RAF Gibraltar

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Coordinates: 36°9′4.2″N, 5°20′56.2″W

Royal Air Force Station Gibraltar

Control Tower
Active
Country Gibraltar
Branch Royal Air Force
Type Flying station
Role Forward Operating Base, Forward Mounting Base, or Staging Post
Size approx. 45 personnel
Part of UK: British Armed Forces formerly RAF Coastal Group, now British Forces Gibraltar
Based Gibraltar
Nickname "Gib"
Motto Guard the Gateway
Royal Air Force Ensign
March Royal Air Force March Past
Equipment formerly: Hawker Hunter, SEPECAT Jaguar
Engagements World War II: Operation Torch,
Falklands War,
Gulf War,
Balkans,
Sierra Leone
Commanders
Current
commander		 Wg Cdr CC Purkiss MBE BSc RAF
Insignia
Station crest a key rising from the seas

Royal Air Force Station Gibraltar, better known as RAF Gibraltar and formally as North Front, is a Royal Air Force station on Gibraltar. No military aircraft are currently stationed there, but there are regular visits. The station functions as the Rock's civilian airport, Gibraltar Airport, and is administered by British Forces Gibraltar.

Contents

[edit] History

A Lockheed Hudson of No. 233 Squadron RAF leaves its dispersal at Gibraltar for a reconnaissance sortie, in August 1942
A Lockheed Hudson of No. 233 Squadron RAF leaves its dispersal at Gibraltar for a reconnaissance sortie, in August 1942

The biggest expansion took place during World War II when the runway length was increased using waste rock blasted from the tunnels of Gibraltar. At this time the airfield completely obliterated the former Gibraltar racecourse. The airfield played a major part in Operation Torch, the Anglo-American invasion of French North Africa during World War II.

The airfield, which today is used mainly for civil flights, is unusual in that the main access road from Gibraltar to Spain crosses the airfield, necessitating the road to be closed whenever aircraft movements are in progress.

When the RAF holds an exercise, this causes significant disruption to traffic flow.

RAF Gibraltar used to have an Avro Vulcan K2 as a gate guard, but this was later scrapped.

[edit] Gibraltar squadrons

[edit] See also

[edit] External links


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