RAAF Base Curtin
Derby, Western Australia in Australia
RAAF Base Curtin
Location in Western Australia
Coordinates
17°34′53″S 123°49′42″E / 17.58139°S 123.82833°E / -17.58139; 123.82833
Type
Area
25,000 hectares (62,000 acres)
Site information
Owner
Operator
Royal Australian Air Force;
Shire of Derby–West Kimberley
Website
Site history
Built
1983 (1983)
In use
11 June 1988 (1988-06-11) – present
Garrison information
Occupants
Airfield information
Identifiers
Elevation
91 metres (300 ft) AMSL
11/29
3,049 metres (10,003 ft) Asphalt
RAAF Base Curtin, also sometimes RAAF Curtin[2] (IATA: DCN, ICAO: YCIN) is a joint use Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) military air base and civil airport located 19 nautical miles (35 km; 22 mi) southeast[1] of the town of Derby, Western Australia. As it is one of the RAAF's three bare bases, no RAAF units are permanently based at Curtin and it is maintained by a small caretaker staff during peacetime.
The base is named in honour of former Prime Minister John Curtin.
RAAF Curtin was the first new major military airfield to be built in Australia since World War II. Construction on the base began in 1983 and it was opened on 11 June 1988 by Prime Minister Bob Hawke.[3][4] The 25,000-hectare (62,000-acre)[5] base was activated twice by the RAAF between 1988 and 2013.[4] It was activated again in 2016 as part of Exercise Northern Shield.[6]
From the late 1990s the base operated as Curtin Immigration Reception and Processing Centre, an Australian Government immigration detention centre, which closed in September 2002.[7] However the centre was reopened in April 2010 to house around sixty Sri Lankan and Afghan asylum seekers whose applications were suspended.[8]
In 2007 direct flights recommenced between Perth and Derby (RAAF Curtin) for the first time since Ansett Australia stopped the service in 1992. However, the flights ceased in February 2016.[9]
In 2016 and 2017 the Australian Government announced that facilities at Curtin would receive a A$100 to A$200 million upgrade,[10] in addition to a range of other defence facilities in Western Australia.[11]
Climate data for Curtin RAAF Base, Western Australia
Month
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Year
Record high °C (°F)
44.5
(112.1)
44.4
(111.9)
42.3
(108.1)
41.5
(106.7)
40.2
(104.4)
36.1
(97.0)
36.7
(98.1)
39.1
(102.4)
42.4
(108.3)
44.7
(112.5)
45.9
(114.6)
45.7
(114.3)
45.9
(114.6)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)
36.3
(97.3)
35.5
(95.9)
36.2
(97.2)
36.5
(97.7)
33.3
(91.9)
30.8
(87.4)
31.0
(87.8)
33.2
(91.8)
36.6
(97.9)
39.0
(102.2)
39.9
(103.8)
38.3
(100.9)
35.6
(96.1)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)
25.0
(77.0)
24.6
(76.3)
24.2
(75.6)
22.3
(72.1)
19.1
(66.4)
16.7
(62.1)
15.5
(59.9)
15.8
(60.4)
18.3
(64.9)
21.8
(71.2)
24.2
(75.6)
25.1
(77.2)
21.0
(69.8)
Record low °C (°F)
16.0
(60.8)
16.0
(60.8)
14.6
(58.3)
11.4
(52.5)
9.0
(48.2)
8.5
(47.3)
6.2
(43.2)
6.9
(44.4)
8.1
(46.6)
13.2
(55.8)
15.0
(59.0)
16.0
(60.8)
6.2
(43.2)
Average precipitation mm (inches)
225.0
(8.86)
197.8
(7.79)
148.0
(5.83)
39.2
(1.54)
13.7
(0.54)
7.9
(0.31)
8.6
(0.34)
2.5
(0.10)
0.1
(0.00)
7.5
(0.30)
21.9
(0.86)
153.6
(6.05)
838.2
(33.00)
Average rainy days
14.4
13.2
10.8
3.3
1.8
1.0
0.7
0.3
0.3
1.6
3.7
10.8
61.9
Source: [12]
Royal Australian Air Force
Aviation
Current bases
including bare bases
Former bases
Overseas bases
Shared bases
Flying boat bases
Other facilities
RAAFs Curtin, Learmonth and Scherger are so-called "bare bases"
This lists airports in Australia with scheduled passenger services. Statistics.
Airports in bold are international airports.
Public airports
Private airports
Military airports
Defunct airports
Related
Airports in bold are international airports
