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Sembawang Air Base

Sembawang Air Base, located in the northern part of Singapore, consists of 100 helicopters whom support the Singapore Army and the Republic of Singapore Navy. It is the home base to all the RSAF helicopter squadrons, consisting of AS-332 Super Pumas, CH-47SD Chinooks, Sikorsky S-70B, and the AH-64D Longbow Apache attack helicopters. In 1921, the British constructed a naval base at Sembawang, which was soon supplemented by an air base. Days after the attack at Pearl Harbor, the Japanese attacked Singapore, capturing the island in February 1942. It remained under their control until September 1945, when the British returned. In the early years of air transport, the commercial viability of air routes was a huge concern. Airlines would call at specific locations only if they were confident of the demand for their services. Airport infrastructure was expensive, and building new airports was an uncertain endeavour that came with high risks. However, the potentially large benefits for the host countries were also immense. Meanwhile, air transport faced strong competition from the maritime and shipping industry. Shipping was cheaper than air, and although the journey took a longer time, it remained the most commercially viable option for transporting large quantities of people, bulky materials and goods.

Other than RAF Seletar, the British built Tengah and Sembawang AirBases in 1939. This was in response to the escalating geopolitical tensions before the Second World War, and the looming threat facing the British Empire’s trade routes and interests in the Asia Pacific.

At the time, Sembawang was the site of the most intensive British military build-up. A world-class Naval Base was constructed there, complete with air support from RAF Sembawang and RAF Seletar. The command of these military assets was so impressive that Winston Churchill, then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, referred to Singapore as the “Gibraltar of the East”, believing the country was an impregnable fortress.