Airport type Military Elevation AMSL 145 ft / 44 m 3,049 10,003 Elevation 48 m | Location Weipa, Queensland 12/30 3,049 10,003 Asphalt | |
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Operator Royal Australian Air Force | ||
RAAF Base Scherger (IATA: YBSG) is the newest of the Royal Australian Air Force's three 'bare bases', completing a chain of bases across Australia’s 'top end'. Located 26 km (16 mi) east of Weipa on the western side of Cape York Peninsula in Queensland, it was constructed by troops drawn mainly from the 17th Construction Squadron, in what is believed to have been the biggest project undertaken by the Royal Australian Engineers at the time. It was opened on 5 August 1998 by the Prime Minister, John Howard.
As a 'bare base' Scherger's role is to provide the RAAF and other services with the necessary infrastructure to support forward deployed forces during a crisis. The base is named in honour of Air Chief Marshal Sir Frederick Scherger who was the Australian Chief of the Air Staff (now known as Chief of Air Force) from March 1957 to May 1961 and the equivalent of what is now Chief of the Defence Force from 1961 to 1966.
While the base has facilities to cater for 400 personnel in fixed accommodation, 1,000 personnel in tent lines and about 40 aircraft, it is normally only manned by four Air Force personnel who are responsible for caretaker duties. During peacetime RAAF Base Scherger hosts, on average, one major exercise per year in which the base is fully activated through the arrival of RAAF units based elsewhere in Australia.
Scherger Immigration Detention Centre
In October 2010, the Scherger Immigration Detention Centre was opened at Scherger RAAF Base, this facility provided accommodation for 300 single adult males. It closed in 2014.