RAAF Base Scherger

Near Weipa, Queensland in Australia

Gate to RAAF Scherger

RAAF Base Scherger
YBSGLocation in Queensland

Coordinates

12°37′24″S 142°05′12″E / 12.62333°S 142.08667°E / -12.62333; 142.08667

Type

Military air base

Site information

Owner

Department of Defence

Operator

Royal Australian Air Force

Website

RAAF Base Scherger

Site history

In use

5 August 1998 (1998-08-05) – present

Garrison information

Occupants

'Bare base'

Airfield information

Identifiers

ICAO: YBSG

Elevation

44 metres (145 ft) AMSL

Runways
Direction	Length and surface
12/30	3,049 metres (10,003 ft) Asphalt

Sources: AIP

RAAF Base Scherger (ICAO: YBSG) is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) military air base located approximately 26 km (16 mi) east of Weipa on the western side of Cape York Peninsula in Queensland, Australia. One of three bare bases in a chain of bases across Australia's top end, the base is occupied by a caretaker staff and can be activated at relatively short notice. The base was constructed by troops drawn mainly from the 17th Construction Squadron, in what is believed to have been the biggest project undertaken by the Royal Australian Engineers at the time.

Opened on 5 August 1998 by the Prime Minister, John Howard, the base was named in honour of Air Chief Marshal Sir Frederick Scherger who was the Australian Chief of the Air Staff (now known as Chief of Air Force) from March 1957 to May 1961 and the equivalent of what is now Chief of the Defence Force from 1961 to 1966.

Role and facilities

As a 'bare base' Scherger's role is to provide the RAAF and other services with the necessary infrastructure to support forward deployed forces during a crisis. While the base has facilities to cater for 400 personnel in fixed accommodation, 1,000 personnel in tent lines and about 40 aircraft, it is normally only staffed by four Air Force personnel who are responsible for caretaker duties. During peacetime RAAF Base Scherger hosts, on average, one major exercise per year in which the base is fully activated through the arrival of RAAF units based elsewhere in Australia.

Scherger Immigration Detention Centre

In October 2010, the Scherger Immigration Detention Centre was opened at Scherger RAAF Base, and this facility provided accommodation for 300 single adult males, with a maximum capacity of 596 males. The centre closed in 2014.

References

YBSG – Scherger (PDF). AIP En Route Supplement from Airservices Australia, effective 13 June 2024
"Prime Minister Opens RAAF Base Scherger". Sapper News: The Royal Australian Engineers Newsletter. 8 (2): 1–3. August 1998.
^ Dodd, Mark (18 September 2010). "'Ghost' RAAF defence base Scherger a bare-bones facility". The Australian. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
"RAAF Base Scherger" (PDF). Department of Defence. Australian Government. 1 October 2003. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade (1999). "Chapter 2: Northern Territory" (PDF). Report of Visit to Defence Establishments in Northern Australia. Parliament of Australia. Archived from the original on 5 October 2009. Retrieved 26 August 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
"Weipa residents revolt over plans for 300 asylum seekers at nearby Scherger RAAF base". The Sunday Mail. Queensland. 17 October 2010. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
"ADF refugee role attacked". The Sydney Morning Herald. 18 September 2011. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
Ireland, Judith (14 January 2014). "Scott Morrison announces closure of four immigration detention centres". The Sydney Morning Herald. AAP. Retrieved 30 July 2015.

External links

Portals:

v t e Royal Australian Air Force bases
Current bases including bare bases	Amberley Darwin East Sale Edinburgh Gingin Glenbrook Pearce Richmond Tindal Townsville Wagga Williams Williamtown Woomera Range Complex including Woomera Base Curtin Learmonth Scherger
Former bases	Albion Park Archerfield Bairnsdale Bowen Bundaberg Cairns Camden Coffs Harbour Cunderdin Daly Waters Deniliquin Evans Head Fairbairn Gove Guildford Horn Island Jervis Bay Mallala Mascot Moruya Mildura Nabiac Narrandera Narromine Nowra Oakey Parafield Pokolbin Rathmines Parkes Sandgate Schofields Temora Tengah (Singapore) Tocumwal Ubon (Thailand) Uranquinty West Sale Western Junction
Overseas bases	Butterworth (Malaysia) Cocos Island (Cocos (Keeling) Islands) Port Moresby (Papua New Guinea)
Shared bases	Defence Establishment Orchard Hills
Flying boat bases	Lake Boga Rathmines
Other facilities	Delamere Air Weapons Range
RAAFs Curtin, Learmonth and Scherger are so-called "bare bases"

