RAF Henlow

Last updated

RAF Henlow
Ensign of the Royal Air Force.svg
Henlow, Bedfordshire in England
Henlow Airfield - geograph.org.uk - 4549988.jpg
RAF Henlow from above
RAF Henlow badge.png
Labor Arma Ministrat
(Latin for 'Labour supplies the arms') [1]
Bedfordshire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
RAF Henlow
Shown within Bedfordshire
Coordinates 52°00′56″N000°18′12″W / 52.01556°N 0.30333°W / 52.01556; -0.30333
TypeRAF training station
Site information
Owner Ministry of Defence
Operator Royal Air Force
Controlled by No. 2 Group
Website Official website
Site history
Built1918 (1918)
Built byMcAlpine (1918)
various since
In use1918–Present
Garrison information
Current
commander		 Wing Commander Chris Brooke
Occupants
Airfield information
Identifiers ICAO: EGWE
Elevation51.2 metres (168 ft) AMSL
Runways
Direction Length and surface
02/201,199 metres (3,934 ft)  Grass
13/311,157 metres (3,796 ft) Grass
08R/26L979 metres (3,212 ft) Grass
08L/26R736 metres (2,415 ft) Grass
Source': RAF Henlow Defence Aerodrome Manual [2]

Royal Air Force Henlow or more simply RAF Henlow is a Royal Air Force station in Bedfordshire, England, equidistant from Bedford, Luton and Stevenage. It houses the RAF Centre of Aerospace Medicine and the Joint Arms Control Implementation Group (JACIG), and was home to the Signals Museum, which closed in June 2024. It formerly hosted light aircraft flying and 616 Volunteer Gliding Squadron. The Ministry of Defence announced on 6 September 2016 that the base is set to be closed. As of January 2024, the closure and disposal of the station is expected to take place from 2026. Flying activity ceased in July 2020.

Contents

History

Henlow was chosen as a military aircraft repair depot in 1917 and was built by MacAlpine during 1918. [3] Four Belfast Hangars were built and are now listed buildings. [4] Henlow Camp, a civilian settlement, grew up around the base at that time. [5]

Originally a repair depot for aircraft from the Western Front, the Station officially opened on 18 May 1918 when Lt Col Robert Francis Stapleton-Cotton arrived with a party of 40 airmen from Farnborough. In May 1920, RAF Henlow became the first parachute testing centre [6] and was later joined by another parachute unit from RAF Northolt. Parachute testing was undertaken with Vimy aircraft and parachutists hanging off the wings and allowing the chute to deploy and enable them to drift back to the ground. [7] The Officers Engineering School moved there in 1924 from Farnborough. [8]

After the First World War, Henlow was home to four aircraft squadrons; No. 19 Squadron RAF, No. 23 Squadron RAF, No. 43 Squadron RAF and No. 80 Squadron RAF. [9] Between 1932 and 1933, Sir Frank Whittle was a student at the RAF technical College on the base. [10] He later spent some time in charge of aero engine testing on the base before being sent to Cambridge. [11] An additional hangar was added to the inventory in the 1930s and this too is now listed. [12]

During the Second World War Henlow was used to assemble the Hawker Hurricanes which had been built at the Hurricane factory operated by Canadian Car and Foundry in Fort William, Ontario, Canada, under the leadership of Elsie MacGill. [13] After test flying in Fort William, they were disassembled and sent to Henlow in shipping containers and reassembled. During Operation Quickforce in 1941, 100 fitters from the base were deployed onto carriers which were shipping Hurricane fighters to Malta. [14] The finished Hurricanes were completed on the decks of the carriers and flown out to Malta. [15] Over 1,000 Hurricanes (about 10% of the total) were built by Canadian Car and Foundry and shipped to Henlow. [16] Henlow was also used as a repair base for many aircraft types under the direction of No. 13 Maintenance Unit. [17]

The empty packing crates that the Hurricane aircraft were shipped in were used to make the original control tower (which has now been replaced by a more modern two-storey Portakabin type). [18] The original tower and parts of the airfield were seen in several scenes in the 1969 war film 'The Battle of Britain'. [19]

A major RAF technical training college was also formed at Henlow in 1947. This was formed from the RAF School of Aeronautical Engineering, formerly at RAF Farnborough, and its purpose was to train cadets and engineering officers. [20] The college was amalgamated with RAF College Cranwell in 1965. [21] The RAF Officer Cadet Training Unit then moved in, but this also moved to Cranwell in 1980. [22]

Henlow then hosted the RAF Signals Engineering Establishment and the Radio Engineering Unit, established in 1980. In 1983, the Land Registry took over part of the site. [23]

In December 2011, RAF Henlow along with 14 other Ministry of Defence sites in the United Kingdom were designated as being dangerously radioactive. The 15 bases were poisoned by "radium that was used to coat the dials of aircraft...so that they could be seen in the dark" during the Second World War. [24]

Administratively, RAF Henlow was part of a combined base, RAF Brampton Wyton Henlow, until RAF Brampton was closed in 2013. [25]

Flying activity ceased in July 2020. [26]

