83-642: Royal Air Force Upavon , or more simply RAF Upavon , is a former Royal Air Force station in Wiltshire , England. It was a grass airfield , military flight training school, and administrative headquarters of the Royal Air Force . The station opened in 1912 and closed in 1993, when it was transferred to the British Army and became known as Trenchard Lines . The station motto was In Principio Et Semper , and translated from Latin means "In
166-538: A Farman MF.7 biplane while visiting Upavon. Two officers of the CFS at Upavon developed the bomb sight between 1914–1915, and this was used in a very successful manner at the Western Front . The first Unmanned Aerial Target aircraft were tested on the site on 21 March 1917, witnessed by 30–40 allied generals. The officers' mess , a Grade II* listed building , was completed in 1915. On 1 April 1918,
249-679: A Private Finance Initiative with newly purchased Sikorsky S-92 and AgustaWestland AW189 aircraft. The new contract means that all UK SAR coverage is now provided by Bristow aircraft. In 2018, the RAF's vision of a future constellation of imagery satellites was initiated through the launch of the Carbonite-2 technology demonstrator. The 100 kg Carbonite-2 uses commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components to deliver high-quality imagery and 3D video footage from space. The Royal Air Force celebrated its 100th anniversary on 1 April 2018. It marked
332-656: A Royal Air Force satellite station in Gloucestershire , England . It was once home to the Central Flying School , the Vintage Pair and the Red Arrows . Built during the 1930s, the station was opened in 1938 and closed in 1994. The married-quarters and main technical site were sold in 1996 (the former becoming the village of Upper Rissington ). RAF Little Rissington has been retained by
415-637: A wing commander and, for a fast-jet squadron, have an complement of around twelve aircraft. Independent flights are so designated because they are explicitly smaller in size than a squadron. Many independent flights are, or have been, front-line flying units. For example, No. 1435 Flight carries out air defence duties for the Falkland Islands , with four Eurofighter Typhoon fighters based at RAF Mount Pleasant . Support capabilities are provided by several specialist wings and other units. Command, control, and support for overseas operations
498-835: A Dutch Fokker F.VII A named the St. Raphael in a bid to become the first aviators to cross the Atlantic from east to west. The St. Raphael was last sighted some 800 mi (1,300 km) west of Galway heading for Newfoundland . The aircraft was never seen again and the fate of Minchin, Hamilton and Löwenstein-Wertheim remains a mystery. During August 1935, the Central Flying School was to return to Upavon and stayed there until it moved to RAF Little Rissington in Gloucestershire in April 1942. During this crucial period,
581-637: A conversion of the fire station into an Operations Centre and the building of a new hangar / maintenance facility on the main dispersal. Planning permission was approved by the Cotswold District Council in July 2015 for the construction of an Aircrew Mess where the former control tower was originally located. In 2016, the RAF Ceremonial approved a station badge as no formal badge ever existed for RAF Little Rissington. This badge adopted
664-558: A decisive air power contribution in support of the UK Defence Mission". The mission statement is supported by the RAF's definition of air power , which guides its strategy. Air power is defined as "the ability to project power from the air and space to influence the behaviour of people or the course of events". Today, the Royal Air Force maintains an operational fleet of various types of aircraft, described by
747-555: A front-line training responsibility – their job is to group the University Air Squadrons and the Volunteer Gliding Squadrons together. The commanding officer of No. 2 FTS holds the only full-time flying appointment for a Group Captain in the RAF, and is a reservist. RAF Little Rissington Royal Air Force Little Rissington or more simply RAF Little Rissington ( ICAO : EGVL ) is
830-644: A minor role in the Korean War , with flying boats taking part. From 1953 to 1956 the RAF Avro Lincoln squadrons carried out anti- Mau Mau operations in Kenya using its base at RAF Eastleigh . The Suez Crisis in 1956 saw a large RAF role, with aircraft operating from RAF Akrotiri and RAF Nicosia on Cyprus and RAF Luqa and RAF Hal Far on Malta as part of Operation Musketeer . The RAF suffered its most recent loss to an enemy aircraft during
