Kallang Airport
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Kallang Airport Lapangan Terbang Kallang 加冷机场 காலாங் வான்முகம் | |||||||||||
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Summary | |||||||||||
Airport type | Defunct | ||||||||||
Serves | |||||||||||
Location | 9 Kallang Airport Way, Singapore 397750 | ||||||||||
Opened | 12 June 1937 | ||||||||||
Closed | 1955 | ||||||||||
Coordinates | 01°18′26.68″N 103°52′24.16″E / 1.3074111°N 103.8733778°E | ||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||
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Kallang Airport (also known as the Kallang Aerodrome, Kallang Airfield and RAF Kallang) was the first purpose-built civil international airport in
at its greatest extent. The conserved complex, including the airport's terminal building, is located wholly within Kallang.Boasting an anchorage area for seaplanes along the airport's perimeter on the Kallang Basin, the Kallang Airport was hailed as "the finest airport in the British Empire" at that time. Famous aviator Amelia Earhart once described it as "an aviation miracle of the East".[1]
Construction of the Kallang Airport began in 1931 with 300 acres (120 ha) of mangrove swampland being reclaimed. It resulted in the displacement of a large
The Kallang Airport compound was subsequently occupied by several organisations following its decommissioning, the most notable being the
Other parts of the Kallang Airport were redeveloped. The area surrounding the airport's former runway was first converted into the Kallang Park, a large public park created as part of "Project Lung";[6] later, the old National Stadium was built on the same site; today, the Singapore Sports Hub (including the new National Stadium and Singapore Indoor Stadium) is a major national landmark. The eastern portion of the Kallang Airport was redeveloped into one of Singapore's first modern residential precinct, now called the "Old Kallang Airport Estate".
It was one of the locations that hosted the 2011 Singapore Biennale art festival.[7] There are plans to transform the Kallang Airport area into a commercial hub, along with the adjacent Kallang riverside.[8]
Today, roads like Old Airport Road, Kallang Airport Drive, Kallang Airport Way directly reference the Kallang Airport; Old Terminal Lane refers to the conserved Kallang Airport terminal building; Dakota Crescent, Dakota Close and Dakota MRT station are named after the Douglas DC-3 "Dakota" aircraft that used to land frequently at the Kallang Airport and serve to commemorate an aviation disaster in 1946.
History
Looking into the future, I expect to see Singapore become one of the largest and most important airports of the world ... It is, therefore, essential that we should have here, close to the heart of the town, an aerodrome which is equally suitable for land planes and for sea planes; and the best site, beyond all question, is the Kallang Basin.
Sir Cecil Clementi, Governor of the Straits Settlements,[9] 31 August 1931.
Naming
Kallang Airport got its name from the nearby Kallang Basin, which was named after a group of sea-gypsies living around the area in the 1800s.[10]
On 11 February 1930, the Dutch Airline KLM operated the first service flight between Amsterdam and Batavia (now Jakarta), landing at Seletar with a Dutch-made Fokker trimotor monoplane carrying 8 passengers and a cargo of fresh fruit, flowers and mail. This marked the beginning of commercial civil aviation in Singapore. KLM later introduced a regular Amsterdam to Batavia flight service in late 1931.
Two years later, in July 1933,
Booming commercial aviation traffic led to congestion at the existing
Construction
Reclamation work began on the 103 hectares of a tidal swamp in Kallang Basin in 1932. Seven million cubic metres of earth were used for the filling of this tidal swamp. By 1936, all reclamation and consolidation of land were completed, forming a 915-metre diameter, dome-shaped landing ground.
On 12 June 1937, the Kallang Aerodrome was officially opened by Sir Shenton Thomas, who had taken over the governorship of the Straits Settlements from Sir Cecil in 1934. At the time it was hailed as "the finest airport in the British Empire", with facilities that were considered revolutionary. The circular aerodrome allowed planes to land from any direction, and the slipway allowed seaplanes to be served at the same terminal building as regular planes.
Wearne's Air Service promptly initiated its Malaya internal air service on June 28, 1937, leveraging the advanced infrastructure of the newly unveiled Kallang Aerodrome.[12] Positioned at the forefront of aviation innovation, the circular aerodrome's state-of-the-art facilities provided an optimal setting for the airline's operations.
World War II
When the Japanese launched their invasion of
Brewster Buffalo fighters of
The war years and after
The growth in aviation traffic was stunted during the
In the early 1950s, the increasing size of aircraft and the need for longer runways resulted in it being extended beyond Mountbatten Road in the eastern boundary of the facility into what is now Old Airport Road. The new runway was 5,496 feet (1,675 m) long and 165 feet (50 m) wide.[11] This necessitated the installation of traffic lights to halt vehicular traffic every time a plane took off or landed.