Based units

Notable units based at RAF Henlow. [27] [28] [29]

Royal Air Force

No. 2 Group (Air Combat Support)

British Army

1st (United Kingdom) Division

Strategic Command

Directorate of Overseas Bases

Former units

The following units were here at some point: [30]

Signals Museum

The Signals Museum, focused on the development of electronic communications by the RAF since the First World War, was established in 1999. [31] The museum closed permanently on 8 June 2024. [32]

Future

On 6 September 2016, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) announced the planned closure of RAF Henlow, with a disposal date of 2020. [33] By 2019, a staged drawdown and closure was expected to take place between 2020 and 2023. [34] In January 2024, the MOD indicated that the closure and disposal would take place from 2026. [35]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Air Force</span> Air and space warfare force of the United Kingdom

The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). Following the Allied victory over the Central Powers in 1918, the RAF emerged as the largest air force in the world at the time. Since its formation, the RAF has played a significant role in British military history. In particular, during the Second World War, the RAF established air superiority over Nazi Germany's Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain, and led the Allied strategic bombing effort.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RAF Kenley</span> Former Royal Air Force flying base in Surrey, England

Royal Air Force Kenley, more commonly known as RAF Kenley, is a former station of the Royal Flying Corps in the First World War and the RAF in the Second World War. It played a significant role during the Battle of Britain as one of the three RAF stations specifically tasked with the defence of London. It is located near Kenley on the edge of Greater London. The site remains in use with the Ministry of Defence, as Kenley Airfield.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RAF Halton</span> Royal Air Force training base in Buckinghamshire, England

Royal Air Force Halton, or more simply RAF Halton, is one of the largest Royal Air Force stations in the United Kingdom. It is located near the village of Halton near Wendover, Buckinghamshire. The site has been in use since the First World War but is due to close by December 2027.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RAF Honington</span> Royal Air Force air combat support station in Suffolk, England

Royal Air Force Honington or more simply RAF Honington is a Royal Air Force station located 6 mi (9.7 km) south of Thetford near Ixworth in Suffolk, England. It was used as a bomber station during the Second World War and through the Cold War, hosting Handley Page Victors and Hawker Siddeley (Blackburn) Buccaneers. RAF Honington has been the RAF Regiment depot since 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RAF Wyton</span> UK military intelligence analysis facility in Cambridgeshire, England

Royal Air Force Wyton or more simply RAF Wyton is a Royal Air Force station near St Ives, Cambridgeshire, England. The airfield is decommissioned and the station is now under the command of UK Strategic Command.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RAF Tern Hill</span> Former Royal Air Force station in Shropshire, England

Royal Air Force Tern Hill, or more simply RAF Tern Hill, was a Royal Air Force station at Ternhill in Shropshire, England, near the towns of Newport and Market Drayton.

Royal Air Force Bircham Newton or more simply RAF Bircham Newton is a former Royal Air Force station located 2.1 miles (3.4 km) south east of Docking, Norfolk and 13.4 miles (21.6 km) north east of King's Lynn, Norfolk, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MOD Boscombe Down</span> Military test & evaluation airfield

MOD Boscombe Down(ICAO: EGDM) is the home of a military aircraft testing site, on the south-eastern outskirts of the town of Amesbury, Wiltshire, England. The site is managed by QinetiQ, the private defence company created as part of the breakup of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) in 2001 by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD).

Aberporth Airport is situated southwest of Aberporth, Ceredigion, Wales. The airport is being developed as West Wales Airport for domestic flights. It is also developing as a centre for the deployment of civil and military unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), known as 'drones'. The airport underwent major improvements in 2008 which extended the length of the runway from 945 to 1,257 m.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Volunteer Gliding Squadron</span> Squadrons of the Royal Air Force which provide gliding experience for Air Cadets

A Volunteer Gliding Squadron (VGS) is an aircraft squadron of the Royal Air Force (RAF) which provides flying training in glider aircraft for Royal Air Force Air Cadets. All current operational Volunteer Gliding Squadrons operate a sole type of aircraft, the Grob G103A Twin II Acro, a conventional winch-launched tandem-seat sailplane known by its British military designation, Viking T1.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RAF Martlesham Heath</span> Former RAF station 1917–1963

Royal Air Force Martlesham Heath or more simply RAF Martlesham Heath is a former Royal Air Force station located 1.5 miles (2.4 km) southwest of Woodbridge, Suffolk, England. It was active between 1917 and 1963, and played an important role in the development of airborne radar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RAF Lindholme</span> Royal Air Force base in Yorkshire, England

Royal Air Force Lindholme or more simply RAF Lindholme is a former Royal Air Force station in South Yorkshire, England. It was located 3.9 miles (6.3 km) south of Thorne and 6.9 miles (11.1 km) north east of Doncaster and was initially called RAF Hatfield Woodhouse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RAF Manorbier</span> Ministry of Defense High Velocity Missile range in Pembrokeshire, Wales

Royal Air Force Manorbier, or more simply RAF Manorbier, was a Royal Air Force airfield near Manorbier, Pembrokeshire, Wales. The site was first used in 1933 as a mixed civilian/military airfield and was the base for 'Y' Flight of No. 1 Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit RAF in 1937, using de Havilland DH.82 Queen Bee unmanned radio-controlled target drone. The airfield was passed on to the War Office in September 1946.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RAF Towyn</span> Former Royal Air Force station in Gwynedd, Wales

Royal Air Force Towyn, or more simply RAF Towyn, is a former Royal Air Force airfield located 10.3 miles (16.6 km) west of Machynlleth, Powys and 12.2 miles (19.6 km) north of Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Wales.

