In use 1939 – present Code ASI Year built 1939 | Identifiers IATA: ASI, ICAO: FHAW Elevation 85 m | |
Website www.ascension-flights.com/ascension-flights-info.htm Address ASCN 1ZZ, Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha | ||
2014 raf ascension island camp part 1
RAF Ascension (IATA: ASI, ICAO: FHAW) (more commonly known as RAF Ascension Island, and sometimes known as Wideawake Airfield or Ascension Island Base), is a British Royal Air Force station on Ascension Island in the Atlantic Ocean, near the Equator.
Contents
- 2014 raf ascension island camp part 1
- 2014 raf ascension island camp part 2
- History
- Wideawake Airfield
- Ascension Island Auxiliary Field
- Target Tracking Radar Station
- NASA stations
- RAF airfield
- Operations
- References
2014 raf ascension island camp part 2
History
In 1939 Ascension became important as a HF/DF radio station covering trade routes. The first aircraft to land on Ascension Island was a Fairey Swordfish from HMS Archer in 1942.
Wideawake Airfield
Wideawake Airfield (named for a noisy colony of sooty terns nearby) was a World War II US military installation built in 1943 by arrangement with the British government. The airfield was built using a US task force and went on to be used by more than 25,000 aircraft as a staging point during the war. The airfield was abandoned at the end of the war and fell into disuse.
Ascension Island Auxiliary Field
Ascension Island Auxiliary Field was being built by 181 men from Saint Helena for the United States Air Force (USAF) by 1957 (official activation as a satellite of Patrick Air Force Base in Florida was on 25 June 1956.)
Target Tracking Radar Station
The Target Tracking Radar Station was a Nike Zeus test facility for tracking reentry vehicles from Cape Canaveral missile launches. Built from 1960-1961 for anti-ballistic missile measurement, the "Golf Ball" was on Cat Hill, and a collimation tower for radar calibration was towards English Bay.
NASA stations
The NASA Tracking Station at Devil's Ashpit and the Cable & Wireless Earth Station at Donkey Plain were built in the mid-1960s for space operations and communications, including the latter's use for transmitting "microwave borne data via the Early Bird Satellite back to the NASA facility at Andover, Maine."
RAF airfield
RAF Ascension Island was re-garrisoned by the RAF in 1982 and used extensively as a staging airfield during the Falklands War. A series of long-range bombing raids was carried out from there under the name Operation Black Buck. The airfield continues this staging post role for the Falkland Islands for the RAF.
Operations
The station comes under the overall jurisdiction of the Commander British Forces South Atlantic Islands, an officer of one-star rank. As of 2013, this post has been held by Air Commodore Russ LaForte. The RAF airfield on Ascension Island is run on a day-to-day basis by around 19 RAF personnel, headed by a wing commander.
The RAF presence on Ascension is backed up by the USAF, which contributes a similar number of service personnel to ensure the effective running of the station.
RAF Ascension Island is also the refuelling point for the Ministry of Defence's South Atlantic air bridge flights to RAF Mount Pleasant, on the Falkland Islands, from RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, in the UK.
Ascension serves as a diversion airport for ETOPS aircraft crossing the Atlantic. In January 2013, a Delta Air Lines Boeing 777-200LR en route from Johannesburg to Atlanta diverted to Ascension as a result of engine problems.