Changi Air Base
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(February 2013) |
Changi Air Base | |||||||||||||||
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 Badge of the Changi Air Base | |||||||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Military airbase | ||||||||||||||
| Owner | Government of Singapore | ||||||||||||||
| Operator | Republic of Singapore Air Force United States Air Force | ||||||||||||||
| Location | Changi,Singapore | ||||||||||||||
| ElevationAMSL | 7 m / 22 ft | ||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 01°22′34.53″N103°58′59.46″E/ 1.3762583°N 103.9831833°E | ||||||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||||||
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TheChangi Air Base(IATA:SIN,ICAO:WSSS) is an airfieldmilitary airbaseof theRepublic of Singapore Air Force(RSAF) andUnited States Air Force(USAF) located atChangi,in the eastern tip of Singapore. Sited at two locations to theeastandwestofSingapore Changi Airport,it co-shares runway facilities with the civilian airport and currently occupies a third runway slated for future expansion for civilian use by Singapore Changi Airport. Together, the two airfields house 121 Squadron, 112 Squadron, 145 Squadron, the Field Defence Squadron, the Air Logistics Squadron and the Airfield Maintenance Squadron. The air base badge carries the mottoTogether in Excellence.
History[edit]
RAF Changi[edit]
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 1966 aerial view of RAF Station Changi |
The area where Changi Air Base now sits was once a large encampment ofBritish Armyartillery and combat engineer units based in Singapore between the mid-1930s up until mid-February 1942,[1]when the island fell underJapanese occupationafter the British surrender that year. This large encampment, comprising several barracks and military administrative buildings such as Roberts Barrack and Selarang Camp, were used together with the nearbyChangi Prison(previously a maximum-security incarceration complex for civilians) for housing many of theAlliedprisoners-of-war(POWs) after Japan took over control of Singapore. The construction of the current airfield in Changi Air Base was initiated by the occupyingImperial Japanese Armed Forcesusing those same Allied POWs imprisoned in the Changi area as forced labourers, building two roughly-paved landing strips between 1943 and 1944, intersecting in a cross-shaped layout and in approximately north–south and east–west directions (similar to what was done atKallang Airportby Japanese occupation forces) to allow planes to land and takeoff in any possible direction all around. This Japanese-builtairfieldfacility became aRoyal Air Force stationafter the Japanese occupation in Singapore abruptly ended following theJapanese surrenderin 1945 and was then renamed as RAF Changi in 1946 by the returning British military authorities. Now, it was the newly imprisoned Japanese troops under British captivity which were then made to improve both runways, reinforcing the north–south runway for military aircraft and addingperforated steel plateson the east–west runway.
- 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-flyingRAF Chia Keng— aGCHQradio-receiving station, was a satellite station of RAF Changi (being the Headquarters Air component part ofBritish 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 asChangi Hospitaland more prominently known as Old Changi Hospital, OCH) functioned as the primaryBritish military hospitalwhich provided medical care for all British, Australian and New Zealandservicemen(collectively, these threeCommonwealthstates 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 whileAlexandra Hospitalwas directed for those stationed in the southern and western areas of Singapore.
Changi Air Base[edit]
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 – theAlouette Squadronand theirAlouette IIIhelicopters shortly after New Year's Day 1972. With the arrival of the firstShorts Skyvansin 1973, SADC began to form the121 Squadronat Changi Air Base and it is currently the oldest resident squadron of the airfield.
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[edit]
In June 1975, the Singapore government acquired about two-thirds of the airbase (saved for the main flight-line,hangar/aircraft maintenancefacilities andcontrol towerwhich were located in the western section of the airbase) for the construction of the new Singapore Changi Airport, with the new runways in close alignment with the original north–south runway. The east–west runway was almost erased from the map, currently surviving as a taxiway to the apron area which has remained operational as part of Changi Air Base.[15]
Changi Air Base (West)[edit]
Following the opening of the newChangi 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 Squadronwith 4 Utility Transport Aircraft (UTA) and 5 Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) versions of theFokker 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)[edit]
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:
- 112 Squadronwith 6A330 MRTT
Gallery[edit]
-
Badge ofHQ RAF Far East Air Force(air component of British Far East Command), which was headquartered at RAF Changi. -
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. -
Japanese prisoners of war laying some of the 11,900 rolls ofbituminisedhessian sheetingthat provided a waterproof bedding for the main runway at Changi. -
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. -
121Sqn's Fokker 50 MPA. -
112Sqn's KC-135R. -
Royal Air Force Changi memorial inChangi Village,built in 2010 to commemorate service of RAF air base and Far East Air Force Headquarters (1946-1971)
See also[edit]
- 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[edit]
Citations[edit]
- ^https:// 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.
- ^abJefford 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.
- ^Probert, Henry (2006).The History of Changi.Changi University Press ( changimuseum ).ISBN981-05-5580-6.
- ^"DSTA harnesses technology for new airbase extension".Lianhe Zaobao (reproduced by DSTA with permission). 16 July 2002. Archived fromthe originalon 29 July 2012.Retrieved25 September2008.
Bibliography[edit]
- Jefford, C.G. (1988).RAF Squadrons. A comprehensive record of the movement and equipment of all RAF squadrons and their antecedents since 1912.Shrewsbury:Airlife.ISBN1-85310-053-6.
- Lake, A (1999).Flying units of the RAF.Shrewsbury:Airlife.ISBN1-84037-086-6.
External links[edit]
