Ysterplaat Air Force Base (FAYP) is an airbase of the South African Air Force in the Cape Town suburb of Ysterplaat, on the southwestern coast of South Africa; 8km (5 mi) from Cape Town City Centre. The name Ysterplaat is Afrikaans from the Dutch "Ijzerplaats", meaning "Place of Iron" in English.
The site of AFB Ysterplaat was originally used as a civilian airfield, known as Maitland Aerodrome, from as early as 1929. With the coming of World War II the land the aerodrome sat on was donat... Ysterplaat Air Force Base (FAYP) is an airbase of the South African Air Force in the Cape Town suburb of Ysterplaat, on the southwestern coast of South Africa; 8km (5 mi) from Cape Town City Centre. The name Ysterplaat is Afrikaans from the Dutch "Ijzerplaats", meaning "Place of Iron" in English.
The site of AFB Ysterplaat was originally used as a civilian airfield, known as Maitland Aerodrome, from as early as 1929. With the coming of World War II the land the aerodrome sat on was donated to aid the war effort by Sir David Graaff, on condition his estate would be consulted should it ever be used for non-military purposes. During and after the World War II Ysterplaat was used as a maintenance and assembly depot for aircraft.
Today, due to increased budgetary restrictions, all activity at the base has basically come to a halt. There were plans to convert the base into a civilian airport with a military presence, but no decisions have been taken yet.
