Royal Air Force Station Ascension
RAF Ascension crest
Active	1942 - present
Country	British overseas territories of Ascension Island
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Air Force
Type	Flying station
Role	1.) RAF/USAF: Staging Post 2.) NASA: Designated emergency landing site for Space Shuttle program
Part of	British Armed Forces
Based	Ascension Island
Nickname	"Ascension", "Wideawake"
Motto	Auxilium Transmare
Royal Air Force Ensign
March	Royal Air Force March Past
Commanders
Station Commander	Wg Cdr L M Davidson
Operations Officer	Sqn Ldr N A West
Insignia
Station badge	A swallow in flight

RAF Ascension Wideawake Airbase/Field
IATA: ASI – ICAO: FHAW
Summary
Airport type		Military
Owner		Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
Operator		Royal Air Force / Serco Group
Location		Georgetown, Ascension Island
Elevation AMSL		278 ft / 85 m
Coordinates		7°58′10″S 14°23′38″W / 7.96944°S 14.39389°W / -7.96944; -14.39389Coordinates: 7°58′10″S 14°23′38″W / 7.96944°S 14.39389°W / -7.96944; -14.39389
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	ft	m
13/31	10,019	3,054	Asphalt
No Instrument landing system (ILS)

Royal Air Force Station Ascension, more commonly known as RAF Ascension Island, and sometimes known as Ascension Island Base, is a British military airbase on Ascension Island in the Atlantic Ocean, near the Equator.

History

In 1939 Ascension became important as a HF/DF radio station covering trade routes. After the United States entered World War II, an airstrip was built using a US task force.

The first aircraft to land on Ascension Island was a Fairey Swordfish from HMS Archer in 1942. In 1943 the United States Army Air Force set up Wideawake Airfield, by arrangement with the British government. The airfield was abandoned at the end of the war, and fell into disuse. The Americans returned in 1956, and reopened the airfield in 1957. The runway was lengthened and widened in the mid 1960s to allow for larger aircraft. USAF then, and later NASA established missile tracking facilities based at Cat Hill. Although NASA usage ended in 1967, USAF continues its usage with several hundred personnel, mostly contractors.

RAF Ascension Island was re-garrisoned by the RAF in 1982 and used extensively as a staging base during the Falklands War. Operation Black Buck, the long range bombing raids, were carried out from there. The base continues this staging post role for the Falkland Islands, for both the RAF and the United States Air Force.

Current Organisation

This is under the overall jurisdiction of the Commander British Forces South Atlantic Islands, an officer of one-star rank. Since December 2009, this has been Commodore Philip Thicknesse RN, who relieved Air Commodore Gordon Moulds, the latter now commands Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan. Ascension Island on a day-to-day basis is run by around sixty RAF personnel. The Current Station Commander is Wing Commander Liam Davidson, who splits his time between the base and RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, UK; with most of the running being controlled by Squadron Leader Nathan West as Operations Officer. Beneath him, the Operations Flight is responsible for Air Traffic Control of the station, plus aircraft handling, re-fuelling, security, immediate engineering and firefighting. The flight, including the Ops Officer, consists of four officers and around fifty-five non-commissioned service personnel.

The RAF presence on Ascension is backed up by United States Air Force personnel, who contribute a similar number of servicemen to ensure the effective running of the station, under the command of Captain Eduard Rodriguez, who is responsible to the RAF Station Commander.

The content above was published at Airports-Worldwide.com in 2010.
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