913-478: A property developer and became a business park. Following a Defence Review, the planned disposal of RAF Little Rissington was stopped, and so the immediate future of the aerodrome was secured. Several buildings received some minor upgrades. At the end of 2006, a civilian aircraft maintenance firm called 'Devonair' moved in under an agreement with the Ministry of Defence until 2012. In 2008, RAF Little Rissington
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#1732790884366996-620: A quarter of Bomber Command's personnel were Canadian. Additionally, the Royal Australian Air Force represented around nine per cent of all RAF personnel who served in the European and Mediterranean theatres. During the Battle of Britain in 1940, the RAF defended the skies over Britain against the numerically superior German Luftwaffe . In what is perhaps the most prolonged and complicated air campaign in history,
1079-594: A single Hawker Tempest F.6 in January 1949. Before Britain developed its own nuclear weapons , the RAF was provided with American nuclear weapons under Project E . However, following the development of its own arsenal, the British Government elected on 16 February 1960 to share the country's nuclear deterrent between the RAF and submarines of the Royal Navy, first deciding to concentrate solely on
1162-529: A static and flying display, attended by Prince Philip , to mark the 50th anniversary of the Royal Flying Corps. Transport Command was renamed Air Support Command on 1 August 1967. With the contraction of the RAF, Air Support Command only lasted a short time as a command, and it was absorbed into Strike Command on 1 September 1972. The grass runway was not wholly appropriate for heavy fixed-wing aircraft , nor any kind of jet aircraft , and so
1245-626: A support enabler role. A Control and Reporting Centre (CRC) at RAF Boulmer is tasked with compiling a Recognised Air Picture of UK air space and providing tactical control of the Quick Reaction Alert Force . In order to achieve this Boulmer is supported by a network of eight Remote Radar Heads (RRHs) spread the length of the UK. The UK operates permanent military airfields (known as Permanent Joint Operating Bases) in four British Overseas Territories . These bases contribute to
1328-490: A war that remained under low profile. The Konfrontasi against Indonesia in the early 1960s did see use of RAF aircraft, but due to a combination of deft diplomacy and selective ignoring of certain events by both sides, it never developed into a full-scale war. The RAF played a large role in the Aden Emergency between 1963 and 1967. Hawker Hunter FGA.9s based at RAF Khormaksar , Aden , were regularly called in by
1411-554: Is 157 feet (48 m) long, up to 92 feet (28 m) wide and up to 6 feet (1.8 m) high. It had a stone-lined passage about 66 feet (20 m) long, starting at its northeast end and ending in a small burial chamber. The barrow was partly excavated in 1934. During the Second World War the Air Ministry built a large air-raid shelter into it to protect the service personnel working in the maintenance units. Under
1494-999: Is also responsible for the RAF Medical Services, RAF Support Force, consisting of the RAF's engineering, logistics, intelligence, signals, musical and mountain rescue assets, RAF's Combat and Readiness Force, comprising the RAF Regiment , and the Air Security Force, comprising RAF Police . It oversees stations at RAF Benson and RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, RAF Henlow in Bedfordshire, RAF Honington in Suffolk, RAF Odiham in Hampshire and RAF Northolt in West London. No. 11 Group
1577-469: Is also used by the forces as a relief landing ground, training area and parachute dropping area. In March 2015, construction began on a new hangar. In 2017, investment was made in upgrading facilities for the RAF Air Cadets. The old fire station was upgraded to provide modern teaching facilities and an accommodation block with a canteen was built next door. The new hangar is now operational for
1660-501: Is at RAF High Wycombe co-located with Air Command. Groups are the subdivisions of operational commands and are responsible for certain types of capabilities or for operations in limited geographical areas. There are five groups subordinate to Air Command, of which four are functional and one is geographically focused: No. 1 Group is responsible for combat aircraft (comprising the Lightning Force and Typhoon Force) and
1743-814: Is part of the Ministry of Defence and body legally responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom and its overseas territories . The Chief of the Air Staff chairs the Air Force Board Standing Committee (AFBSC) which decides on the policy and actions required for the RAF to meet the requirements of the Defence Council and His Majesty's Government . The Chief of the Air Staff is supported by several other senior commanders: Administrative and operational command of
