Oakey Army Aviation Centre
| Oakey Army Aviation Centre | |||||||||||||||||||
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Swartz Barracks, 2014
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| Summary | |||||||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Military | ||||||||||||||||||
| Operator | Australian Army, Republic of Singapore Air Force Squadron 126 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Oakey, Queensland | ||||||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 1,335 ft / 407 m | ||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 27°24′41″S 151°44′07″E / 27.41139°S 151.73528°ECoordinates: 27°24′41″S 151°44′07″E / 27.41139°S 151.73528°E | ||||||||||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||||||||||
 YBOK
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| Runways | |||||||||||||||||||
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Sources: Australian AIP and aerodrome chart
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Oakey Army Aviation Centre (IATA: OKY, ICAO: YBOK) is situated approximately 3 km (1.9 mi) from the town centre of Oakey in Queensland, Australia. It provides a training establishment for Australian Army Aviation, and also hosts a Singapore Armed Forces Helicopter Squadron, namely the 126 Squadron. The Defence name for the facility is Swartz Barracks, named for prominent politician, Army Aviation advocate, and ex-POW Sir Reginald Swartz KBE MBE.
The base was constructed in 1943 by the Royal Australian Air Force as RAAF Base Oakey as a training facility for No.6 Aircraft Depot and overflow aircraft maintenance depot for RAAF Base Amberley. It was later to store surplus aircraft after the war.
On 1 July 1968, the Australian Army Aviation Corps was formed with the Department of Civil Aviation aerodrome at Oakey transferred to Army control on 1 July 1969 for the Corps base.
6 Aviation Squadron (Reconnaissance) relocated from RAAF Amberley and additional Army Aviation units were raised including Headquarters Army Aviation Centre to control the airfield and the Army Aviation Centre Base Squadron. By the end of 1973, the remainder of 1st Aviation Regiment had relocated, including the School of Army Aviation formed from the Training Squadron, and also 5 Base Workshop Battalion of the Royal Australian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (RAEME) to provide fleet maintenance. Also, 173 General Support Squadron and 171 Command and Liaison Squadron were formed at Oakley.
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