizing naval artillery, dive bombers, fighter aircraft, and infantry. The defending forces surrendered the airfield on 2 February 1942. Throughout the occupation, Japanese forces operated aircraft from the base, including units that conducted air raids on Darwin, Australia, in February 1942.

Following Indonesian independence, the Indonesian Air Force assumed control of the airbase. During the Permesta rebellion in the 1950s, the Permesta Air Force (AUREV) conducted multiple bombing raids against the installation, damaging several Indonesian Air Force aircraft. On 18 May 1958, an Indonesian Air Force P-51 Mustang shot down an AUREV Douglas A-26 Invader over Ambon following an attack on the airfield.

The installation remained under military control until 1975, when a joint decree by the Indonesian government designated the airfield for civilian air transport. The Indonesian Air Force maintains its military operations and facilities alongside the commercial airport infrastructure.