Kallang Airport (also known as the Kallang Aerodrome, Kallang Airfield and RAF Kallang) was the first purpose-built civil international airport in
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
, opened officially on 12 June 1937 and ceased operations in 1955, when it was
relocated to Paya Lebar. Situated on the eastern shore of the
Kallang Basin
Kallang Basin (; ms, Lembangan Kallang) is an enclosed bay in Kallang, Singapore. The Kallang River, Rochor River and Geylang River empty into the Kallang Basin. The Marina Channel connects the Kallang Basin with the Singapore Straits.
At pr ...
, the Kallang Airport spanned the modern
planning areas of
Kallang
Kallang is a planning area and residential town located in the Central Region of Singapore.
Development of the town is centered around the Kallang River, the longest river in Singapore. Kallang Planning Area is bounded by Toa Payoh in the no ...
and
Geylang
Geylang is a planning area and township located on the eastern fringe of the Central Region of Singapore, bordering Hougang and Toa Payoh in the north, Marine Parade in the south, Bedok in the east, and Kallang in the west.
Geylang is perha ...
at its greatest extent. The conserved complex, including the airport's terminal building, is located wholly within Kallang.
Boasting an anchorage area for seaplanes along the airport's perimeter on the Kallang Basin, the Kallang Airport was hailed as "the finest airport in the
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
" at that time. Famous aviator
Amelia Earhart
Amelia Mary Earhart ( , born July 24, 1897; disappeared July 2, 1937; declared dead January 5, 1939) was an American aviation pioneer and writer. Earhart was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She set many oth ...
once described it as "an aviation miracle of the East".
Construction of the Kallang Airport began in 1931 with of mangrove swampland being reclaimed. It resulted in the displacement of a large
Malay
Malay may refer to:
Languages
* Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore
** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century
** Indonesi ...
community to the area around Jalan Eunos. Three
Hawker Osprey
The Hawker Hart is a British two-seater biplane light bomber aircraft that saw service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was designed during the 1920s by Sydney Camm and manufactured by Hawker Aircraft. The Hart was a prominent British aircra ...
aircraft first touched down in the Kallang Airport around two years before its official opening, on 21 November 1935. During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the Kallang Airport was the only operational airfield in Singapore capable of supporting
Allied
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
campaigns against the
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
forces. It was during the
Japanese occupation period that the airport's grass landing zone was upgraded into a concrete runway and extended to . As early as 1950, plans were made to build a new airport at
Paya Lebar
Paya Lebar is a planning area located in the East Region of Singapore, bordered by Hougang to the west, Sengkang to the northwest, Tampines to the east, Bedok to the south and Pasir Ris to the north.
As part of the Singapore Urban Redevelopment ...
(the current
Paya Lebar Air Base
The Paya Lebar Air Base is a military airbase of the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) located at Airport Road in Paya Lebar, in the eastern region of Singapore. The airbase goes by the motto of ''Strength Through Readiness''.
It was ...
) as the Kallang Airport was unable to cope with the increase in air traffic despite being expanded. The Kallang Airport finally closed in 1955.
The Kallang Airport compound was subsequently occupied by several organisations following its decommissioning, the most notable being the
People's Association
The People's Association (PA) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) of the Government of Singapore that oversees neighbourhood grassroots communities and social organisations. Established in 1960, it wa ...
which used the facility as its headquarters from 1960 to 2009. While most parts of the airport were demolished soon after its closure, numerous structures remain. The structures which were gazetted for conservation by the
Urban Redevelopment Authority
The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is the national urban planning authority of Singapore, and a statutory board under the Ministry of National Development of the Government of Singapore.
Mission
The authority was established on 1 Apri ...
on 5 December 2008 include the airport's terminal building, administrative blocks, aircraft hangars and control tower. The conserved complex is currently unoccupied.