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#17327908843661826-657: Is responsible for integrating operations across the air , cyber and space domains whilst responding to new and evolving threats. It includes the RAF's Battlespace Management Force which controls the UK Air Surveillance and Control System (ASACS). The group oversees stations at RAF Boulmer in Northumberland, RAF Fylingdales in North Yorkshire and RAF Spadeadam in Cumbria. No. 22 Group
1909-731: Is responsible for the supply of qualified and skilled personnel to the RAF and provides flying and non-flying training to all three British armed services. It is the end-user of the UK Military Flying Training System which is provided by civilian contractor Ascent Flight Training . The group oversees stations at RAF College Cranwell in Lincolnshire, RAF Cosford and RAF Shawbury in Shropshire, RAF Halton in Buckinghamshire, MOD St Athan in
1992-784: 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
2075-517: Is typically provided through Expeditionary Air Wings (EAWs). Each wing is brought together as and when required and comprises the deployable elements of its home station as well as other support elements from throughout the RAF. Several Expeditionary Air Wings are based overseas: The RAF Schools consist of the squadrons and support apparatus that train new aircrew to join front-line squadrons. The schools separate individual streams, but group together units with similar responsibility or that operate
2158-643: The 1948 Arab–Israeli War : during the withdrawal of the former Mandatory Palestine in May 1948 where British Supermarine Spitfire FR.18s shot down four Royal Egyptian Air Force Spitfire LF.9s after the REAF mistakenly attacked RAF Ramat David airbase; and during encounters with the Israeli Air Force which saw the loss of a single de Havilland Mosquito PR.34 in November 1948 and four Spitfire FR.18s and
2241-593: The British Army as close air support to carry out strikes on rebel positions. The Radfan Campaign (Operation Nutcracker) in early 1964 was successful in suppressing the revolt in Radfa, however it did nothing to end the insurgency with the British withdrawing from Aden in November 1967. One of the largest actions undertaken by the RAF during the Cold War was the air campaign during the 1982 Falklands War , in which
2324-647: The British Empire , including establishing bases to protect Singapore and Malaya. The RAF's naval aviation branch, the Fleet Air Arm , was founded in 1924 but handed over to Admiralty control on 24 May 1939. The RAF adopted the doctrine of strategic bombing , which led to the construction of long-range bombers and became its main bombing strategy in the Second World War . The Royal Air Force underwent rapid expansion prior to and during
2407-678: The London Eye , the RAF Memorial and (at 13.00) the Ministry of Defence building . Four major defence reviews have been conducted since the end of the Cold War: the 1990 Options for Change , the 1998 Strategic Defence Review , the 2003 Delivering Security in a Changing World and the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR). All four defence reviews have resulted in steady reductions in manpower and numbers of aircraft, especially combat aircraft such as fast-jets. As part of
2490-418: The Ministry of Defence and is known as Little Rissington Airfield. It remains active along with the southern technical sites, under the operational control of HQ No. 2 Flying Training School RAF at RAF Syerston . It is now home to 612 Volunteer Gliding Squadron RAF as the primary military unit, providing elementary flying training for Combined Cadet Force and Air Training Corps cadets. The airfield
2573-584: The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). This was done as recommended in a report prepared by the South African statesman and general Jan Smuts . At that time it was the largest air force in the world. Its headquarters was located in the former Hotel Cecil . After the war, the RAF was drastically cut and its inter-war years were relatively quiet. The RAF was put in charge of British military activity in Iraq , and carried out minor activities in other parts of
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2656-609: The Royal Navy 's Fleet Air Arm and the British Army 's Army Air Corps also operate armed aircraft. The Royal Air Force was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the third independent air force in the world after the Mexican Air Force (established 5 February 1915) and the Finnish Air Force (established 6 March 1918), by merging the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and