v t e Airports in Australia
Australian Capital Territory	Canberra
New South Wales	Albury Armidale Ballina Bathurst Broken Hill Cobar Coffs Harbour Cooma Dubbo Grafton Griffith Lismore Lord Howe Island Merimbula Moree Moruya Mudgee Narrabri Narrandera Newcastle Orange Parkes Port Macquarie Sydney Tamworth Taree Wagga Wagga
Northern Territory	Alice Springs Ayers Rock Darwin Elcho Island Lake Evella Groote Eylandt Hooker Creek Maningrida McArthur River Mine Milingimbi Gove Ramingining Tennant Creek Tindal
Queensland	Aurukun Badu Island Bamaga (Northern Peninsula) Barcaldine Bedourie Birdsville Blackall Blackwater Boigu Island Boulia Brisbane Bundaberg Burketown Cairns Charleville Chinchilla Cloncurry Coconut Island Coen Cooktown Cunnamulla Darnley Island Dirranbandi Doomadgee Emerald Gladstone Gold Coast Hamilton Island Hervey Bay Horn Island Hughenden Julia Creek Karumba Kowanyama Kubin (Moa Island) Lizard Island Lockhart River Longreach Mabuiag Island Mackay Moranbah Mornington Island Mount Isa Murray Island Normanton Palm Island Quilpie Redcliffe Richmond Rockhampton Roma Saibai Island St George Springvale Sunshine Coast Thangool Thargomindah Toowoomba (City) Toowoomba (Wellcamp) Townsville Warraber Island Weipa Whitsunday Coast Windorah Winton Yam Island Yorke Island
South Australia	Adelaide Ceduna Coober Pedy Kingscote Mount Gambier Olympic Dam Port Augusta Port Lincoln Prominent Hill Whyalla
Tasmania	Burnie Devonport Flinders Island Hobart King Island Launceston
Victoria	Avalon Bendigo Essendon Hamilton Melbourne Mildura Moorabbin Mount Hotham Portland Warrnambool
Western Australia	Albany Argyle Broome Busselton Carnarvon Derby Esperance Fitzroy Crossing Geraldton Halls Creek Jandakot Kalbarri Kalgoorlie Karratha Kununurra Lake Gregory Laverton Learmonth Leinster Leonora Meekatharra Mount Magnet Newman Paraburdoo Perth Port Hedland Ravensthorpe Shark Bay Springvale Wiluna
External territories	Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Norfolk Island Wilkins
This lists airports in Australia with scheduled passenger services. Statistics. Airports in bold are international airports.

v t e Airports in Queensland
Public airports	Abingdon Agnew Alpha Aramac Archerfield Arrabury Aurukun Barcaldine Batavia Biloela Bedourie Birdsville Blackall Blackwater Boigu Island Boulia Bowen Brisbane Bundaberg Burketown Caboolture Cairns Caloundra Camooweal Charleville Charters Towers Chillagoe Chinchilla Clermont Cloncurry Coen Cooktown Cunnamulla Darnley Island Dirranbandi Donnington Airpark Doomadgee Dunk Island Edward River Emerald Gayndah Georgetown Gladstone Gold Coast Goondiwindi Gympie Hamilton Island Hervey Bay Horn Island Hughenden Innisfail Julia Creek Karumba Kingaroy Kowanyama Kubin Lizard Island Lockhart River Longreach Mabuiag Island Mackay Mareeba Maryborough Moranbah Mornington Island Mount Isa Murray Island Muttaburra Normanton Northern Peninsula Palm Island Quilpie Redcliffe Richmond Rockhampton Roma St George Springvale Stanthorpe Sunshine Coast Taroom Thangool Thargomindah Toowoomba City Toowoomba Wellcamp Townsville Warwick Weipa Whitsunday Coast Windorah Winton
Private airports	Badu Island Ballera Century Mine Coconut Island Dysart Elrose Jacobs Well Middlemount Mount Gordon Osborne Mine Saibai Island Southport Springsure The Monument Trepell Warraber Island Whitsunday Yam Island Yorke Island
Military airports	Amberley Enoggera Oakey Scherger Townsville Williamson
Defunct airports	Aitkenvale Antill Plains Bohle River Breddan Eagle Farm Petrie Reid River Tarampa
Related	New South Wales Northern Territory South Australia Tasmania Victoria Western Australia Territories of Australia
Airports in bold are international airports

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