Other parts of the Kallang Airport were redeveloped. The area surrounding the airport's former runway was first converted into the
Kallang Park, a large public park created as part of "Project Lung"; later, the
old National Stadium was built on the same site; today, the
Singapore Sports Hub
The Singapore Sports Hub (Chinese: 新加坡体育城; Malay: Hab Sukan Singapura; Tamil: சிங்கப்பூர் விளையாட்டு மையம்) is a sports and recreation district in Kallang, Singapore. The Sports H ...
(including the
new National Stadium and
Singapore Indoor Stadium
The Singapore Indoor Stadium, known exonymously as the Indoor Stadium, is an indoor arena located in Kallang, Singapore. It is within walking distance of the Singapore National Stadium, and collectively form a part of the wider Singapore Spor ...
) is a major national landmark. The eastern portion of the Kallang Airport was redeveloped into one of Singapore's first modern residential precinct, now called the "Old Kallang Airport Estate".
It was one of the locations that hosted the 2011
Singapore Biennale The Singapore Biennale is a large-scale biennial contemporary art exhibition in Singapore, serving as the country’s major platform for international dialogue in contemporary art. It seeks to present and reflect the vigour of artistic practices in ...
art festival. There are plans to transform the Kallang Airport area into a commercial hub, along with the adjacent Kallang riverside.
Today, roads like
Old Airport Road, Kallang Airport Drive, Kallang Airport Way directly reference the Kallang Airport; Old Terminal Lane refers to the conserved Kallang Airport terminal building;
Dakota Crescent
Dakota Crescent is one of Singapore’s oldest housing estates built by Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT), the government development authority, in 1958.Who, V. (Ed.). (2016). Architecture and the architect: Image-making in Singapore. United King ...
, Dakota Close and
Dakota MRT station
Dakota MRT station is an underground Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station on the Circle line in Geylang planning area, Singapore, next to Geylang River.
Located along Old Airport Road between the junctions of Jalan Dua and Dakota Crescent, Dakot ...
are named after the
Douglas DC-3 "Dakota" aircraft that used to land frequently at the Kallang Airport and serve to commemorate an aviation disaster in 1946.
History
Naming
Kallang Airport got its name from the nearby
Kallang Basin
Kallang Basin (; ms, Lembangan Kallang) is an enclosed bay in Kallang, Singapore. The Kallang River, Rochor River and Geylang River empty into the Kallang Basin. The Marina Channel connects the Kallang Basin with the Singapore Straits.
At pr ...
, which was named after a group of sea-gypsies living around the area in the 1800s.
On 11 February 1930, the Dutch Airline
KLM
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, legally ''Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V.'' (literal translation: Royal Aviation Company Plc.), is the flag carrier airline of the Netherlands. KLM is headquartered in Amstelveen, with its hub at nearby Amste ...
operated the first service flight between Amsterdam and Batavia (now
Jakarta
Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...
), landing at Seletar with a Dutch-made
Fokker
Fokker was a Dutch aircraft manufacturer named after its founder, Anthony Fokker. The company operated under several different names. It was founded in 1912 in Berlin, Germany, and became famous for its fighter aircraft in World War I. In 1919 ...
trimotor
A trimotor is an aircraft powered by three engines and represents a compromise between complexity and safety and was often a result of the limited power of the engines available to the designer. Many trimotors were designed and built in the 1920s ...
monoplane carrying 8 passengers and a cargo of fresh fruit, flowers and mail. This marked the beginning of commercial civil aviation in Singapore. KLM later introduced a regular Amsterdam to Batavia flight service in late 1931.
Two years later, in July 1933,
Imperial Airways
Imperial Airways was the early British commercial long-range airline, operating from 1924 to 1939 and principally serving the British Empire routes to South Africa, India, Australia and the Far East, including Malaya and Hong Kong. Passenger ...
, the flagship airline of the British empire at the time, started a service between
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
and
Darwin via Cairo, Karachi, Calcutta, Singapore and Jakarta. This service was later extended to
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
and operated jointly with
Qantas
Qantas Airways Limited ( ) is the flag carrier of Australia and the country's largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations. It is the world's third-oldest airline still in operation, having been founded ...
on 17 December 1934.