2739-417: The UK Military Flying Training System which is dedicated to training aircrew for all three UK armed services. Specialist ground crew training is focused at RAF Cosford , RAF St Mawgan and MOD St. Athan . Operations are supported by numerous other flying and non-flying stations, with activity focussed at RAF Honington which coordinates Force Protection and RAF Leeming & RAF Wittering which have
2822-573: The United States Air Force , the RAF formed its own RPAS squadron in 2007 when No. 39 Squadron was stood up as a General Atomics MQ-9A Reaper unit at Creech AFB , Nevada. The RAF's 90th anniversary was commemorated on 1 April 2008 by a flypast of the RAF's Aerobatic Display Team the Red Arrows and four Eurofighter Typhoons along the River Thames , in a straight line from just south of London City Airport Tower Bridge,
2905-740: The Westland Puma HC2 for search and rescue. No. 230 Squadron , based at Medicina Lines , Brunei, also operate the Puma HC2. A flying squadron is an aircraft unit which carries out the primary tasks of the RAF. RAF squadrons are somewhat analogous to the regiments of the British Army in that they have histories and traditions going back to their formation, regardless of where they are based or which aircraft they are operating. They can be awarded standards and battle honours for meritorious service. Most flying squadrons are commanded by
2988-708: The 1991 Gulf War , the 1999 Kosovo War , the 2001 War in Afghanistan , the 2003 invasion and war in Iraq , the 2011 intervention in Libya and from 2014 onwards has been involved in the war against the Islamic State . The RAF began conducting Remotely-piloted Air System (RPAS) operations in 2004, with No. 1115 Flight carrying out missions in Afghanistan and Iraq with the General Atomics MQ-1 Predator . Initially embedded with
3071-399: The 22 (Training) Group badge and motto. The airfield, RAF Little Rissington, remains active and is regularly used for elementary flying training, air drops, aircraft maintenance, and ground training. RAF Little Rissington is one of several MoD estates with a scheduled monument . It is a Neolithic long barrow dating from between 3400 and 2400 BC on the eastern side of the airfield. It
3154-547: The Battle of Britain contributed significantly to the delay and subsequent indefinite postponement of Operation Sea Lion , Hitler's plans for an invasion of the UK. In the House of Commons on 20 August, prompted by the ongoing efforts of the RAF, Prime Minister Winston Churchill made a speech to the nation, where he said " Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few" . The largest RAF effort during
3237-780: The Beginning and Always". Construction began on 19 June 1912, on some training gallops, on an elevated site about 1.5 mi (2.4 km) east of Upavon village, near the edge of the Salisbury Plain , in the English county of Wiltshire . Upavon Airfield was originally created for pilots of the military and naval wings of the newly formed Royal Flying Corps (RFC), and became home to the Army Central Flying School . Captain Godfrey M Paine, RN , became
3320-504: The Berlin Blockade take place. As part of Operation Pitting , the RAF helped evacuate over 15,000 people in two weeks. Between April and May 2023, the RAF helped evacuate over 2,300 people from Sudan due to the 2023 Sudan conflict as part of Operation Polarbear . In April 2024, Typhoon FGR4s operating from RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus, engaged and destroyed Iranian drones over Iraqi and Syrian airspace during Iran's strikes against Israel . The professional head and highest-ranking officer of
3403-507: The Houses of Parliament, Conservative MP and Minister of State for the Armed Forces , Andrew Robathan , announced that the RAF's QRA force had been scrambled almost thirty times in the last three years: eleven times during 2010, ten times during 2011 and eight times during 2012. RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire and RAF Lossiemouth in Moray both provide QRA aircraft, and scramble their Typhoons within minutes to meet or intercept aircraft which give cause for concern. Lossiemouth generally covers
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3486-421: The RAF as being "leading-edge" in terms of technology. This largely consists of fixed-wing aircraft, including those in the following roles: fighter and strike , airborne early warning and control , intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR), signals intelligence (SIGINT), maritime patrol, air-to-air refueling (AAR) and strategic & tactical transport . The majority of