Photo gallery
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1945 aerial photo of Kallang Airport's runway
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1945 aerial photo of Kallang Airport runway and ramp, as well as Kallang Basin area
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1945 aerial photo of Kallang Airport runway, ramp and terminal building, as well as Kallang Basin area
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Brewster Buffalo Mk Is being re-assembled inside a hangar at Kallang in March 1941
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The main hangar in 1941
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Buffalo Mk I of No. 488 Squadron RNZAF, 1941
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Abandoned Japanese Kawasaki Ki-45 fighters during the liberation of Singapore
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The first British prisoners of war to be evacuated from Singapore after liberation walk to their aircraft
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Royal Air Force personnel pass in front of a B-24 Liberator aircraft at Kallang airport, Singapore, in 1945–46
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Video taken in January 2021
Accidents and incidents
- On 7 November 1941, a Royal Air Force Tiger Moth piloted by Flight Lieutenant Alec Wills was hit from behind by a landing Buffalo of 243 Squadron, resulting in Wills' death.[14]
- On 29 June 1946, one of the Dakota aircraft belonging to the Royal Air Force Police with 20 NCOs on board crashed at the airport in a storm with no survivors.[15]
- On 13 March 1954, a crashed while attempting to land at Kallang Airport en route to London from Sydney. The accident killed 32 people, including eight crew members.[16] An investigation of the incident found that the most probable cause of the crash was pilot fatigue, but there was a serious problem of "inadequate response of the fire and rescue services". This remains the worst flight disaster in Singapore.[11]
Legacy
Kallang Airport has left several reminders of its existence. The old runway near to Mountbatten Road is now called Old Airport Road. The surrounding public flats there are named the Old Kallang Airport Estate. The estate is served by Dakota MRT station, which took its name from the Dakota DC-3 aircraft which used to land at the Kallang Airport.
Two new roads near Kallang MRT station have been named "Kallang Airport Drive" and "Kallang Airport Way". In addition, Old Terminal Lane, which links Geylang Road with Kallang Airport Way, references the Kallang Airport's conserved terminal building.
The slipway for seaplanes was occupied by the Oasis Building, a structure built on the Kallang Basin. The terminal building itself was used as the headquarters of the People's Association until 9 April 2009, when it moved to its new headquarters at King George's Avenue. The PA building held many activities for the ruling People's Action Party, ranging from school visits to social events.[17]
Kallang Airport was gazetted for conservation on 5 December 2008 by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) of Singapore.[18]
Architecture
The original Terminal Building is an iconic modernist building with Art Deco-style railings and columns by Frank Dorrington Ward. The international style is also visible in this building as a radical simplification of form, lack of ornaments, using transparent materials which make the building visually lighter; also the clear division of functions. There is a circular glass control tower in the centre, and there are two side blocks, the former terminal building, with an open-air viewing deck on the top floor. The People's Association kept the concrete structure and transparent glazed walls and repaired the façade, closed the gates, and rebuilt the window on the second floor for reshaping the interior space for the use of offices.
See also
- Battle of Singapore
- Far East Air Force (Royal Air Force)
- Former Overseas RAF bases
References
Citations
- ^ "Amelia Earhart called Kallang Airport the aviation miracle of the east". Straitstimes.com. 9 December 2017. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
- ^ "Former Kallang Airport building". nlb.gov.sg. 11 June 2013. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
- ^ "Old Kallang Airport". remembersingapore.org. 23 July 2012. Archived from the original on 17 July 2018. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
- ^ nickyeo (22 July 2014). "Old Kallang Airport". The Lion Raw. Archived from the original on 17 July 2018. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
- ^ "Iconic of Old Kallang Airport". blogspot. 27 August 2017. Archived from the original on 17 July 2018. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
- ^ "A Little History along the Kallang River". remembersingapore.org. 1 November 2016. Archived from the original on 17 July 2018. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
- ^ "Singapore Biennale". nlb.gov.sg. 2017. Archived from the original on 8 July 2018. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
- ^ "Urban Redevelopment Authority". Ura.gov.sg. Archived from the original on 17 July 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
- ^ "Former Kallang Airport building". Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
- ^ "Place Names: Gelam-Rochor-Kallang-Geylang". Singapura Stories. Archived from the original on 3 March 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
- ^ a b c Yong Kiat, Goh (2012). Where Lions Fly. Singapore: Straits Times Press. p. 63.
- ^ "Thousands of Letters by First Internal Airmail", The Straits Times, 29 June 1937, retrieved 25 January 2024
- ^ Lake 1999, p. 18.
- ISBN 978-1526706980.
- ^ Stephen R Davies (2004). "A Concise History of the Royal Air Force Police". Archived from the original on 20 February 2010. Retrieved 15 April 2010.
- ^ "32 are killed in Kallang air disaster". The Straits Times. 14 March 1954. p. 1. Archived from the original on 8 January 2019. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
- ^ "Kallang Airport". Flickr. 22 December 2009. Archived from the original on 3 March 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
- ^ "Former Kallang Airport". Archived from the original on 28 June 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
Bibliography
- Lake, A (1999). Flying units of the RAF. ISBN 1-84037-086-6.