Changi Air Base
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Changi Air Base Pangkalan Udara Changi ( AMSL | 7 m / 22 ft | ||||||||||||||
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Coordinates | 01°22′34.53″N 103°58′59.46″E / 1.3762583°N 103.9831833°E | ||||||||||||||
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The Changi Air Base (
History
RAF Changi
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1966 aerial view of RAF Station Changi |
The area where Changi Air Base now sits was once a large encampment of
- Units
- Air Command Far East and Air Headquarters Malaya Communication Squadron RAF[2]
- Air Headquarters Malaya Communication Squadron RAF[3]
- Far East Communication Squadron RAF[4]
- Headquarters Air Command Southeast Asia (Communication) Squadron RAF[5]
- No. 33 Squadron RAF[6]
- No. 48 Squadron RAF[7]
- No. 52 Squadron RAF[7]
- No. 81 Squadron RAF[8]
- No. 84 Squadron RAF[9]
- No. 103 Squadron RAF[10]
- No. 110 Squadron RAF[11]
- No. 205 Squadron RAF[12]
- No. 215 Squadron RAF[13]
- No. 656 Squadron RAF[14]
Completed post-war, non-flying RAF Chia Keng — a GCHQ radio-receiving station, was a satellite station of RAF Changi (being the Headquarters Air component part of British Far East Command) until the withdrawal of British troops from Singapore at the end of the 1960s. Also, the nearby RAF Hospital Changi (now defunct as Changi Hospital and more prominently known as Old Changi Hospital, OCH) functioned as the primary British military hospital which provided medical care for all British, Australian and New Zealand servicemen (collectively, these three Commonwealth states which based troops in Singapore became known by the term "ANZUK", for Australia, New Zealand and the UK) stationed in the eastern and northern parts of Singapore while Alexandra Hospital was directed for those stationed in the southern and western areas of Singapore.
Changi Air Base
Upon the withdrawal of British forces from Singapore, RAF Changi was renamed as Changi Air Base (CAB) and was handed over to the SADC (predecessor of Republic of Singapore Air Force) on 9 December 1971. Thereafter, the airfield received its first flying squadron of SADC – the
The novel 'The Sound of Pirates' by former RAF airman Terence Brand is based in the 1960s both on the airfield and in the surrounding areas.
Singapore Changi Airport
In June 1975, the Singapore government acquired about two-thirds of the airbase (saved for the main flight-line,
Changi Air Base (West)
Following the opening of the new Changi Air Base (East) (Changi East Complex) on 29 November 2004, the existing facilities at Changi Air Base has been renamed as Changi Air Base (West) (Changi West Complex) and Headquarters Changi Air Base (HQ CAB).[16]
The flying squadrons now are:
- 121 Squadron with 4 Utility Transport Aircraft (UTA) and 5 Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) versions of the Fokker F50
The Support Squadrons are:
- Field Defence Squadron (FDS)
- Airfield Maintenance Squadron (AMS)
- Airfield Operations Maintenance Squadron Fixed Wing 2 (AOMS-FW2)
- Ground Logistics Liaison Office / Ground Logistics Squadron (GLLO/GLS)
- Air Movement Centre (AMC)
Changi Air Base (East)
The base was opened on 29 November 2004.
The base was closed for runway reconstruction and reopened at the end of 2018.
The flying squadrons now are:
- F-16D Block 52+(Strike)
- 112 Squadron with 6 A330 MRTT
Gallery
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Badge of HQ RAF Far East Air Force (air component of British Far East Command), which was headquartered at RAF Changi.
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Men of No 5353 Airfield Construction Wing, Royal Air Force (RAF), assist and supervise Japanese prisoners of war during the construction of the main runway at Changi.
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Japanese prisoners of war laying some of the 11,900 rolls ofhessian sheetingthat provided a waterproof bedding for the main runway at Changi.
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View of the main runway at RAF Changi, Singapore, soon after its completion. The runway constructed from 276,680 pierced steel sheets was 2,000 yards in length and 50 yards wide was able to take the largest aircraft then in service with the RAF.
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121Sqn's Fokker 50 MPA.
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112Sqn's KC-135R.
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Royal Air Force Changi memorial in Changi Village, built in 2010 to commemorate service of RAF air base and Far East Air Force Headquarters (1946-1971)
See also
- Battle of Singapore
- British Far East Command
- Far East Air Force (Royal Air Force)
- Far East Strategic Reserve
- Former overseas RAF bases
- Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation
- Malayan Emergency
- Republic of Singapore Air Force
References
Citations
- ^ https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/fall-of-singapore
- ^ Lake 1999, p. 14.
- ^ Lake 1999, p. 18.
- ^ Lake 1999, p. 66.
- ^ Lake 1999, p. 128.
- ^ Jefford 1988, p. 36.
- ^ a b Jefford 1988, p. 41.
- ^ Jefford 1988, p. 49.
- ^ Jefford 1988, p. 50.
- ^ Jefford 1988, p. 54.
- ^ Jefford 1988, p. 55.
- ^ Jefford 1988, p. 68.
- ^ Jefford 1988, p. 71.
- ^ Jefford 1988, p. 103.
- ISBN 981-05-5580-6.
- ^ "DSTA harnesses technology for new airbase extension". Lianhe Zaobao (reproduced by DSTA with permission). 16 July 2002. Archived from the original on 29 July 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2008.
Bibliography
- Jefford, C.G. (1988). RAF Squadrons. A comprehensive record of the movement and equipment of all RAF squadrons and their antecedents since 1912. ISBN 1-85310-053-6.
- Lake, A (1999). Flying units of the RAF. ISBN 1-84037-086-6.