| Royal Air Force Station Ascension | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1942 - present |
| Country | UK: Ascension Island, South Atlantic Ocean |
| Allegiance | UK: British Armed Forces |
| Branch | Royal Air Force |
| Type | Flying station |
| Role | Staging Post |
| Part of | UK: British Armed Forces |
| Based | Ascension Island |
| Nickname | "Ascension", "Wideawake" |
| Motto | Auxilium Transmare |
| Royal Air Force Ensign |  |
| March | Royal Air Force March Past |
| Commanders | |
| Commander British Forces South Atlantic Islands | Air Cdre G D Moulds CBE |
| Station Commander | Wg Cdr L M Davidson |
| Operations Officer | Sqn Ldr N A West |
| Insignia | |
| Station badge | A swallow in flight |
| RAF Ascension Wideawake Field |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
 |
|||
| RAF Ascension crest | |||
| IATA: ASI – ICAO: FHAW | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Military | ||
| Owner | Ministry of Defence | ||
| Operator | Royal Air Force / Serco Group | ||
| Location | Georgetown, Ascension Island, South Atlantic | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 278 ft / 85 m | ||
| Coordinates | 7°58′10″S 14°23′38″W / 7.96944°S 14.39389°WCoordinates: 7°58′10″S 14°23′38″W / 7.96944°S 14.39389°W | ||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 13/31 | 10,019 | 3,054 | Asphalt |
| No ILS | |||
Royal Air Force Station Ascension, more commonly known as RAF Ascension Island, and sometimes known as Ascension Island Base, is a British military airbase on Ascension Island in the Atlantic Ocean, near the Equator.
Contents |
History
In 1939 Ascension became important as a HF/DF radio station covering trade routes. After the United States entered World War II, an air strip was built using a US task force.[1]
The first aircraft to land on Ascension Island was a Fairey Swordfish from HMS Archer in 1942. In 1943 the United States Army Air Force set up Wideawake Airfield, by arrangement with the British government. The airfield was abandoned at the end of the war, and fell into disuse. The Americans returned in 1956, and reopened the airfield in 1957. The runway was lengthened and widened in the mid 1960s to allow for larger aircraft. USAF then, and later NASA established missile tracking facilities based at Cat Hill. Although NASA usage ended in 1967, USAF continues its usage with several hundred personnel, mostly contractors.
RAF Ascension Island was re-garrissoned by the RAF in 1982 and used extensively as a staging base during the Falklands War. Operation Black Buck, the long range bombing raids, were carried out from there. The base continues this staging post role for the Falkland Islands, for both the RAF and the United States Air Force.
Current Organisation
While being under the overall command of the British Forces South Atlantic Islands, Air Cdre Gordon Moulds, Ascension Island on a day-to-day basis is run by around sixty RAF personnel. The Current Station commander is Wg Cdr Liam Davidson, who splits his time between the base and RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, UK; with most of the running being controlled by Sqn Ldr Nathan West as Ops Officer. Beneath him, the operations flight is responsible for Air Traffic Control of the station, plus aircraft handling, re-fuelling, security, immediate engineering and firefighting. The flight, including the Ops Officer, consists of four officers and around fifty-five non-commissioned service personnel.
The RAF presence on Ascension os backed up by USAF personnel, who contribute a similar number of servicepersons to ensure effective running of the station, under the command of Captain Eduard Rodriguez, who is responsible to the RAF Station Commander.
See also
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Royal Air Force |
References
- ^ "Ascension Island - The Wide-Awake News". http://www.les-smith.com/Ascension-Island/WideAwakeNews.htm.
External links
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
