Royal Air Force Coningsby or RAF Coningsby , is a
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 ...
(RAF) station located south-west of
Horncastle
Horncastle is a town and civil parish in the East Lindsey district in Lincolnshire, east of Lincoln. Its population was 6,815 at the 2011 census and estimated at 7,123 in 2019. A section of the ancient Roman walls remains.
History Romans
Alt ...
, and north-west of
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, in the
East Lindsey district of
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. It is a Main Operating Base of the RAF and home to three front-line
Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4
The Eurofighter Typhoon is in service with seven nations: United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Spain, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Austria. It has been ordered by Kuwait and Qatar, with orders for all eight customers still pending as of September 2017. Th ...
units,
No. 3 Squadron,
No. 11 Squadron and
No. 12 Squadron. In support of front-line units,
No. 29 Squadron is the Typhoon Operational Conversion Unit and
No. 41 Squadron is the Typhoon Test and Evaluation Squadron. Coningsby is also the home of the
Battle of Britain Memorial Flight
The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) is a Royal Air Force flight which provides an aerial display group usually comprising an Avro Lancaster, a Supermarine Spitfire and a Hawker Hurricane. The aircraft are regularly seen at events c ...
(BBMF) which operates a variety of historic RAF aircraft.
History
Second World War
Plans for an airfield at Coningsby began in 1937 as part of the RAF's expansion plan. However progress in the compulsory purchase of the land was slow and delayed the start of work for two years.
The station opened during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
on 4 November 1940 under
No. 5 Group, part of
RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command controlled the Royal Air Force's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. Along with the United States Army Air Forces, it played the central role in the strategic bombing of Germany in World War II. From 1942 onward, the British bo ...
.
[ Halpenny, Bruce Barrymore ''Action Stations: Wartime Military Airfields of Lincolnshire and the East Midlands v. 2'', page 64] The first flying unit,
No. 106 Squadron with the
Handley Page Hampden
The Handley Page HP.52 Hampden is a British twin-engine medium bomber that was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was part of the trio of large twin-engine bombers procured for the RAF, joining the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley and Vickers ...
medium bomber, arrived in February 1941, with active operations taking place the following month when four Hampdens bombed
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
.
The squadron was joined in April 1941 by
No. 97 Squadron equipped with
Avro Manchester medium bombers.
In May 1942, aircraft from Coningsby participated in the
'Thousand Bomber' raid on Cologne.
The original grass runways were found to be unsuitable for heavy bomber operations so the station was closed for nearly a year between September 1942 and August 1943, whilst paved runways were laid in preparation for accommodating such aircraft. At the same time further hangars were constructed.
![Aircraft of the Royal Air Force 1939-1945- Avro 683 Lancaster](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/Aircraft_of_the_Royal_Air_Force_1939-1945-_Avro_683_Lancaster._CH12352.jpg)
The first unit to return was the now-famous
No. 617 'Dambusters' Squadron. Equipped with
Avro Lancaster heavy bombers, the squadron was stationed at Coningsby from August 1943. Due to its specialist nature, the Dambusters carried out limited operations whilst at Coningsby, with the most notable being
Operation Garlic
Operation Garlic was an attack on the Dortmund-Ems Canal by 617 Squadron carried out on 14-16 September 1943. The operation was unsuccessful. The canal was not significantly damaged by the attack, while 617 squadron lost five of the eight aircr ...
, a failed raid targeting the
Dortmund-Ems canal in Germany, when five out of the eight Lancasters on the mission failed to return home. As the squadron required more space, it moved to nearby
RAF Woodhall Spa
Royal Air Force Woodhall Spa or more simply RAF Woodhall Spa is a former Royal Air Force station located north of Coningsby, Lincolnshire and southeast of Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England.
History
Constructed on farmland south of Woodhall ...
in January 1944, swapping places with another Lancaster unit,
No. 619 Squadron, which itself later moved on to
RAF Dunholme Lodge
Royal Air Force Dunholme Lodge or more simply RAF Dunholme Lodge was a Royal Air Force station located between the parishes of Welton and Dunholme in Lincolnshire, England.
History
The grass airfield was first used by the Royal Air Force during ...
.
[ Halpenny, Bruce Barrymore ''Action Stations: Wartime Military Airfields of Lincolnshire and the East Midlands v. 2''. Page ?]
