Cambridge University Air Squadron
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Cambridge University Air Squadron, abbreviated CUAS, formed in 1925, is the training unit of the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
at the
University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
and forms part of the
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) was established in 1936 to support the preparedness of the U.K. Royal Air Force in the event of another war. The Air Ministry intended it to form a supplement to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF ...
. It is the oldest of 15
University Air Squadrons University Air Squadrons are training units under the command of No. 6 Flying Training School RAF of the Royal Air Force and their main role is to attract students into careers as RAF officers. Primarily its goal is achieved through offering b ...
in the UK. For many years it was based at
Cambridge Airport Cambridge City Airport , previously Marshall Airport Cambridge UK, is a regional airport in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the eastern outskirts of Cambridge, south of Newmarket Road and west of the village of Teversham, from the ...
at
Teversham Teversham is a small village in Cambridgeshire located roughly from Fulbourn, and is roughly from the centre of Cambridge. It is small compared to neighbouring villages. Although just a few hundred metres from the edge of Cambridge it is bord ...
.


History

The unit was formed in 1925 and initially operated out a runway located next to RAF Engineering school at Fen causeway in Cambridge. After a brief spell at RAF Duxford, the squadron moved in 1949 to a new home at Cambridge "Marshall's" or "Teversham" Airport where it remained until 1999 and its transfer away to RAF Wyton. 15 years later, the squadron was moved again, to RAF Wittering.


Present day

Cambridge University Air Squadron offers basic flying training and adventure training to undergraduates and graduates and encourages members to take up a career as an officer in one of the branches of the Royal Air Force. Student members hold the title of
Officer Cadet Officer Cadet is a rank held by military cadets during their training to become commissioned officers. In the United Kingdom, the rank is also used by members of University Royal Naval Units, University Officer Training Corps and University Air ...
, which carries the privileges, but not the rank, of a commissioned officer. The four senior student members of the squadron are granted commissions in the RAF Volunteer Reserve, with the rank of
Acting Pilot Officer Acting pilot officer (A/Plt Off) is the lowest commissioned grade in the Royal Air Force. Acting pilot officer is not an actual military rank, therefore acting pilot officers are regraded to pilot officer instead of receiving a promotion. Unl ...
. Officer Cadets are required to attend a minimum of one training night a week during full term, usually a lecture by a guest speaker on an aspect of the Royal Air Force or another military unit. They are also expected to take part in two weeks of continuous training during the Long Vacation. There are also camps during all university vacations for sports, flying and adventure training. CUAS is based at
RAF Wittering Royal Air Force Wittering or more simply RAF Wittering is a Royal Air Force station within the unitary authority area of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire and the unitary authority area of North Northamptonshire. Although Stamford, Lincolnshire, Sta ...
a station which they share with the University of London Air Squadron, and is equipped with Grob Tutor T Mk 1s. Each officer cadet is offered a Summer Holiday Attachment of one week at another RAF base, seconded to an active regular unit.


The Hack Trophy

The Hack Trophy is awarded annually to the University Air Squadron for best all-round performance covering flying training, flying standards and competitions, ground school training, organisation and administration. Cambridge UAS won the trophy in 1970, 1974, 1975 (the year in which the squadron celebrated its 50th anniversary as the first-formed UAS) and 1977 (runner-up in 1976).


Commanding officers (incomplete)

* 1934–1937 Squadron Leader
John Stanley Chick Air Commodore John Stanley Chick, (22 December 1897 – 21 January 1960), was a Welsh officer of the Royal Air Force, who began his aviation career as a World War I flying ace credited with 16 aerial victories. World War I service John Stanley ...
* 1971–1974 Squadron Leader Dick Joyce * 1974–1977 Squadron Leader John Nutkins * 1977–1980 Squadron Leader John Kennedy * 1980–1982 Squadron Leader
Brian Burridge Air Chief Marshal Sir Brian Kevin Burridge, (born 26 September 1949) is a retired Royal Air Force officer. A former Nimrod pilot, Burridge was in overall command of British forces under Operation Telic during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. RAF care ...
* 1982–1985 Squadron Leader Matt Buzby * 2007–2009 Squadron Leader John Monahan * 2009–2011 Squadron Leader Simon Means * 2011–2014 Squadron Leader Charles Kane * 2014 – 2021 Squadron Leader Richard Kellett * 2021 - present Squadron Leader Mark Hammond


