AFB Swartkop
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| AFB Swartkop | |||
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| IATA: none – ICAO: FASK | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Military | ||
| Operator | South African Air Force | ||
| Location | Centurion, Tshwane, Gauteng, South Africa | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 4780 ft / 1457 m | ||
| Coordinates | 25°48′25″S 28°09′52″E / 25.80694°S 28.16444°ECoordinates: 25°48′25″S 28°09′52″E / 25.80694°S 28.16444°E | ||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 02/20 | 6520 | 1987 | Asphalt |
| 06/24 | 6589 | 2008 | Grass |
AFB Swartkop (ICAO: FASK)[1] is an air force base in South Africa. It is managed as part of AFB Waterkloof[2] and houses one of the three branches of the South African Air Force Museum. The name of the air force base, Swartkop (originally Zwartkop), is the combination of the Dutch words "zwart" and "kop", translated into Afrikaans, and it means Black head in English.
AFB Swartkop is located in the town Centurion (previously Verwoerdburg) in the Gauteng Province of South Africa, between Pretoria and Midrand (Johannesburg), which is a part of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality.
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[edit] History
In April 1921 Zwartkop (which was a farm at the time) was acquired to build the airfield.[3] The SAAF claims Swartkop is the second oldest airstation in the world and the oldest operational airstation in the world.[4]
The Chief of the South African Air Force opened the relocated SAAF Museum at AFB Swartkop in 1993.[5]
[edit] South African Air Force Memorial
The South African Air Force Memorial is located at Swartkop. It contains an honour roll of SAAF personnel who have been killed on duty as well as a memorial to personnel of all nations that died during the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan in South Africa.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "World Aeronautical Database". http://www.worldaerodata.com/wad.cgi?id=SF01539&sch=swartkop. Retrieved on 2009-06-12.
- ^ "AFB Waterkloof". South African Air Force. http://www.af.mil.za/bases/afb_waterkloof/Default.htm. Retrieved on 2009-06-12.
- ^ "Formation of the SAAF". saairforce.co.za. http://www.saairforce.co.za/the-airforce/history/saaf/formation-of-the-saaf. Retrieved on 2009-06-12.
- ^ "SAAF online news archive 2005". South African Air Force. http://www.af.mil.za/news/2005/swkp.htm. Retrieved on 2009-06-12.
- ^ "History of the South African Air Force". South African Air Force. http://www.af.mil.za/about_us/history.html. Retrieved on 2009-06-12.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: the South African Air Force Museum at AFB Swartkop. |
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