Royal Air Force Station Akrotiri
| RAF Akrotiri | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
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| Characteristics | |||
| ICAO code | LCRA | ||
| IATA code | ACT | ||
| Coordinates | |||
| Height above MSL | 23 m (75 ft ) | ||
| Basic data | |||
| operator | Royal Air Force | ||
| Start-and runway | |||
| 10/28 | 2743 m × 61 m asphalt | ||
The Royal Air Force Station Akrotiri , RAF Akrotiri for short , is a British military airfield in the British overseas territory of Akrotiri and Dekelia on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus . The Royal Air Force uses the base as a base for operations in the Middle East .
The military airfield is located on the southernmost tip of the island in the sovereign base area (Souvereign Base Area) Akrotiri southwest of Limassol .
history
The military airfield existed before 1959.
In 1957, the Royal Air Force set up the Near East Strike Wing in support of the CENTO alliance , to which four Canberra squadrons were subordinate. In addition, the 56th Squadron, equipped with Lightning , came between 1967 and 1975 . The four Canberra squadrons were replaced in 1969 by two Vulcan squadrons, which could be reinforced if necessary by two more squadrons stationed in the United Kingdom. These were also moved back to England in 1975.
Since 1972 the airfield has been the base of a Search and Rescue helicopter squadron , the 84th Squadron . She used the Whirlwind until the end of 1981 , then the Wessex and, since the beginning of 2003, the Griffin . In addition, fighter planes such as the Tornado have been operating here regularly on a rotation basis for decades .
In the winter months, the Red Arrows aerobatic team uses the airfield for training flights.