Further Lancaster squadrons were based at Coningsby during the final months of the war, including
No. 61 Squadron from
RAF Skellingthorpe
Royal Air Force Skellingthorpe or more simply RAF Skellingthorpe is a former Royal Air Force station which was operational during the Second World War. It was located just west of the city of Lincoln, England about south-east of the village of S ...
,
No. 83 Squadron and
No. 97 Squadron.
Post war
Following the Second World War, Coningsby was home to the
Mosquito
Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning " gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "li ...
-equipped
No. 109 Squadron and
No. 139 Squadron, then became part of
No. 3 Group, with
Boeing Washington
The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is an American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the B-17 Fly ...
aircraft from 1950. On 17 August 1953 52-year-old Air Vice-Marshal William Brook, the
Air Officer Commanding of
No. 3 Group, took off from the base in a
Gloster Meteor
The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies of World War II, Allies' only jet aircraft to engage in combat operations during the Second World War. The Meteor's development was heavily reliant on its ground-breaking turb ...
, and crashed into a
Dutch barn
Dutch barn is the name given to markedly different types of barns in the United States and Canada, and in the United Kingdom. In the United States, Dutch barns (a. k. a. New World Dutch barns) represent the oldest and rarest types of barns. There ...
at
Bradley, Staffordshire.
Jet aircraft
The airfield received its first jet aircraft—the
English Electric Canberra
The English Electric Canberra is a British first-generation, jet-powered medium bomber. It was developed by English Electric during the mid- to late 1940s in response to a 1944 Air Ministry requirement for a successor to the wartime de Havil ...
—in 1953.
[ Halpenny, Bruce Barrymore ''Action Stations: Wartime Military Airfields of Lincolnshire and the East Midlands v. 2''. Page 67.] During 1956, the station expanded with the runway being extended.
Avro Vulcan
The Avro Vulcan (later Hawker Siddeley Vulcan from July 1963) is a jet-powered, tailless, delta-wing, high-altitude, strategic bomber, which was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) from 1956 until 1984. Aircraft manufacturer A.V. Roe an ...
s arrived in 1962, then transferred to
RAF Cottesmore
Royal Air Force Station Cottesmore or more simply RAF Cottesmore is a former Royal Air Force station in Rutland, England, situated between Cottesmore and Market Overton. On 15 December 2009, Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth announced that the ...
in November 1964.
From 1964 to 1966, the station had been initially designated to receive the proposed RAF strike aircraft, the advanced
BAC TSR-2
The British Aircraft Corporation TSR-2 is a cancelled Cold War strike and reconnaissance aircraft developed by the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC), for the Royal Air Force (RAF) in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The TSR-2 was designed ...
,
which was cancelled in April 1965 by the Labour Government. The TSR2 was planned to join
No. 40 Squadron at Coningsby in 1968 to replace the Canberra.
Phantoms
The TSR2's intended replacement—the American
General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark
The General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark is a retired supersonic, medium-range, multirole combat aircraft. Production variants of the F-111 had roles that included ground attack (e.g. interdiction), strategic bombing (including nuclear weapons c ...
—was shelved on 16 January 1968 when its costs overshot the UK's budget (it would have cost £425m for 50 aircraft). The TSR2 had large development costs, whereas the F-111 (also known as Tactical Fighter Experimental, or TFX) could be bought off the shelf. Coningsby was planned to get the
F-111K
The General Dynamics F-111K was a planned variant of the General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark medium-range interdictor and fighter bomber, tactical strike aircraft by General Dynamics, to meet a requirement for such an aircraft for the Royal Air Force ...
, the RAF version of the F-111; also in the
1966 Defence White Paper, it was intended that the Anglo-French
AFVG, later the UKVG, would replace the TSR2 (it did eventually as the
Panavia Tornado
The Panavia Tornado is a family of twin-engine, variable-sweep wing multirole combat aircraft, jointly developed and manufactured by Italy, the United Kingdom and West Germany. There are three primary Tornado variants: the Tornado IDS (inter ...
). 50 F-111Ks were planned with 100 AFVGs (to enter service by 1970);
Denis Healey claimed the F-111s and AFVGs would be cheaper than the TSR2 programme (158 aircraft) by £700m. As
Minister of Aviation
The Ministry of Aviation was a department of the United Kingdom government established in 1959. Its responsibilities included the regulation of civil aviation and the supply of military aircraft, which it took on from the Ministry of Supply. ...
throughout 1965, the Labour MP
Roy Jenkins had also wanted to similarly cancel the
Olympus-powered
Concorde
The Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde () is a retired Franco-British supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale) and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC).