3569-508: The RAF is delegated by the Air Force Board to Headquarters Air Command , based at RAF High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire . Air Command was formed on 1 April 2007 by combining RAF Strike Command and RAF Personnel and Training Command , resulting in a single command covering the whole RAF, led by the Chief of the Air Staff. Through its subordinate groups , Air Command oversees the whole spectrum of RAF aircraft and operations. United Kingdom Space Command (UKSC), established 1 April 2021 under
3652-408: The RAF operated alongside the Fleet Air Arm . During the war, RAF aircraft were deployed in the mid-Atlantic at RAF Ascension Island and a detachment from No. 1 Squadron was deployed with the Royal Navy, operating from the aircraft carrier HMS Hermes . RAF pilots also flew missions using the Royal Navy's Sea Harriers in the air-to-air combat role, in particular Flight Lieutenant Dave Morgan
3735-546: The RAF's intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR) capabilities. It oversees stations at RAF Coningsby and RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire, RAF Lossiemouth in Moray and RAF Marham in Norfolk. The group's Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 aircraft protect UK and NATO airspace by providing a continuous Quick Reaction Alert capability. No. 2 Group controls the Air Mobility Force which provides strategic and tactical airlift , air-to-air refuelling and command support air transport (CSAT). The group
3818-427: The RAF's rotary-wing aircraft form part of the tri-service Joint Aviation Command in support of ground forces. Most of the RAF's aircraft and personnel are based in the UK, with many others serving on global operations (principally over Iraq and Syria ) or at long-established overseas bases ( Ascension Island , Cyprus , Gibraltar , and the Falkland Islands ). Although the RAF is the principal British air power arm,
3901-401: The Royal Air Force is the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS). He reports to the Chief of the Defence Staff , who is the professional head of the British Armed Forces . The incumbent Chief of the Air Staff is Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton who was appointed in 2023. The management of the RAF is the responsibility of the Air Force Board , a sub-committee of the Defence Council which
3984-480: The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) amalgamated with the Royal Naval Air Service to create the Royal Air Force, and Upavon became Royal Air Force Station Upavon, commonly abbreviated to RAF Upavon. Accordingly, the former RFC Central Flying School became the Central Flying School . During 1926 the Central Flying School moved from Upavon. At the same time, No.17 (Fighter) Squadron RAF moved to Upavon to join No.3 (Fighter) Squadron RAF , who had been at Upavon since 1924. For
4067-478: The Second World War. Under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan of December 1939, the air forces of British Commonwealth countries trained and formed " Article XV squadrons " for service with RAF formations. Many individual personnel from these countries, and exiles from occupied Europe , also served with RAF squadrons. By the end of the war the Royal Canadian Air Force had contributed more than 30 squadrons to serve in RAF formations, similarly, approximately
4150-423: The Suez Crisis, when an English Electric Canberra PR7 was shot down over Syria . In 1957, the RAF participated heavily during the Jebel Akhdar War in Oman, operating both de Havilland Venom and Avro Shackleton aircraft. The RAF made 1,635 raids, dropping 1,094 tons and firing 900 rockets at the interior of Oman between July and December 1958, targeting insurgents, mountain top villages and water channels in
4233-421: The United States and works in close cooperation with the U.S. Air Force in the development of the Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning . No. 80 Squadron is part of the Australia, Canada and United Kingdom Reprogramming Laboratory (ACURL) at Eglin Air Force Base , Florida, and is tasked with compiling and testing the Mission Data File Sets (MDFS) for the F-35. No. 84 Squadron is located at RAF Akrotiri, operating
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#17327908843664316-578: The Vale of Glamorgan, RAF St Mawgan in Cornwall and RAF Valley on Anglesey. The No. 22 Group also manages the Royal Air Force Air Cadets . An RAF station is ordinarily subordinate to a group and is commanded by a group captain . Each station typically hosts several flying and non-flying squadrons or units which are supported by administrative and support wings. Front-line flying operations are focused at eight stations: Flying training takes places at RAF Barkston Heath , RAF College Cranwell , RAF Shawbury and RAF Valley , each forming part of
