Government finally acquired about of land in 1929. More land was purchased in 1930, 1936, 1942 and finally the cemetery (God's Acre) in 1946 resulting in a total area of . Two light gravel strips were built and the aerodrome started operations. Qantas moved their operations from Eagle Farm to Archerfield after the first hangars were erected at Archerfield, and the airport was officially opened on 1 April 1931. Australian National Airways (ANA) and Qantas Empire Airways both used Archerfield during the 1930s, as did Trans-Australia Airways (TAA) upon start up in 1946. The Queensland Aero Club, which was established in 1919, moved from Eagle Farm to Archerfield in 1931. The control tower and many buildings at Archerfield were built during these busy years when Archerfield was the main airport in Brisbane. Although designed in 1936, it was not until 1941 that the administrative building and control tower was finally erected at a cost of £15,000. The control tower on top of the administrative building has since been dismantled. World War II During World War II, Archerfield became an important military airfield for the Royal Australian Air Force, United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), Military Aviation of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army and Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm. The airport was home to RAAF Station Archerfield from 1939 to 1956, with 23 Squadron being the first RAAF squadron to be based in Queensland. Plaques commemorating the RAAF, USAAF and Royal Navy personnel who served in the Pacific theatre can be viewed in the old administration building. With the Japanese conquests in the Philippines and much of the Southwest Pacific in 1941 and 1942, Brisbane became both the headquarters of the USAAF Fifth Air Force, as well as a major logistics and maintenance center. Personnel transports and cargo shipping from the United States arrived at Brisbane's port facilities, with aircraft being unloaded and transported to Archerfield. The Air Technical Service Command 44th Depot Repair Squadron's mission was to uncrate and prepare these aircraft for combat units assigned to Australia. In addition, the squadron was tasked to perform depot-level repair on aircraft in service throughout Australia. Aircraft processed through the depot consisted of P-38 Lightning, P-39 Airacobra, P-40 Warhawk, P-47 Thunderbolt, P-70 Havoc, B-25 Mitchell, B-26 Marauder, B-18 Bolo, and B-24 Liberators. The United States Army 1622d Ordnance and Supply Company (Aviation) was the main organization coordinating warehousing of spare parts,