Changi Air Base Changi Air Base or Changi Air Base ( West ) ( Changi West Complex ) , formerly the RAF Changi , is a military airbase of the Republic of Singapore Air Force located at Changi , in the eastern tip of Singapore . Sited at two locations to the east and west of Singapore Changi Airport , it co - shares runway facilities with the civilian airport and currently occupies a third runway slated for future expansion for civilian use by Singapore Changi Airport . Together , the two bases houses the 121 Squadron , 112 Squadron , 145 Squadron , the Field Defence Squadron , the Air Logistics Squadron and the Airfield Maintenance Squadron . The air base crest carries the motto : " " Together in Excellence " " . History . RAF Changi . First completed as a British artillery camp in 1940 , it was used together with the nearby Changi Prison for housing many of the Allied prisoners - of - war ( POWs ) after the fall of Singapore in 1942 . The construction of air base was initiated by the occupying Imperial Japanese forces using those same Allied POWs as forced labours , building two unpaved landing strips between 1943 to 1944 , intersecting in a cross layout and in approximately north - south and east - west directions . The airfield facility became a Royal Air Force station and was renamed RAF Changi in 1946 after the Japanese surrender . Imprisoned Japanese troops were then made to improve the runways , reinforcing the north - south runway for military aircraft and adding perforated steel plates to the east - west runway . Completed post war , RAF Chia Keng — a GCHQ radio receiving station , was a satellite station of RAF Changi ( being the Headquarters Air component part of British Far East Command ) until the British Forces withdrawal from Singapore . Also , the nearby Old Changi Hospital ( now defunct as Changi Hospital ) functioned as the primary British military hospital providing medical care for all British , Australian and New Zealand servicemen stationed in the Eastern and Northern part of Singapore , while Alexandra Hospital was put in charge for those stationed in the Southern and Western part of Singapore . Changi Air Base . Upon the withdrawal of British forces from Singapore , RAF Changi was renamed as Changi Air Base ( CAB ) and was handed over to the SADC ( predecessor of Republic of Singapore Air Force ) on 9 Dec 1971 . Thereafter , the base received its first flying squadron of SADC - the Alouette Squadron and their Alouette III s helicopters shortly after New Year ' s Day 1972 . With the arrival of the first Shorts Skyvan s in 1973 , SADC began to form the 121 Squadron at Changi Air Base and it is currently the oldest resident squadron of the base . The novel ' The Sound of Pirates ' by former RAF airman Terence Brand is based in the 1960s both on the base and in the surrounding areas . Singapore Changi Airport . In June 1975 , the Singapore government acquired about two - thirds of the airbase ( saved for the main flight - line , hangar / aircraft maintenance facilities and control tower which were located in the western section of the airbase ) for the construction of the new Singapore Changi Airport , with the new runways in close alignment with the original north - south runway . The east - west runway was almost erased from the map , currently surviving as a taxiway to the apron area which has remained operational as part of Changi Air Base . Changi Air Base ( West ) . Following the opening of the new Changi Air Base ( East ) ( Changi East Complex ) on 29 November 2004 , the existing facilities at Changi air base has been renamed as Changi Air Base ( West ) ( Changi West Complex ) and Headquarters Changi Air Base ( HQ CAB ) . The flying squadrons now are : The Support Squadrons are :