4399-439: The air force's V bomber fleet. These were initially armed with nuclear gravity bombs , later being equipped with the Blue Steel missile . Following the development of the Royal Navy's Polaris submarines , the strategic nuclear deterrent passed to the navy's submarines on 30 June 1969. With the introduction of Polaris, the RAF's strategic nuclear role was reduced to a tactical one, using WE.177 gravity bombs. This tactical role
4482-404: The airfield was used as an administrative base and also became the home of No. 622 Volunteer Gliding Squadron , part of the Air Training Corps , who used static winch-launched gliders . As a result of major reorganisation of the Royal Air Force in the early 1990s, RAF Upavon became surplus to requirements, and the RAF was to permanently withdraw from Upavon. On 3 August 1993, the RAF handed over
4565-400: The airfield was used by the Army , and with the arrival of the Royal Irish Rangers , Little Rissington became "Imjin Barracks". With the arrival of the United States Air Forces in Europe , Little Rissington became the largest military contingency hospital in Europe. The aerodrome was cleared for Lockheed C-130 Hercules and Lockheed C-5 Galaxies . During the Gulf War , Little Rissington
4648-494: The arrival of jet fighters and bombers. During the early stages of the Cold War, one of the first major operations undertaken by the RAF was the Berlin Airlift , codenamed Operation Plainfire. Between 26 June 1948 and the lifting of the Russian blockade of the city on 12 May 1949, the RAF provided 17% of the total supplies delivered, using Avro Yorks , Douglas Dakotas flying to Gatow Airport and Short Sunderlands flying to Lake Havel. The RAF saw its first post-war engagements in
4731-415: The capabilities needed to ensure the security and defence of the United Kingdom and overseas territories, including against terrorism; to support the Government's foreign policy objectives particularly in promoting international peace and security". The RAF describes its mission statement as "... [to provide] an agile, adaptable and capable Air Force that, person for person, is second to none, and that makes
4814-414: The command of Air Vice-Marshal Paul Godfrey is a joint command, but sits "under the Royal Air Force." Godfrey is of equal rank to the commanders of 1, 2, 11, and 22 Groups. The new command has "responsibility for not just operations, but also generating, training and growing the force, and also owning the money and putting all the programmatic rigour into delivering new ..capabilities." UKSC headquarters
4897-463: The decline of the British Empire, global operations were scaled back, and RAF Far East Air Force was disbanded on 31 October 1971. Despite this, the RAF fought in many battles in the Cold War period. In June 1948, the RAF commenced Operation Firedog against Malayan pro-independence fighters during the Malayan Emergency . Operations continued for the next 12 years until 1960 with aircraft flying out of RAF Tengah and RAF Butterworth . The RAF played
4980-472: The demolition of the main technical site. This demolition forms part of their future plans are to turn the technical site and former married quarters into an eco-town. During 2014 to 2015, the four prominent Type-C Hangars were demolished and major housing construction carried out. In 2014, real estate development commenced on the airfield by the Royal Air Force to facilitate a centralised flying training strategy by No. 2 Flying Training School . This included
5063-473: The domestic site and a grass airfield. During 1942, three asphalt runways were laid. Extra land was added to accommodate Sites A to E. Later in the war, the main runway 05/23 was extended northerly (later to become the main runway for instrument landings), 09/27 and 14/32 were extended easterly and south-easterly respectively. Up to 1945 the station accommodated No. 6 Service Flying Training School RAF and No. 8 Maintenance Unit RAF . No. 8 Maintenance Unit
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#17327908843665146-402: The first commandant , with Major Hugh Trenchard being his assistant. Trenchard later became the chief of air staff , and subsequently became known as the "father of the Royal Air Force". During 1913 the first night landing made in England was achieved at Upavon, by Lieutenant Cholmondeley. In May 1914, Winston Churchill , then First Lord of the Admiralty , was a passenger on a flight by