No. 577 Squadron was an anti-aircraft co-operation unit of the Royal Air Force formed during World War II and active from December 1943 till June 1946 in the defence of the Midlands.

No. 6 Flying Training School RAF is a Flying Training School (FTS) within No. 22 (Training) Group of the Royal Air Force that delivers flying training to University Air Squadrons and Air Experience Flights.

At the end of the Cold War in 1989, the Royal Air Force (RAF) structure was as follows:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Structure of the Royal Air Force</span>

This is the structure of the Royal Air Force.

References

  1. ↑ Pine, L G (1983). A dictionary of mottoes . London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. p.  124. ISBN   0-7100-9339-X.
  2. ↑ "RAF Halton Defence Aerodrome Manual (DAM)". RAF Henlow. Military Aviation Authority. 1 February 2017. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  3. ↑ Bowyer 1983, p. 165.
  4. ↑ "Non-inhabited listed buildings on the MOD UK estate: 2015". Gov.uk. Ministry of Defence. 11 February 2015. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  5. ↑ Christopher Paul, G. J. (2012). Aviator Extraordinaire: My Story. Pen and Sword. ISBN   978-1848849013.
  6. ↑ Robertson, Bruce (1978). The RAF – a pictorial history. London: Robert Hale. p. 48. ISBN   0-7091-6607-9.
  7. ↑ Philpott, Ian (2005). "RAF stations, airfields and other establishments". The Royal Air Forces; An Encyclopedia of the Inter-War Years, 1918–1929. Barnsley: Pen and Sword. p.  241. ISBN   1-84415-154-9.
  8. ↑ Bowyer 1983, p. 166.
  9. ↑ Halley, James J (1985). The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force. Tonbridge: Air Britain. pp. 41–119. ISBN   0-85130-083-9.
  10. ↑ Smith 1999, p. 123.
  11. ↑ "Royal Air Force Henlow". Forces Publishing. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  12. ↑ Historic England. "Building 190 (Coupled service shed), RAF Henlow (Grade II) (1391624)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 22 November 2017.
  13. ↑ Smith 1999, p. 126.
  14. ↑ Historic England. "Buildings 186, 187, 188 and 189 (Aircraft Hangars), RAF Henlow (1391623)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 22 November 2017.
  15. ↑ Historic England. "BUILDING 370 WITH 330 (OFFICER'S MESS), RAF HENLOW (1391625)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  16. ↑ Bowyer 1983, p. 167.
  17. ↑ Smith 1999, p. 124.
  18. ↑ "Henlow". Control Towers. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  19. ↑ "RAF Henlow at 90" (PDF). raf.mod.uk. Royal Air Force. p. 52. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  20. ↑ Armitage, Michael (1999). "Into the Jet Age". The Royal Air Force (2 ed.). London: Cassell & Co. p. 185. ISBN   0-304-35312-4.
  21. ↑ Pitchfork, Graham (2008). The Royal Air Force day by day. Stroud: Sutton Publishing. p. 389. ISBN   978-0-7509-4309-3.
  22. ↑ Haslam, E. B. (1982). History of Royal Air Force Cranwell (PDF). HM Stationery Office. p. 123. ISBN   978-0117723597.
  23. ↑ Smith 1999, p. 128.
  24. ↑ Edwards, Rob (20 December 2011). "MoD reveals 15 radioactive UK sites". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  25. ↑ "RAF Wyton". Royal Air Force. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  26. ↑ "Flying Info – RAF Henlow". RAF. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  27. ↑ "RAF Henlow - Who's Based Here?". Royal Air Force. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  28. ↑ "11th Security Force Assistance Brigade". The British Army. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  29. ↑ "Directorate of Overseas Bases". GOV.UK. 8 February 2023. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  30. ↑ "Henlow – Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust UK". www.abct.org.uk. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  31. ↑ "Signals Museum at RAF Henlow invites public to open day". Bedford Times. 23 August 2015. Archived from the original on 25 January 2016. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  32. ↑ "RAF Henlow Signals Museum to close". Radio Society of Great Britain. 17 May 2024. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  33. ↑ "Ministry of Defence to sell 13 sites for 17,000 homes". BBC News. 6 September 2016. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
  34. ↑ "Defence Estate Optimisation Programme Update - February 2019". GOV.UK. 28 February 2019. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
  35. ↑ "RAF Henlow – Question for Ministry of Defence (UIN 9721)". UK Parliament. 18 January 2024. Retrieved 1 February 2024.

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.