Studies started in 1954, and France an ...
, but the 1962 Anglo-French treaty imposed prohibitively steep financial penalties for cancellation; the
Hawker Siddeley P.1154
The Hawker Siddeley P.1154 was a planned supersonic vertical/short take-off and landing (V/STOL) fighter aircraft designed by Hawker Siddeley Aviation (HSA).
Development originally started under P.1150, which was essentially a larger and fas ...
and
HS.681 were cancelled at the same time.
AFVGs were also planned to replace the
Buccaneer
Buccaneers were a kind of privateers or free sailors particular to the Caribbean Sea during the 17th and 18th centuries. First established on northern Hispaniola as early as 1625, their heyday was from Stuart Restoration, the Restoration in 16 ...
in the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
—Tornados were never flown by the Royal Navy, as the carriers for them, the
CVA-01
CVA-01 was a proposed United Kingdom aircraft carrier, designed during the 1960s. The ship was intended to be the first of a class that would replace all of the Royal Navy's carriers, most of which had been designed before or during the Second ...
s, were cancelled. But the Royal Navy did operate fourteen Phantoms on
HMS ''Ark Royal'', until the new smaller carriers entered service—48 Phantoms had been designated for the
Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...
, with twenty of these ending up at
RAF Leuchars, and ''Ark Royal's'' Phantoms ended up at Leuchars in 1978.
HMS ''Eagle'' was never converted to Phantom use as it was deemed too expensive, and the carrier was scrapped in January 1972, with its
Sea Vixen aircraft. Another alternative considered by the Labour government in July 1965 for the TSR-2 was to order
Rolls-Royce Spey
The Rolls-Royce Spey (company designations RB.163 and RB.168 and RB.183) is a low-bypass turbofan engine originally designed and manufactured by Rolls-Royce that has been in widespread service for over 40 years. A co-development version of th ...
-engined French
Mirage IV
The Dassault Mirage IV was a French supersonic strategic bomber and deep-reconnaissance aircraft. Developed by Dassault Aviation, the aircraft entered service with the French Air Force in October 1964. For many years it was a vital part of the ...
aircraft, to be known as the Mirage IVS; it would have avionics from the TSR-2, and be partly made by
BAC
BAC or Bac may refer to:
Places
* Bac, Rožaje, Bac, a village in Montenegro
* Baile Átha Cliath, Irish language name for Dublin city.
* Bîc River, aka ''Bâc River'', a Moldovan river
* Baç Bridge, bridge in Turkey
* Barnes County Municipal A ...
at
Warton.
Spey-engined
Phantoms (the plane the government eventually bought, having been ordered in February 1964 for the Fleet Air Arm, instead of the P.1154) were chosen in 1966 for the station's future as with the scrapping of aircraft carriers the Phantoms were not needed for the Fleet Air Arm,
with all RAF Phantom training taking place on the airfield, and the station became part of
Fighter Command
RAF Fighter Command was one of the commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It served throughout the Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, oft ...
until December 1967, when it joined
Air Support Command as the Phantoms were initially in a ground attack role. Phantoms first saw operational service with the Fleet Air Arm in 1970. The first
Phantom FGR2 (Fighter/Ground attack/Reconnaissance) arrived at Coningsby on 23 August 1968, with the first aircrew
OCU
OCU may mean:
*Ohio Christian University
*Oklahoma City University
*Operational conversion unit, a unit in an air force
*Operational Command Unit, a unit in a police force
*Operator Control Unit, a hardware or software control interface for an auto ...
course (
No. 228 OCU) beginning in October 1968. Air-defence Phantoms (FG1) also entered service in 1969 at RAF Leuchars. On 18 May 1970, a Phantom flew from the base non-stop to
RAF Tengah ''Tengah'' is an Indonesian and Malay word meaning "Central". It can be found in topography, e.g.
*Kalimantan Tengah
*Tengah Islands or Central Archipelago.
*Tengah, Singapore
*Tengah Air Base
The Tengah Air Base is a military airbase of ...
in Singapore, covering in 14 hours and 14 minutes at an average speed of . In April 1968,
RAF Strike Command
The Royal Air Force's Strike Command was the military formation which controlled the majority of the United Kingdom's bomber and fighter aircraft from 1968 until 2007 when it merged with Personnel and Training Command to form the single Air C ...
was formed and the airfield was transferred to
No. 38 Group.
