RAF Gan was a Royal Air Force station on Gan Island, a southerly island of the Maldive Islands, in the middle of the Indian Ocean. It was first established in the late 1950s as a stopover on the reinforcement to the RAF Far East Air Force based in Singapore. The previous reinforcement route had passed through countries that had formerly been British territory but were now independent nations. The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the air force branch of the British Armed Forces. ... Gan Island is part of the Republic of the Maldives. ... The Republic of Maldives is a country consisting territorially of a group of atolls in the Indian Ocean, south-southwest of India. ... 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... The RAF Far East Air Force was the command organisation that controlled all Royal Air Force assets in the east of Asia. ...
It was extensively used by bombers, fighters and transports on their way to Singapore and other destinations in east Asia during the late 1950s and the 1960s. Other foreign military forces, like the US, occasionally used the facilities. However as the 1970s dawned the United Kingdom was withdrawing from its commitments east of the Suez. By the end of 1971 the Far East Air Force was disbanded and the major rationale for Gan was gone. Traffic was now much less frequent but the base still remained open for a few more years. By 1975 British military aircraft using the base were an extreme rarity. Gan was thus closed and turned over to the Maldivian civil authorities of the area. At the same time as RAF use of the airfield ceased, the RAF gained access to the then newly built US airfield two hundred miles to the south of Gan on the British island of Diego Garcia. Year 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1970 calendar). ... SUEZ (Euronext: SZE, NYSE: SZE) is a leading French-based multinational corporation, with operations primarily in water, electricity and natural gas supply, and waste management. ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... Diego Garcia () is an atoll located in the heart of the Indian Ocean, some 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometres) south of Indias southern coast. ...
Coordinates: 0°41′35″S,73°9′20″E This is a list of Royal Air Force stations in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. ... Diego Garcia () is an atoll located in the heart of the Indian Ocean, some 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometres) south of Indias southern coast. ... Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...
RAFGan was a Royal Air Force station on Gan Island, a southerly island of the Maldive Islands, in the middle of the Indian Ocean.
Gan was thus closed and turned over to the Maldivian civil authorities of the area.
At the same time as RAF use of the airfield ceased, the RAF gained access to the then newly built US airfield two hundred miles to the south of Gan on the British island of Diego Garcia.