Booming commercial aviation traffic led to congestion at the existing
Seletar Airbase (today's
Seletar Airport
Seletar Airport is a civilian international airport serving the north-east region of Singapore. It is located approximately northwest from Changi Airport, the country's main airport, and about north from the main commercial city-centre.
T ...
), creating a need for a new airport. On 31 August 1931, Sir
Cecil Clementi
Sir Cecil Clementi (; 1 September 1875 – 5 April 1947) was a British colonial administrator who served as Governor of Hong Kong from 1925 to 1930, and Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Straits Settlements from 1930 to 1934.
Early lif ...
, Governor of the
Straits Settlements
The Straits Settlements were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Headquartered in Singapore for more than a century, it was originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Comp ...
, announced that Kallang Basin as the location for the new civil aerodrome suitable for land planes and seaplanes, and relieving Seletar of commercial flight activities. This place was chosen over other possible sites because of its proximity to the city centre as well as its location next to the Kallang Basin, which allowed seaplanes to land.
Construction
Reclamation work began on the 103 hectares of a tidal swamp in Kallang Basin in 1932. Seven million cubic metres of earth were used for the filling of this tidal swamp. By 1936, all reclamation and consolidation of land were completed, forming a 915-metre diameter, dome-shaped landing ground.
On 12 June 1937, the Kallang Aerodrome was officially opened by Sir
Shenton Thomas
Sir Thomas Shenton Whitelegge Thomas (10 October 1879 – 15 January 1962), commonly known as Sir Shenton Thomas, was a British colonial administrator most notable for his role as Governor of the Straits Settlements in Singapore.
He served fr ...
, who had taken over the governorship of the Straits Settlements from Sir Cecil in 1934. At the time it was hailed as "the finest airport in the
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
", with facilities that were considered revolutionary. The circular aerodrome allowed planes to land from any direction, and the slipway allowed seaplanes to be served at the same terminal building as regular planes.
World War II
When the Japanese launched their invasion of
Malaya and
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
on 8 December 1941, Kallang was the principal fighter airfield. By January 1942, it was the only operational fighter airfield in Singapore, as the other airfields (
Tengah ''Tengah'' is an Indonesian and Malay word meaning "Central". It can be found in topography, e.g.
*Kalimantan Tengah
* Tengah Islands or Central Archipelago.
*Tengah, Singapore
Tengah is a planning area and future HDB town located within the ...
,
Seletar
Seletar is an area located in the north-east of Singapore. Its name can also refer to the Seletar Planning Area (as defined by the Urban Redevelopment Authority), situated in the North-East Region of Singapore. The place name was derived from th ...
and
Sembawang
Sembawang is a planning area and residential town located in the North Region of Singapore. Sembawang planning area is bordered by Simpang to the east, Mandai to the south, Yishun to the southeast, Woodlands to the west and the Straits of Jo ...
) were within range of Japanese artillery at
Johor Bahru
Johor Bahru (), colloquially referred to as JB, is the capital city of the state of Johor, Malaysia. It is located at the southern end of Peninsular Malaysia,along the north bank of the Straits of Johor, opposite of the city-state Singapore. T ...
.
Brewster Buffalo fighters of
243 Squadron RAF,
488 Squadron RNZAF and a detachment of 2-VLG-V of the
Royal Netherlands East Indies Air Force
The Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force ( nl, Militaire Luchtvaart van het Koninklijk Nederlands-Indisch Leger, ML-KNIL) was the air arm of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) from 1939 until ...
operated from the airfield, defending Singapore from repeated Japanese air raids. They were joined later by Hawker Hurricanes of
232 Squadron RAF, but attrition took a steady toll on men and machines, and by the last days of January 1942, the airfield had been badly damaged by the bombing and only a small number of aircraft were serviceable. The last of the fighters left in early February, escaping to carry on the fight just before Singapore was surrendered to the advancing Japanese.