No. 41(F) Squadron joined in April 1972, and stayed until 1977. The other ground-attack Phantom squadrons (four of them) were at
RAF Bruggen
Royal Air Force Brüggen, more commonly known as RAF Brüggen, in Germany was a major station of the Royal Air Force until 15 June 2001. It was situated next to the village of Elmpt, approximately west of Düsseldorf on the Dutch-German bo ...
.
No. 111(F) Squadron replaced their Lightnings (from
RAF Wattisham
Royal Air Force Station Wattisham or more simply RAF Wattisham is a former Royal Air Force station located in East Anglia just outside the village of Wattisham, south of Stowmarket in Suffolk, England. During the Cold War it was a major front ...
) with Phantoms from 1 October 1974. On 1 January 1975,
No. 29(F) Squadron joined and stayed until 1987, when disbanded. On 1 November 1975,
No. 23(F) Squadron joined until February 1976, when moved to RAF Wattisham. In March 1976,
No. 56(F) Squadron joined until July 1976, then went to Wattisham.
![Tornado F](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/Tornado_F.3_ZE785_41_Squadron_%282992497555%29.jpg)
The Phantom's role changed to air defence in October 1974 when the airfield transferred to
No. 11 Group in Strike Command, when the
SEPECAT Jaguar
The SEPECAT Jaguar is an Anglo-French jet attack aircraft originally used by the British Royal Air Force and the French Air Force in the close air support and nuclear strike role. It is still in service with the Indian Air Force.
Originall ...
(situated in Norfolk) took over the ground attack role. No. 111(F) Squadron were the first to take the new air defence Phantoms. During 1975, the UK's air defence transferred to the Phantom FGR.2 from five squadrons of
English Electric Lightning
The English Electric Lightning is a British fighter aircraft that served as an interceptor during the 1960s, the 1970s and into the late 1980s. It was capable of a top speed of above Mach 2. The Lightning was designed, developed, and manufa ...
s. The UK was covered by NATO Early Warning Area 12. Three Sector Operations Centres were at
RAF Buchan
Royal Air Force Buchan or more simply RAF Buchan is a former Royal Air Force station near Peterhead in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
Buchan opened in 1952 as a radar centre in the ROTOR radar network. It was soon upgraded with the installation of th ...
,
Boulmer
Boulmer is a village in Northumberland, England, on the North Sea coast east of Alnwick. It is home to RAF Boulmer. Boulmer has an independent volunteer lifeboat station.
Origin of the name
The name Boulmer, pronounced "Boomer", is a derivatio ...
and
Neatishead; in the 1960s, the UK had the
Linesman/Mediator
Linesman/Mediator was a dual-purpose civil and military radar network in the United Kingdom between the 1960s and 1984. The military side (Linesman) was replaced by the Improved United Kingdom Air Defence Ground Environment (IUKADGE), while the ...
radar system, which was obsolete by the 1970s. No. 29(F) Squadron formed with Phantoms at Coningsby on 1 January 1975; until then the Phantom FG.1 had been operating with the Royal Navy only. On 3 March 1975, a Phantom crashed into a nearby house, with both pilot and navigator ejecting. The Queen visited the station on 30 June 1976.
Tornados
Panavia Tornado F3
The Panavia Tornado Air Defence Variant (ADV) was a long-range, twin-engine interceptor version of the swing-wing Panavia Tornado. The aircraft's first flight was on 27 October 1979, and it entered service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) in 198 ...
squadrons began to form from November 1984, namely
No. 229 OCU/
No. 65 Squadron.
[ Halpenny, Bruce Barrymore ''Action Stations: Wartime Military Airfields of Lincolnshire and the East Midlands v. 2''. Page 221.] Tornado training took place until April 1987, when the Phantoms left (to RAF Leuchars) and Coningsby had the first (No. 29(F) Squadron) Tornado air defence squadron.
[ Halpenny, Bruce Barrymore ''Action Stations: Wartime Military Airfields of Lincolnshire and the East Midlands v. 2''. Page 222.] To accommodate these new aircraft, extensive
hardened aircraft shelters
A hardened aircraft shelter (HAS) or protective aircraft shelter (PAS) is a reinforced hangar to house and protect military aircraft from enemy attack. Cost considerations and building practicalities limit their use to fighter size aircraft.