Notable members

* George Barclay RAF Officer and DFC recipient * Kenneth Campbell RAF Officer and
Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...
recipient *
John Fairey John Stephen Fairey FRAeS (21 April 1935 – 8 July 2009) was an English aviator. Early life Fairey was the second son of Sir Charles Richard Fairey, founder of the Fairey Aviation Company. He was educated at Eton and Magdalene College, Cambri ...
Aviator *
Alick Foord-Kelcey Air Vice Marshal Alick Foord-Kelcey, (6 April 1913 – 26 October 1973) was a Royal Air Force (RAF) officer who served as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at Signals Command in 1961. RAF career Foord-Kelcey was born in Canada, the son of Willia ...
RAF Officer and civil servant *
Victor Goddard Air Marshal Sir Robert Victor Goddard, (6 February 1897 – 21 January 1987) was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. Goddard is perhaps best known for his interest in paranormal phenomena; he claimed to have ...
RAF Officer *
Gordon Manley Gordon Valentine Manley, FRGS (3 January 1902 – 29 January 1980) was a British climatologist who has been described as "probably the best known, most prolific and most expert on the climate of Britain of his generation". He assembled the Centra ...
Climatologist Climatology (from Greek , ''klima'', "place, zone"; and , ''-logia'') or climate science is the scientific study of Earth's climate, typically defined as weather conditions averaged over a period of at least 30 years. This modern field of study ...
* Hector Monro, Baron Monro of Langholm RAF Officer & politician *
James Peter Obeyesekere III Deshamanya James Peter Obeyesekere III (14 July 1915 – 23 October 2007) was a Sri Lankan politician and aviator. A Senator, he was also a Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health and Finance.Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
n politician *
Nicholas Patrick Nicholas James MacDonald Patrick (born 19 November 1964), is a British-American engineer and a former NASA astronaut. His flight on the 2006 ''Discovery'' STS-116 mission made him the fourth person born in the United Kingdom to go into space. ...
Astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...
*
Michael Stear Air Chief Marshal Sir Michael James Douglas Stear, (11 October 1938 – 5 January 2020) was a senior commander of the Royal Air Force (RAF). He served as Deputy Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Central Europe from 1992 to 1996. Early life ...
RAF Officer *
Richard Tomlinson Richard John Charles Tomlinson (born 13 January 1963) is a former officer of the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6). He argued that he was subjected to unfair dismissal from MI6 in 1995, and attempted to take his former employer to a ...
Soldier &
MI6 The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 ( Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligenc ...
Officer *
Peter Vanneck Air Commodore Sir Peter Beckford Rutgers Vanneck (7 January 1922 – 2 August 1999) was a British Royal Navy officer, fighter pilot, engineer, stockbroker and politician. He made notable contributions to Anglo-French relations as Lord Mayor o ...
RN Officer *
Gino Watkins Henry George "Gino" Watkins FRGS (29 January 1907 – c. 20 August 1932) was a British Arctic explorer and nephew of Bolton Eyres-Monsell, 1st Viscount Monsell. Biography Born in London, he was educated at Lancing College and acquired a lov ...
Polar Explorer *
Frank Whittle Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle, (1 June 1907 – 8 August 1996) was an English engineer, inventor and Royal Air Force (RAF) air officer. He is credited with inventing the turbojet engine. A patent was submitted by Maxime Guillaume in 1921 for ...
RAF Officer and inventor of the
turbo-jet The turbojet is an airbreathing jet engine which is typically used in aircraft. It consists of a gas turbine with a propelling nozzle. The gas turbine has an air inlet which includes inlet guide vanes, a compressor, a combustion chamber, and ...
engine * Cathcart Wight-Boycott RAF Officer


References


Air of Authority - University Air Squadrons
{{University of Cambridge Royal Air Force university air squadrons Organisations associated with the University of Cambridge Military units and formations established in 1925