Air Headquarters Malaya Communication Squadron RAF
The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...
was formed here.
The war years and after
The growth in aviation traffic was stunted during the
war years, a period which saw the landing circle being converted into a single runway to allow use by warplanes. The
British Overseas Airways Corporation
British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the British state-owned airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II. After the passi ...
(BOAC) and
Qantas
Qantas Airways Limited ( ) is the flag carrier of Australia and the country's largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations. It is the world's third-oldest airline still in operation, having been founded ...
resumed their regular services to the airport, while the resurrected local airline
Malayan Airways
Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia:
Political entities
* British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...
(MAL) began services on 1 May 1947.
In the early 1950s, the increasing size of aircraft and the need for longer runways resulted in it being extended beyond
Mountbatten Road in the eastern boundary of the facility into what is now Old Airport Road. The new runway was long and wide.
This necessitated the installation of
traffic light
Traffic lights, traffic signals, or stoplights – known also as robots in South Africa are signalling devices positioned at intersection (road), road intersections, pedestrian crossings, and other locations in order to control flows of traf ...
s to halt vehicular traffic every time a plane took off or landed.
Photo gallery
File:Kallang Airport runway 1945.jpg, 1945 aerial photo of Kallang Airport's runway
File:Kallang Airport and Basin area 1945.jpg, 1945 aerial photo of Kallang Airport runway and ramp, as well as Kallang Basin area
File:Kallang Airport aerial photo 1945.jpg, 1945 aerial photo of Kallang Airport runway, ramp and terminal building, as well as Kallang Basin area
File:67 Squadron Buffaloes.jpg, Brewster Buffalo Mark Is being re-assembled inside a hangar at Kallang in March 1941.
File:Japanese Kawasaki Ki-45 Toryu aircraft at Kallang Airport, Singapore - 194509.jpg, A row of Japanese Kawasaki Ki-45
The Kawasaki Ki-45 ''Toryu'' (屠龍, "Dragonslayer") was a two-seat, twin-engine heavy fighter used by the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II. The army gave it the designation "Type 2 Two-Seat Fighter"; the Allied reporting name was "Nick". ...
fighters captured at Kallang airfield during the liberation of Singapore.
File:Evacuation of British POWs, Kallang Airport, Singapore - 19450908.jpg, The first British prisoners of war to be evacuated from Singapore after liberation walk to their aircraft at Kallang airport.
File:RAF Liberator aircraft at Kallang Airport, Singapore - 194509.jpg, Royal Air Force personnel pass in front of a B-24 Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...
aircraft at Kallang airport, Singapore, in 1945–46.
File:Kallang Airport, 360 degree view.webm, Video taken in January 2021
Former airlines and destinations
Accidents and incidents
* On 7 November 1941, a Royal Air Force
Tiger Moth
The de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s British biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and built by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and other operators as a primary trainer aircraft. ...
piloted by Flight Lieutenant
Alec Wills
Alec Percy Stanley Wills (11 March 1911 – 7 November 1941) was an English first-class cricketer and Royal Air Force officer. Enlisting in the Royal Air Force from Haileybury in 1932, Wills played first-class cricket for the Combined Services ...
was hit from behind by a landing
Buffalo of
243 Squadron, resulting in Wills' death.
* On 29 June 1946, one of the Dakota aircraft belonging to the Royal Air Force Police with 20 NCOs on board crashed at the airport in a storm with no survivors.
* On 13 March 1954, a
BOAC
British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the British state-owned airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II. After the passi ...
Lockheed Constellation
The Lockheed Constellation ("Connie") is a propeller-driven, four-engined airliner built by Lockheed Corporation starting in 1943. The Constellation series was the first pressurized-cabin civil airliner series to go into widespread use. Its press ...
