AFB Durban is an

airbase An airbase (stylised air base in American English), sometimes referred to as a military airbase, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base, is an aerodrome or airport used as a mi ...

of the

South African Air Force The South African Air Force (SAAF) is the air warfare branch of South African National Defence Force, with its headquarters in Pretoria. The South African Air Force was established on 1 February 1920. The Air Force saw service in World War II a ...

, located in

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. The runway is shared with the (now defunct)

Durban International Airport Durban International Airport (formerly Louis Botha Airport) was the international airport of Durban from 1951 until 2010, when it was replaced by King Shaka International Airport, to the north. The airport is co-located with AFB Durban. His ...

(since September 1956). The airbase is at the northern end of the runway.

Status following closure of Durban International Airport

no replacement site has been provided for 15 Squadron, which is still based at the airport. As a helicopter unit it does not require a large airfield with runways.

Aviation

Non-directional beacon A non-directional beacon (NDB) or non-directional radio beacon is a radio beacon which does not include directional information. Radio beacons are radio transmitters at a known location, used as an aviation or marine navigational aid. NDB are i ...

- DU393.0 *

VHF omnidirectional range Very High Frequency Omnidirectional Range Station (VOR) is a type of short-range VHF radio navigation system for aircraft, enabling aircraft with a VOR receiver to determine the azimuth (also radial), referenced to magnetic north, between the a ...

- DNV112.5 *

Automatic Terminal Information Service Automatic terminal information service, or ATIS, is a continuous broadcast of recorded aeronautical information in busier terminal areas. ATIS broadcasts contain essential information, such as current weather information, active runways, availabl ...

- 127.0 It is home to 15 Squadron which currently operates

Atlas Oryx The Atlas Oryx (named after the Oryx antelope) is a medium-sized utility helicopter ostensibly developed and manufactured by the Atlas Aircraft Corporation (now Denel Aeronautics) of South Africa. Its largest operator is the South African Air ...

and BK 117 helicopters. Their primary role is maritime and landward

search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

. Two flights of Oryx are based in Durban and C Flight, consisting of four BK 117s is detached to

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha ( , ), formerly named Port Elizabeth, and colloquially referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipal ...

. C Flight's conversion to

AgustaWestland AW109 The AgustaWestland AW109, originally the Agusta A109, is a lightweight, twin-engine, eight-seat multi-purpose helicopter designed and initially produced by the Italian rotorcraft manufacturer Agusta. It was the first all-Italian helicopter to b ...

helicopters has been postponed due to delays in developing emergency flotation equipment for the type, thus precluding its use in a maritime environment.

Units hosted

*15 Squadron-

Helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...

s *508 Squadron * 105 Squadron - Citizen Force liaison and crime prevention patrol squadron. Reserve squadron operating various civil light aircraft by mostly civilian pilots.

References

External links

af.mil]
af.mil

*http://www.pictaero.com/en/airports/airport,za,fadn South African Air Force bases, Durban

Transport in Durban {{SouthAfrica-mil-stub

Status following closure of Durban International Airport

Aviation

Units hosted

See also

References

External links