Royal Air Force station in Gibraltar
Royal Air Force Gibraltar
or more simply
RAF Gibraltar
(also formerly known as
North Front
) is a
Royal Air Force
station
on
Gibraltar
. No military aircraft are currently stationed there, but RAF and aircraft of other
NATO
nations will periodically arrive for transient stopovers, exercises, or other temporary duty. Administered by
British Forces Gibraltar
, the station is a joint civil-military facility that also functions as the Rock's civilian airport ?
Gibraltar Airport
, with the civilian airport's passenger terminal building and apron facilities located on the north side of the runway while the apron and hangar of RAF Gibraltar are located on the south side of the runway.
A total of 16 personnel were reported assigned to RAF Gibraltar as of 2023.
[2]
History
[
edit
]
Early history
[
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]
A
Royal Naval Air Service
seaplane base was opened at Gibraltar during the First World War.
[3]
The airport was constructed during
World War II
when Gibraltar was an important naval base for the British. Originally opened in 1939, it was only an emergency
airfield
for the
Royal Navy
's
Fleet Air Arm
. However, the
runway
was later extended by
reclaiming
some land from the
Bay of Gibraltar
using rock blasted from the
Rock of Gibraltar
while carrying out works on
military tunnels
. This last major extension of the runway allowed larger aircraft to land at Gibraltar. At this time the airfield completely obliterated the former Gibraltar
horse racing track
.
[4]
On 25 September 1939,
No. 200 (Coastal) Group RAF
was formed as a subordinate formation to HQ RAF Mediterranean in control of
No. 202 Squadron RAF
.
[5]
The Group's function was the control of
Royal Air Force
units operating from Gibraltar.
[5]
In late 1940 the Group was transferred to
Coastal Command
.
[5]
Later a joint RN/RAF Area Combined Headquarters was formed which commenced operations in early 1942.
[6]
RAF North Front
opened in 1942 and
RAF New Camp
opened around the same time. RAF New Camp was built on reclaimed land in the harbour next to
Montagu Bastion
[7]
and was the site for a slipway and hangar for flying boats and RAF motor launches.
[8]
[9]
The airfield played a major part in
Operation Torch
, the Anglo-American invasion of French North Africa (
French colonial possessions
in
Algeria
,
Tunisia
and
Morocco
) in November 1942.
[7]
Following the major reorganization of the
Allied
air forces at the
Casablanca Conference
in January 1943, RAF Gibraltar became a major sub-command of the
Mediterranean Air Command
under Air Chief Marshal
Sir Arthur Tedder
in February 1943.
[10]
Anti-submarine warfare
was a major priority of RAF Gibraltar during the later years of the Second World War and some of their aircraft were equipped with special detectors to locate German
U-boats
in the relatively shallow waters around Gibraltar. United States Navy
Fleet Air Wing 15
based at
Port Lyautey
[11]
coordinated its antisubmarine warfare operations with RAF Gibraltar and assigned a ZP-14 Squadron
blimp
pilot/liaison officer to Gibraltar.
[12]
[13]
Post-war
[
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]
On 29 May 1945 the Area Combined Headquarters was shut down and most of the personnel sent home.
[14]
Weather flights from Gibraltar were maintained at the end of the war by
No. 520 Squadron RAF
flying Halifaxes. This was superseded by a detachment of
No. 518 Squadron RAF
from Aldergrove, and then by the arrival of
No. 224 Squadron RAF
. Initially the squadron dispatched a detachment in May 1948, but the whole squadron moved to Gibraltar in August 1951.
[15]
It was re-equipped with
Avro Shackletons
. The station officially became "RAF Gibraltar" in 1966.
[16]
The RAF camp, now known as
Devil's Tower Camp
, which was increasingly used by the
British Army
in the 1960s and 1970s, became the home of the
Royal Gibraltar Regiment
.
[17]
By the 1980s RAF Gibraltar was increasingly being used as a Forward Operating Base for middle east operations.
