The Tamale Airport was strategically built by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah to provide the erstwhile Soviet Union with the bridge to support Cuba by air.
It was therefore built with all facilities and underground bunkers for offensive and transport operations.
This was revealed by the First Commander of the base in 1974, Air Commander Kwame Korankye Pumpuni (rtd), in a rededication ceremony of the Number Four Hangar of the Tamale Air Force base in his honor.
He said the Hangar was one of the facilities he personally supervised its construction when he was posted there as a Station Commander.
Air Commander K. K. Pumpuni was enlisted into Ghana Military Academy and was commissioned on 30th September, 1961 into the Ghana Force as a pilot. He retired after 22 years of armed service.
The Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshall Maxell Mantserbi-Tei Nagai said the hangar had not seen any serious renovation since it was built in 1961 but had now seen a greater facelift.
He said the former government under John Mahama in 2012 declared its intention to make Tamale Airport the second international one in the country.
He said this means that there would be increase in the numbers of aircraft using the airport.
Chief Officer Nagai pointed out that there would therefore be the need for both parking and maintenance of these aircraft and the Air Force Council decided to position Air Force base in Tamale to take advantage of the opportunity being offered.
The Commander said the construction of the modern hangar and the renovation of the other will also serve as maintenance, repair and aver haul facility for civil aircraft that will be using the new international airport in Tamale.
The Tamale Airborne Force Commander, Group Captain Frank Hanson, described Air Marshall Pumpuni as the last Mohican of the first generation who has laid foundation for the transformation of the Ghana Air Force.
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