5229-569: The first hint of something abnormal, a controller has the option to put them on a higher level of alert, 'a call to cockpit'. In this scenario the pilot races to the hardened aircraft shelter and does everything short of starting his engines". On 4 October 2015, a final stand-down saw the end of more than 70 years of RAF Search and Rescue provision in the UK. The RAF and Royal Navy's Westland Sea King fleets, after over 30 years of service, were retired. A civilian contractor, Bristow Helicopters , took over responsibility for UK Search and Rescue, under
5312-402: The great bulk of the RAF's bombing campaign, mainly due to Harris, but it also developed precision bombing techniques for specific operations, such as the infamous "Dambusters" raid by No. 617 Squadron , or the Amiens prison raid known as Operation Jericho . Following victory in the Second World War, the RAF underwent significant re-organisation, as technological advances in air warfare saw
5395-462: The highest scoring pilot of the war. Following a British victory, the RAF remained in the South Atlantic to provide air defence to the Falkland Islands, with the McDonnell Douglas Phantom FGR2 based at RAF Mount Pleasant which was built in 1984. With the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union, the RAF's focus returned to expeditionary air power . Since 1990, the RAF has been involved in several large-scale operations, including
5478-567: The latest 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review, the BAE Systems Nimrod MRA4 maritime patrol aircraft was cancelled due to over spending and missing deadlines. Other reductions saw total manpower reduced by 5,000 personnel to a trained strength of 33,000 and the early retirement of the Joint Force Harrier aircraft, the BAE Harrier GR7/GR9 . In recent years, fighter aircraft on Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) have been increasingly required to scramble in response to Russian Air Force aircraft approaching British airspace. On 24 January 2014, in
5561-555: The next eight years, the two fighter squadrons developed both night flying and aviation fighting techniques. At the same time, they wooed the public all over the country with impressive air displays. In May 1934, both squadrons left Upavon for RAF Kenley , London, and were replaced at Upavon, for a short time in 1935, by four squadrons from the Fleet Air Arm . On 31 August 1927 Lieutenant Colonel Frederick F. Minchin , known to his colleagues as 'Dan', Captain Leslie Hamilton, and Princess Löwenstein-Wertheim took off from Upavon airfield in
5644-431: The northern sector of UK airspace, while Coningsby covers the southern sector. Typhoon pilot Flight Lieutenant Noel Rees describes how QRA duty works. "At the start of the scaled QRA response, civilian air traffic controllers might see on their screens an aircraft behaving erratically, not responding to their radio calls, or note that it's transmitting a distress signal through its transponder. Rather than scramble Typhoons at
5727-423: The occasion on 10 July 2018 with a flypast over London consisting of 103 aircraft. Between March 2020 and 2022, the RAF assisted with the response efforts to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom as part of Operation Rescript . This saw the service provide repatriation flights and aeromedical evacuations of COVID-19 patients, drivers and call-handlers to support ambulance services and medics to assist with
5810-416: The physical defence and maintenance of sovereignty of the British Overseas Territories and enable the UK to conduct expeditionary military operations . Although command and oversight of the bases is provided by Strategic Command , the airfield elements are known as RAF stations. Four RAF squadrons are based overseas. No. 17 Test and Evaluation Squadron is based at Edwards Air Force Base , California, in
5893-419: The same aircraft type. Some schools operate with only one squadron, and have an overall training throughput which is relatively small; some, like No. 3 Flying Training School , have responsibility for all Elementary Flying Training (EFT) in the RAF, and all RAF aircrew will pass through its squadrons when they start their flying careers. No. 2 Flying Training School and No. 6 Flying Training School do not have
5976-413: The school's primary role was to train and supply flight instructors to the now increasing number of military flying schools. King George VI visited Upavon during the Second World War . Upavon became home to headquarters No. 38 Group in 1946 and home to headquarters RAF Transport Command in 1951. A new headquarters building for Transport Command was completed in the 1960s. On 16 June 1962, Upavon held
