RAAF Base Darwin

RAAF Base Darwin
Darwin International Airport

RAAF Base Darwin's main gate.

IATA: DRW – ICAO: YPDN

Summary

Airport type

Military/Public

Operator

RAAF/Darwin International Airport Pty Ltd (DIA)

Location

Darwin, Northern Territory

Elevation AMSL

103 ft / 31 m

Coordinates

12°24′53″S 130°52′36″E / 12.41472°S 130.87667°ECoordinates: 12°24′53″S 130°52′36″E / 12.41472°S 130.87667°E

Map

YPDN

Location in the Northern Territory

Runways

Direction	Length		Surface
Direction	m	ft	Surface
11/29	3,354	11,004	Asphalt
18/36	1,524	5,000	Asphalt

Sources: Australian AIP and aerodrome chart^[1]

Former RAAF Base Darwin Control and Water Tower

A USAF C-130 taking off from RAAF Base Darwin in 1999

RAAF Base Darwin (IATA: DRW, ICAO: YPDN) is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) base located in the city of Darwin, Northern Territory. The base shares its runway with Darwin International Airport.

History

Construction of the airfield began in 1938 and RAAF Station Darwin was established on 1 June 1940, from elements of No. 12 Squadron RAAF. No. 13 Squadron RAAF was also created at the same time and was based at the base. Charles Eaton was the first Commanding Officer between 1940-1941.

No. 12 Squadron RAAF relocated from Parap Airfield, Northern Territory in April 1941 to RAAF Station Darwin. The base hosted a large number of RAAF and United States Army Air Forces units during World War II. The base was bombed by Japanese forces many times, beginning with two major air raids on 19 February 1942.

Units based at RAAF Darwin during World War II

During World War II RAAF Base Darwin served as a first refuge for retreating USAAF units from the Philippines in 1941. The USAAF Far East Air Force and its subordinate commands, V Fighter and V Bomber established headquarters at Darwin in late December 1941. Later, the USAAF 49th Fighter Group and other units were assigned to Darwin before moving north to forward bases in 1943. From 9 August 1944 to 20 February 1945 the USAAF 380th Bombardment Group based four squadrons of long-range B-24 Liberator bombers at the base. From Darwin, the group received a Distinguished Unit Citation for a series of long-range attacks on oil refineries, shipping, and dock facilities in Balikpapan, Borneo, in August 1943. The unit repeatedly bombed enemy airfields in western New Guinea during April and May 1944 in support of American landings in the Hollandia area, being awarded another DUC for this action. Moved in February 1945 to Mindoro in the Philippines.^[2]

In 1975, during the aftermath of Cyclone Tracy, the base was the centre of the largest airlift in Australian history in which the majority of Darwin's inhabitants were evacuated.

The base was an emergency landing site for the NASA Space Shuttle due to the length of its runway. United States Air Force (USAF) B-1 Lancer and B-52 Stratofortress bombers, as well as KC-10 and KC-135 tankers can operate from RAAF Base Darwin.

Some houses near the base will require extra sound proofing to deal with the extreme sound levels of the low observable Joint Strike Fighter.^[3]

Current units

Unit name	Force Element Group	Aircraft/equipment
Headquarters No. 452 Squadron	Surveillance and Response Group
No. 452 Squadron Darwin Flight	Surveillance and Response Group
No. 92 Wing Detachment B	Surveillance and Response Group	AP-3C Orion
No. 114 Mobile Control and Reporting Unit	Surveillance and Response Group	AN/FPS-117 radar
Headquarters No. 396 Combat Support Wing	Combat Support Group
No. 321 Expeditionary Combat Support Squadron	Combat Support Group
No. 1 Air Terminal Squadron Detachment Darwin	Combat Support Group
No 13 (City of Darwin) Squadron	Combat Support Group (RAAF Active Reserve)

References

↑ YPDN – Darwin (PDF). AIP En Route Supplement from Airservices Australia, effective 10 November 2016, Aeronautical Chart
↑ Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-89201-092-4
↑ Homes to be insulated against Strike Fighter noise ABC News, 1 October 2010

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to RAAF Base Darwin.

This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.

Royal Australian Air Force bases

Current bases	RAAF Base Amberley RAAF Station Bundaberg RAAF Station Camden RAAF Curtin RAAF Base Darwin RAAF Base East Sale RAAF Base Edinburgh RAAF Gingin RAAF Base Glenbrook RAAF Learmonth RAAF Base Pearce RAAF Base Richmond RAAF Scherger RAAF Base Tindal RAAF Base Townsville RAAF Base Wagga RAAF Williams RAAF Base Williamtown RAAF Woomera Airfield

Former bases	RAAF Base Albion Park RAAF Station Archerfield RAAF Station Bairnsdale RAAF Base Bowen RAAF Base Cairns RAAF Base Coffs Harbour RAAF Station Cunderdin RAAF Base Daly Waters RAAF Station Deniliquin RAAF Base Evans Head RAAF Base Fairbairn RAAF Base Gove RAAF Station Guildford RAAF Base Horn Island RAAF Jervis Bay RAAF Base Mallala RAAF Station Mascot RAAF Base Moruya RAAF Base Mildura RAAF Base Nabiac RAAF Station Narrandera RAAF Station Narromine RAAF Station Nowra RAAF Base Oakey RAAF Base Parafield RAAF Station Pokolbin RAAF Base Rathmines RAAF Station Parkes RAAF Station Sandgate RAAF Station Schofields RAAF Base Temora RAAF Base Tengah (Singapore) RAAF Station Tocumwal RAAF Ubon (Thailand) RAAF Base Uranquinty RAAF Station West Sale RAAF Base Western Junction

Overseas bases	RAAF Base Butterworth (Malaysia) RAAF Base Cocos Island (Cocos (Keeling) Islands) RAAF Base Port Moresby (Papua New Guinea)

Shared bases	Defence Establishment Orchard Hills

Flying boat bases	Lake Boga Flying Boat Base RAAF Base Rathmines

RAAFs Curtin, Learmonth and Scherger are so-called "bare bases"

Airports in the Northern Territory

Public airports	Alice Springs Ayers Rock Bathurst Island Borroloola Croker Island Darwin Elcho Island Garden Point Gove Groote Eylandt Hooker Creek Kalkgurung Lake Evella Maningrida Milingimbi Ngukurr Numbulwar Oenpelli Port Keats Ramingining Smith Point Snake Bay South Goulburn Island Tennant Creek Yuendumu

Private airports	Jabiru McArthur River MKT The Granites Victoria River Downs

Military airports	Darwin Tindal

Defunct airports	Batchelor Coomalie Creek Daly Waters Fenton Gorrie Gould Hughes Katherine Livingstone Long MacDonald Manbulloo Parap Pell Pine Creek Sattler Strauss

Related	New South Wales Queensland South Australia Tasmania Victoria Western Australia Territories of Australia

Airports in bold have scheduled service

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