[7]
On 4 February 2011, the new RAF headquarters in Gibraltar was officially opened by The Chief of Joint Operations, Air Marshal Sir
Stuart Peach
.
[18]
In 2016 a major runway resurfacing project was completed ensuring both military and civilian flights could continue.
[19]
Units stationed
[
edit
]
Commanding officers
[
edit
]
- Air Vice-Marshal
Sturley Simpson
? AOC, AHQ Gibraltar, December 1941 to Feb 1944
- Air Vice Marshal
William Elliot
? AOC, RAF Gibraltar, Feb 1944 to June 1944
- Air Vice Marshal
Alick Stevens
? AOC, RAF Gibraltar, June 1944 to August 1945
Gibraltar squadrons
[
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]
Gallery
[
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]
-
The modern day control tower of RAF Gibraltar/Gibraltar Airport
-
The runway of RAF Gibraltar/Gibraltar Airport looking from East to West
-
A Lockheed Hudson of No. 233 Squadron RAF leaves its dispersal at Gibraltar for a reconnaissance sortie, in August 1942.
-
Goodyear ZNP-K ships of United States Navy Blimp Squadron ZP-14 coordinated their anti-submarine warfare operations with RAF Gibraltar in 1944.
Panoramic view
[
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]
Panoramic photograph of RAF Gibraltar/Gibraltar Airport
See also
[
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]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"RAF Gibraltar Defence Aerodrome Manual (DAM)"
(PDF)
.
RAF Gibraltar
. Military Aviation Authority. 1 February 2022
. Retrieved
20 February
2022
.
- ^
"Some 14,000 British servicemen pass through Gibraltar each year"
.
The Diplomat
. 25 April 2023.
- ^
"Stations-G"
.
www.rafweb.org
.
- ^
"History of Gibraltar Airport"
. Gibraltar Tourist Board. 1 December 2010
. Retrieved
10 May
2020
.
- ^
a
b
c
"Air of Authority?A History of RAF Organisation"
. Royal Air Force Organisation. Archived from
the original
on 15 April 2007
. Retrieved
4 July
2007
.
- ^
"The History of RAF Gibraltar"
. Royal Air Force?Gibraltar
. Retrieved
5 July
2007
.
- ^
a
b
c
"Government motion to confer freedom of the city on RAF Gibraltar"
. The Gibraltar Magazine. 2 April 2018
. Retrieved
10 May
2020
.
- ^
"Royal Air Force operations in Malta, Gibraltar and the Mediterranean, 1940-1945"
.
Imperial War Museums
.
- ^
"Royal Air Force operations in Malta, Gibraltar and the Mediterranean, 1940-1945"
.
Imperial War Museums
.
- ^
"Order of Battle, Mediterranean Air Command, 10th July, 1943"
. History of the Second World War
. Retrieved
10 May
2020
.
- ^
"Blimp Squadron 14: Craw Field, Port Lyautey, French Morocco"
.
- ^
"Blimp Squadron 14: First transatlantic crossing by non-rigid airships"
.
- ^
"That time the Goodyear blimb hunted Nazi subs"
. Mighty History. 3 August 2018
. Retrieved
10 May
2020
.
- ^
Lee, 1989, 197.
- ^
Lee, Wings in the Sun, 1989, 197, 198.
- ^
"British Military Aviation in 1966"
. RAF Museum
. Retrieved
10 May
2020
.
- ^
"Trip down Rock memory lane for Royal Green Jackets"
. Panorama. 22 October 2013
. Retrieved
27 September
2015
.
- ^
"Official opening of the new RAF headquarters Gibraltar"
. Forces.tv. 4 February 2011
. Retrieved
10 May
2020
.
- ^
"Future of flights at RAF Gibraltar secured following £8 million runway resurfacing"
. Ministry of Defence. 22 February 2016
. Retrieved
10 May
2020
.
- ^
Richards, D. and H. Saunders, The Royal Air Force 1939?1945 (Volume 2, HMSO, 1953)
Further reading
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]
External links
[
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]
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United
Kingdom
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overseas
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