Kingsfield Airfield
Kingsfield Airfield | |||||||||||
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 Hercules XV209 crashes into the side of a hangar | |||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Military | ||||||||||
| Owner | Ministry of Defence | ||||||||||
| Operator | Army Air Corps | ||||||||||
| Location | Cyprus | ||||||||||
| Built | 1960s | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 290 ft (88 m) | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 35°00′53″N 33°43′02″E / 35.01472°N 33.71722°E | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  LCRE Location in Cyprus | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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Kingsfield Airfield (nicknamed Noddy Land) (ICAO: LCRE) is a small airfield located in Dhekelia Cantonment. No. 16 Flight AAC, which operated Westland Gazelle AH.1 helicopters, was based here.[1]
History
Kingsfield was opened in the 1960s by the British Army Air Corps. An opening ceremony was held with an English Electric Canberra bomber flyover and 33 Field Squadron Land Rovers emerging from the back of a Blackburn Beverley aircraft operated by the No. 47 Squadron RAF. It earned the nickname 'Noddy Land', as personnel stationed there would only have morning shifts due to the hot afternoons. The airfield mainly operated as an emergency landing-strip.[2]
Runaway Hercules
In 1970, the No. 70 Squadron RAF arrived at RAF Akrotiri, principal and remaining RAF station in Cyprus. As a result, Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft regularly flew to Kingsfield Airfield.[3] In September 1972, a C-130 aircraft was left with one engine running during mid-unloading. At the time, the crew left the loadmaster in the cockpit to join an ice-cream queue. Due to a mistake, the brake pressure dropped causing the aircraft to taxi itself towards a nearby hangar. This resulted in considerable damage to the nose, in which the aircraft was tested with a touch-and-go maneuver to decide if it would be scrapped or not. Later on, C1 XV209 was prepared to be able to fly to RAF Akrotiri for full repairs.[2] After 55 years of continuous overseas operations, the squadron and its aircraft departed from RAF Akrotiri in 1975.[3]
In 1978, Kingsfield Airfield held a combined services sport-parachuting championship sponsored by British tobacco manufacturer Rothmans International. Sixteen Arab citizens participating in the event were subjected to a strict check, and were received by personnel from Dhekelia Cantonment.[4] In the late 1980s, Kingsfield Airfield made headlines as the RAF conducted trials of 'desert pink' paint on aircraft at the base which made aircraft ‘invisible’ during flight. These trials became successful and was used on numerous RAF aircraft during the Gulf War of 1991.[2]
Crusasers Gliding Club
In the 1960s, the Crusaders Gliding Club was established at the airfield. The club was housed within two former RAF hangars for aircraft storage and maintenance on the southwestern side of the airfield. It maintained a fleet of 1 Scheibe Falke, 1 Slingsby T.21, 2 ASK 13s, 1 Schleicher K 8, and 1 Schleicher ASK 18. It operated there until 29th February 2012, when it was shut down due to the Airspace Rules set by the Cypriot Air Authorities.[5]
Present
As of now, Kingsfield Airfield opens to recreational flight by the Cyprus Skydive Association on the weekends, and continues military operations on weekdays.[6]
References
- ↑ "World's Air Forces 1989". Flight International: 61–62. 29 November 1989. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
- 1 2 3 Forgotten Airfields: Kingsfield Airfield
- 1 2 "No. 70 Squadron". FlyPast. No. 294–299. Key Publishing Limited. 2006. p. 23.
- ↑ Daily Report: Western Europe. Foreign Broadcast Information Service. 1978. p. R-1.
- ↑ "The Crusaders". RAF Akrotiri. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
- ↑ "METAR-TAF: Kingsfield Airfield (LCRE)". Archived from the original on 2024-09-15. Retrieved 2024-09-15.