It has been suggested that this article be merged into Kalyan Airstrip. (Discuss) Proposed since October 2024. |
RAF Kalyan was a Royal Air Force station located at Nevali village 6 km south of Kalyan, operational during World War II in British India. It was built by converting the existing Kalyan Airstrip for military use. Several Fighter Squadrons and support units were stationed at Kalyan from 1942 to 1947.[1] The field was abandoned after the war.
RAF Kalyan  | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Remains of the abandoned NE-SW Runway of RAF Kalyan as seen in May 2022. | |||||||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Military | ||||||||||||||
| Operator | Royal Air Force | ||||||||||||||
| Location | Kalyan, Maharashtra, India | ||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 60 ft / 20 m | ||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 19°10′27.8″N 073°08′10.8″E / 19.174389°N 73.136333°E | ||||||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||||||
  RAF Kalyan Location in India | |||||||||||||||
 | |||||||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Unit | Dates | Aircraft |
|---|---|---|
| No. 20 Squadron RAF | 1945–1946 | Supermarine Spitfire, Hawker Tempest |
| No. 110 Squadron RAF | March 1942 | Vultee Vengeance, de Havilland Mosquito |
| No. 7110 Servicing Echelon | 30 Sep – 6 Oct 1944 | |
| No. 3 Mobile Parachute Servicing Unit | 1945 – Jan 1946 | |
| No 129 Staging post | 31 Jan – 7 Apr 1945 |
Current use
editThe two abandoned runways have been encroached upon by local population and now host dirt roads serving nearby villages. The southern end of the site now hosts a research and development laboratory of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC).[2]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "RAF Kalyan". www.rafweb.org. 9 January 2011. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
- ^ Sanjay Jog (20 January 2013). "NSA had rejected Kalyan site for Mumbai airport in 2007". Business Standard News. Retrieved 31 October 2015.