Rasgovindpur Airport-RAF Amarda Road
India /
Orissa /
Jaleswar /
World
/ India
/ Orissa
/ Jaleswar
World / India / Orissa / Mayurbhanj
former runway
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The Rasgovindpur Airstrip, (as it is known today) has a short but secret illustrious history which has never been made public. It had the longest runway in Asia, more than 3.5 km long. The total runways, taxiways, aprons, etc. were more than 60 km. Today, when one looks at the silent runway lying mostly vacant apart from a few odd cows grazing, one would find it difficult to associate the Airport with activities of any kind. But, this airstrip has played a very important role in the defense of India during the 2nd World War. Today all is forgotten, no details of the activities that happened here between 1943 and 1945 exist, not even in government and military records. The station came into existence during the war as a forward airfield against the Japanese conquest of Burma. The large strip served its purpose well as a landing ground for planes and also as a training space for special bombing missions.
The Amarda Road airstrip, as it was called in war terminology, spreads across an area of nearly 900 acres. Built in the 1940’s at a cost of Rs 3 Crore it was eventually abandoned after the war. It was probably named as the Amarda Road Airfield due to the nearby Amarda Road railway station.
Even today, seven decades after the base was made, one can still see the remains of the airfield, their 11000 feet concrete runway still intact, though the buildings that once cluttered the edges are gone. The offices, hangars, mechanic sheds and plaster walled barracks with thatched roofs that the soldiers called bashas have been ripped down. Instead, local women dry laundry and farmers their grain on the warm tarmac. The cows and goats crop weeds along the runway edges.
The story of this crash and the victim had been lost in history. Anil Dhir has requested the government of Odisha and West Bengal to erect small memorials for these airmen at Amarda Road and the crash site. Aditya Patnaik has proposed that he would give ample space in the Gandhi Gurukul at the airbase for setting up a small museum which will highlight the importance of the airbase during World War II. Dhir has promised that he would contact the British and USA authorities for material to be displayed at the Museum, and also said that a book on the history of the base the and crash would be released on the next commemoration day.
It was called AIR FIGHTING TRAINING UNIT 228 GROUP
GROUND ATTACK TRAINING UNIT BASED AT RANCHI WAS ALSO TRANSFERRED HERE
The RAF Spitfire Squadrons that served in India were:
Sqn No. Mark Time Period Located at Sqn Code 11 Mk XIV Jun 45-Sep 45 Madurai. 17 Mk VIII
Mk XIV Sep 45 Madurai 'YB'
34 PR XIX Aug 46 to Jul 47 Stood Down Kohat.
67 Mk VIII Dec 44 Double Moorings, 'RD'
81 Mk VIII Jun 45 Amarda Rd 'FL'
131 Mk VIII Jun 45 Dalbumgarh, ‘NX’
132 Mk XIV Aug 45 Madurai, ‘FF’
136 Mk VII Jun 44 Chittagong HM’
152 Mk VIII Dec 44 Tulihal ‘UM’
155 Mk VIII Jan 45 Palel, DG’
273 Mk VIII Jul 44 Cox Bazaar ‘MS’ 607 Mk VIIIJan 45 Tulihal AF’ 615 Mk VIII
Jun 45 Cuttack ‘KW’ 681 PR XI
The Amarda Road airstrip, as it was called in war terminology, spreads across an area of nearly 900 acres. Built in the 1940’s at a cost of Rs 3 Crore it was eventually abandoned after the war. It was probably named as the Amarda Road Airfield due to the nearby Amarda Road railway station.
Even today, seven decades after the base was made, one can still see the remains of the airfield, their 11000 feet concrete runway still intact, though the buildings that once cluttered the edges are gone. The offices, hangars, mechanic sheds and plaster walled barracks with thatched roofs that the soldiers called bashas have been ripped down. Instead, local women dry laundry and farmers their grain on the warm tarmac. The cows and goats crop weeds along the runway edges.
The story of this crash and the victim had been lost in history. Anil Dhir has requested the government of Odisha and West Bengal to erect small memorials for these airmen at Amarda Road and the crash site. Aditya Patnaik has proposed that he would give ample space in the Gandhi Gurukul at the airbase for setting up a small museum which will highlight the importance of the airbase during World War II. Dhir has promised that he would contact the British and USA authorities for material to be displayed at the Museum, and also said that a book on the history of the base the and crash would be released on the next commemoration day.
It was called AIR FIGHTING TRAINING UNIT 228 GROUP
GROUND ATTACK TRAINING UNIT BASED AT RANCHI WAS ALSO TRANSFERRED HERE
The RAF Spitfire Squadrons that served in India were:
Sqn No. Mark Time Period Located at Sqn Code 11 Mk XIV Jun 45-Sep 45 Madurai. 17 Mk VIII
Mk XIV Sep 45 Madurai 'YB'
34 PR XIX Aug 46 to Jul 47 Stood Down Kohat.
67 Mk VIII Dec 44 Double Moorings, 'RD'
81 Mk VIII Jun 45 Amarda Rd 'FL'
131 Mk VIII Jun 45 Dalbumgarh, ‘NX’
132 Mk XIV Aug 45 Madurai, ‘FF’
136 Mk VII Jun 44 Chittagong HM’
152 Mk VIII Dec 44 Tulihal ‘UM’
155 Mk VIII Jan 45 Palel, DG’
273 Mk VIII Jul 44 Cox Bazaar ‘MS’ 607 Mk VIIIJan 45 Tulihal AF’ 615 Mk VIII
Jun 45 Cuttack ‘KW’ 681 PR XI
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orissa
Nearby cities:
Coordinates: 21°48'57"N 87°2'31"E
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