6059-399: The site to the British Army and the airfield became an Army garrison called Trenchard Lines . When the army first moved into Upavon, it became home to Headquarters Doctrine & Training. On 30 January 1995, it then became Headquarters Adjutant General . In April 2008 HQ Adjutant General was absorbed within the newly formed HQ Land Forces under 'Project Hyperion'. The new merged HQ LF
6142-475: The staffing of hospitals, testing units and vaccination centres. Under Operation Broadshare , the RAF has also been involved with COVID-19 relief operations overseas, repatriating stranded nationals and delivering medical supplies and vaccines to British Overseas Territories and military installations. The UK's 20-year long operations in Afghanistan came to an end in August 2021, seeing the largest airlift since
6225-485: The storage and maintenance of the gliders. The airfield has had major groundworks on the grassed area creating a grassed runway. During the build-up to the Second World War , the Air Ministry began constructing major airfields across the United Kingdom under what was known as the Expansion Period. RAF Little Rissington was one of these airfields. RAF Little Rissington officially opened in 1938, comprising
6308-590: 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. The RAF's mission is to support the objectives of the British Ministry of Defence (MOD), which are to "provide
6391-555: The war was the strategic bombing campaign against Germany by Bomber Command. While RAF bombing of Germany began almost immediately upon the outbreak of war at first it was ineffectual; it was only later, particularly under the leadership of Air Chief Marshal Harris , that these attacks became increasingly devastating, from early 1943 onward, as new technology and greater numbers of superior aircraft became available. The RAF adopted night-time area bombing on German cities such as Hamburg and Dresden . Night time area bombing constituted
6474-752: The war, various satellite airfields were used to spread out the increased number of aircraft. In 1946 the Royal Air Force Central Flying School (CFS) moved to Little Rissington. The airfield also became the home to the RAF's aerobatics teams which included the Red Pelicans and later the Red Arrows . The airfield was expanded during this period, and a new fire station and control tower were built. The airfield closed on 23 April 1976. The Little Rissington UFO incident took place in October 1952. After CFS's departure,
6557-666: Was continued by the V bombers into the 1980s and until 1998 by the Panavia Tornado GR1 . For much of the Cold War the primary role of the RAF was the defence of Western Europe against potential attack by the Soviet Union , with many squadrons based in West Germany . The main RAF bases in RAF(G) were RAF Brüggen , RAF Gutersloh , RAF Laarbruch and RAF Wildenrath – the only air defence base in RAF(G). With
6640-607: Was designated a Core Site up to 2030, under the Defence Estates Development Plan 2008. While nothing has yet been confirmed, RAF Little Rissington has been looked at to support various changes: In 2011 the airfield was identified as a site with "localised radium contaminated soil" from the scrapping of surplus equipment after the Second World War . At the end of 2011, the Upper Rissington Business Park owner Reland commenced
6723-462: Was held on its highest readiness state for several decades as it prepared for casualties. The USAF left Little Rissington in 1994 and it was handed back to the Royal Air Force . Little Rissington was identified as surplus to requirements in the Government's " Options for Change " package and the entire site was put up for sale. The domestic and main technical sites of the station were sold to
6806-504: Was originally designated No. 8 Aircraft Storage Unit (ASU), however as the Second World War increased its momentum, so did the number of aircraft being stored. During the mid-1940s dispersal areas began openly storing aircraft, that had arrived straight from the manufacture. Due to security concerns, the level of security protection stepped up during the war, including the Station's own fighter force of several Supermarine Spitfires . Later in
6889-615: Was to be at Andover to use surplus real estate made available by Defence Equipment and Support . The two organisations merged organisationally on 1 April 2008, but preparing the Marlborough Lines buildings at Andover for physical co-location was not expected to be possible before 2010. The site is now home to the headquarters of Army Recruiting and Initial Training Command . Units based at RAF Upavon included: [REDACTED] Media related to RAF Upavon at Wikimedia Commons Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force ( RAF )
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