Defence Establishment Fairbairn
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Canberra Airport (previously Canberra International Airport) Fairbairn |
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Fairbairn viewed from Mount Ainslie
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| Summary | |||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||||||
| Operator | Capital Airport Group Pty Ltd | ||||||||||||||
| Location | Canberra, Australian Capital Territory | ||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 1,888 ft / 575 m | ||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 35°18′07″S 149°12′07″E / 35.302°S 149.202°ECoordinates: 35°18′07″S 149°12′07″E / 35.302°S 149.202°E | ||||||||||||||
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Fairbairn was a base of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) located in Australia's national capital, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. Over the years the name of the establishment, and the use of the land, has changed. The land occupies an area North and East of the runways at what is currently known as Canberra Airport.
RAAF squadrons were permanently based at the Canberra Aerodrome from 1939. The base was formally established as RAAF Station Canberra on 1 April 1940. In 1941 part of the airport was named Fairbairn Airbase after the late Minister for Air and Civil Aviation James Fairbairn, Member of the Australian House of Representatives, who was killed in an aircraft crash in the proximity of the airfield on 13 August 1940.
A joint Dutch East Indies-Australian medium bomber unit, No. 18 (Netherlands East Indies) Squadron RAAF was formed at Fairbairn on 4 April 1942, paving the way for other such units. 18 (NEI) Sqn was drawn initially from two groups of ethnic Dutch and Indonesian personnel, who had been evacuted from Japanese occupied Indonesia to either RAAF Archerfield, Queensland or Melbourne. Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel B. J. Fiedeldij of the Military Aviation of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army (KNIL-ML), the staff of 18 (NEI) Sqn was complemented by a number of RAAF personnel, including both aviators and ground staff. After it had become fully operational with North American B-25 Mitchells, 18 (NEI) RAAF was deployed to, and carried out missions throughout the South West Pacific theatre.
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