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RAF Mount Pleasant (also known as Mount Pleasant Airport, Mount Pleasant Complex or MPA)〔(Falkland Islands Information Portal )〕 is a Royal Air Force station in the British Overseas Territory of the Falkland Islands. The airfield goes by the motto of "Defend the right"〔(Photo of an RAF Mount Pleasant plaque )〕 (while the motto of the islands is "Desire the right") and is part of the British Forces South Atlantic Islands (BFSAI). Home to between 1,000 and 2,000 British military personnel, it is located about southwest of Stanley—the capital of the Falklands—on the island of East Falkland. The world's longest corridor, half a mile (800 m) long, links the barracks, messes and recreational and welfare areas of the station, and was nicknamed the "Death Star Corridor" by personnel.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Brigadier David Nicholls )〕 Mount Pleasant was opened by Prince Andrew on 12 May 1985, becoming fully operational the following year. The station was constructed as part of British efforts to strengthen the defence of the Falkland Islands following the 1982 war with Argentine forces. It remains the newest purpose-built RAF station and replaced previous RAF facilities at Port Stanley Airport. ==History== RAF Mount Pleasant is the newest permanent airfield in the Royal Air Force. The RAF previously had a small airfield at Stanley airfield after the end of the hostilities in 1982. During the Falklands War when the islands were occupied by Argentine military forces, British aircraft were sent to disable the runway with RAF Strike Command Vulcan bombers (Operation Black Buck) and Royal Navy Sea Harriers. The raids were moderately successful, and on the first Black Buck mission one bomb hit the runway in the middle, disabling it. However, temporary repairs by the Argentines did allow C-130 Hercules transport aircraft to bring in supplies and take out casualties until the end of the conflict. At the end of hostilities the runway was fully repaired by British military engineers. After the surrender of the Argentine ground forces on the islands, the British still faced the problem of potential Argentine air attacks from Argentina, so an aircraft carrier had to remain on station to guard the islands with its squadron of Sea Harriers until the local airfield was prepared for jet aircraft. was the first to take guard duty, whilst went north to change (at sea) a main engine.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=British Bases - Falklands War 1982 )〕 ''Invincible'' then returned to relieve ''Hermes'' which urgently needed to return to the UK for boiler cleaning. ''Invincible'' returned until she was relieved by the newly built , which was quickly rushed south and commissioned during the journey. Once the Port Stanley runway was available for jets, ''Illustrious'' was relieved by four RAF F-4 Phantom FGR.2 (named 'Faith', 'Hope', Charity' and 'Desperation' by the crews – the first three named after the three Gloster Gladiators that according to legend were the names of the three RAF fighters defending Malta in the Second World War). The British government felt that Stanley airfield was not the best option for a large, permanent station and decided to construct a new RAF station and make it the centrepiece of considerably strengthened air defences for the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. This was intended to deter any future Argentine attempts to take the islands by force. Mount Pleasant, to the west of Stanley, was chosen as the site for the new station. The construction, which had extraordinary challenges to get materials on site, was undertaken by a Laing-Mowlem-ARC consortium.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=About the Falklands )〕 The airfield was opened by Prince Andrew (who served in the Falklands War) on 12 May 1985, and became fully operational in 1986.〔(Falkland Islands Government )〕 Flights of Phantoms were rotated through the airfield until 1992 when they were replaced with Tornado F3s. The Tornado was replaced by the Eurofighter Typhoon in September 2009. These have been supported throughout by C-130s and, since 1996, VC10s, equipped for aerial refuelling, transport, search and rescue and maritime patrol. A flight of Westland Sea King helicopters for support and search and rescue has been located at Mount Pleasant since November 2007. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「RAF Mount Pleasant」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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