, G-ALAM ''Belfast'' carrying mail
crashed
"Crashed" is the third U.S. rock Single (music), single, (the fifth overall), from the band Daughtry (band), Daughtry's debut album. It was released only to U.S. rock stations on September 5, 2007. Upon its release the song got adds at those stat ...
while attempting to land at Kallang Airport en route to London from Sydney. The accident killed 32 people, including eight crew members. An investigation of the incident found that the most probable cause of the crash was pilot fatigue, but there was a serious problem of "inadequate response of the fire and rescue services". This remains the worst flight disaster in Singapore.
Legacy
Kallang Airport has left several reminders of its existence. The old runway near to Mountbatten Road is now called
Old Airport Road. The surrounding public flats there are named the Old Kallang Airport Estate. The estate is served by
Dakota MRT station
Dakota MRT station is an underground Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station on the Circle line in Geylang planning area, Singapore, next to Geylang River.
Located along Old Airport Road between the junctions of Jalan Dua and Dakota Crescent, Dakot ...
, which took its name from the
Dakota DC-3 aircraft which used to land at the Kallang Airport.
Two new roads near
Kallang MRT station
Kallang MRT station is an above-ground Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station on the East West line in Kallang, Singapore. It is located next to the Kallang River and along Sims Avenue at the junction of Lorong 1 Geylang. Kallang station served as t ...
have been named "Kallang Airport Drive" and "Kallang Airport Way". In addition, Old Terminal Lane, which links
Geylang Road
Geylang Road () is a major trunk road linking Singapore's eastern suburban areas with the country's central business district. Deriving its name from the area of Geylang where the road cuts through, it is fronted on both sides by low-rise sho ...
with Kallang Airport Way, references the Kallang Airport's conserved terminal building.
The slipway for seaplanes was occupied by the Oasis Building, a structure built on the
Kallang Basin
Kallang Basin (; ms, Lembangan Kallang) is an enclosed bay in Kallang, Singapore. The Kallang River, Rochor River and Geylang River empty into the Kallang Basin. The Marina Channel connects the Kallang Basin with the Singapore Straits.
At pr ...
. The terminal building itself was used as the headquarters of the
People's Association
The People's Association (PA) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) of the Government of Singapore that oversees neighbourhood grassroots communities and social organisations. Established in 1960, it wa ...
until 9 April 2009, when it moved to its new headquarters at King George's Avenue. The PA building held many activities for the ruling People's Action Party, ranging from school visits to social events.
Kallang Airport was gazetted for conservation on 5 December 2008 by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) of Singapore.
Architecture
The original Terminal Building is an iconic modernist building with Art Deco-style railings and columns by Frank Dorrington Ward. The international style also be interpreted in this building as a radical simplification of form, refusing of ornament, using transparent materials and making building visually lighter, also the clearly division of functions. There is a circular elevated glass control tower centrally and two side blocks that composed the former terminal building with an open-air viewing deck on the top floor. The People's Association kept the concrete structure and transparent glazed walls and repaired the façade, closed the gates and rebuilt the window on the second floor to reorganize the interior space for office.
See also
*
Battle of Singapore
The Fall of Singapore, also known as the Battle of Singapore,; ta, சிங்கப்பூரின் வீழ்ச்சி; ja, シンガポールの戦い took place in the South–East Asian theatre of the Pacific War. The Empire of ...
*
Far East Air Force (Royal Air Force)
The former Royal Air Force Far East Air Force, more simply known as RAF Far East Air Force, was the Command organisation that controlled all Royal Air Force assets in the east of Asia (Far East). It was originally formed as Air Command, South Ea ...
*
Former Overseas RAF bases
References
Citations
Bibliography
*
External links
History of RAF
{{authority control
Airports in Singapore
Defunct airports
Kallang
Military of Singapore under British rule
World War II sites in Singapore
Airports established in 1937
1937 establishments in Singapore
1955 disestablishments in Singapore