...
(HAS) and support facilities were built.
No. 5 Squadron arrived in January 1988, having previously operated the English Electric Lightning.
During the
Gulf War
The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...
, Tornados from Coningsby were based for three months at
Dhahran International Airport to participate in
Operation Granby
Operation Granby, commonly abbreviated Op Granby, was the code name given to the British military operations during the 1991 Gulf War. 53,462 members of the British Armed Forces were deployed during the conflict. The total cost of operations w ...
. Tornado engines were serviced on the northern section of the former
RAF Woodhall Spa
Royal Air Force Woodhall Spa or more simply RAF Woodhall Spa is a former Royal Air Force station located north of Coningsby, Lincolnshire and southeast of Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England.
History
Constructed on farmland south of Woodhall ...
, denoted as RAF Woodhall.
Jaguars
With the running down of
RAF Coltishall
Royal Air Force Coltishall, more commonly known as RAF Coltishall , is a former Royal Air Force station located North-North-East of Norwich, in the English county of Norfolk, East Anglia, which operated from 1938 to 2006.
It was a fighter airf ...
in Norfolk, No. 6 Squadron relocated with their SEPECAT Jaguars to Coningsby on 1 April 2006, where it was planned they would operate from until October 2007.
However, on 25 April 2007 it was announced by the
Ministry of Defence that the Jaguars would be withdrawn from service on 30 April. May 2007 saw No. 6 Squadron flying their Jaguars to
RAF Cosford
Royal Air Force Cosford or RAF Cosford (formerly DCAE Cosford) is a Royal Air Force station in Cosford, Shropshire, just to the northwest of Wolverhampton and next to Albrighton.
History
Origins
RAF Cosford opened in 1938 as a joint aircraf ...
where they would be utilised by
No. 1 SoTT. No. 6 Squadron disbanded on 31 May 2007. Deliveries continued in June and July, with the last Jaguar to arrive at Cosford from Coningsby being ''XX119'' on 2 July 2007.
Eurofighter Typhoon
![Typhoon, RAF Coningsby - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Typhoon%2C_RAF_Coningsby_-_geograph.org.uk_-_737223.jpg)
Coningsby was the first airfield to receive the Phantoms,
the Tornado ADV
and was the first to receive its replacement, the Eurofighter Typhoon. Typhoon arrived in May 2005 with
No. 17 Squadron, after the RAF first publicly displayed the aircraft at Coningsby in December 2004.
No. 3(F) Squadron moved to RAF Coningsby where it became the first operational front line RAF Typhoon squadron in July 2007 and
No. 11(F) Squadron became operational at RAF Coningsby shortly thereafter.
No. 12 Squadron reactivated in July 2018 and is temporarily integrating
Qatar Emiri Air Force
The Qatar Emiri Air Force ( ar, القوات الجوية الأميرية القطرية , Al-Quwwat Al-Jawiyah Al-Amiriyah Al-Qatariyah) (QEAF) is the air arm of the armed forces of the state of Qatar. It was established in 1974 as a small aer ...
air and ground crews in order to provide training and support as part of the Qatari purchase of twenty-four Typhoons from the UK.
In October 2019, RAF Coningsby signed a twinning agreement with
Fighter Wing 73 () of the
German Air Force () to enhance opportunities to meet and train with one another. The wing, based at
Laage
Laage () is a town and a municipality in the Rostock district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated on the river Recknitz, 23 kilometres southeast of Rostock. Rostock Laage Airport is located a few kilometres west of Laage. The fo ...
in north-eastern Germany, also operates the Eurofighter Typhoon.
Role and operations
RAF Coningsby's mission statement is 'To develop the future, deliver the present and commemorate the past of the Royal Air Force's combat air power.' The station is home to nearly 3,000 military personnel, civil servants, and contractors.
BAE Systems Military Air Solutions
BAE Systems Military Air & Information (MAI, formerly Military Air Solutions (MAS)) is a business unit of British defence company BAE Systems responsible for the design, development, manufacture and support of fixed wing military aircraft. MAI ...
, who produce the Typhoon, are also stationed on the airfield with the contract to maintain the aircraft.
Command
The station commander is Group Captain Matt Peterson. The station's
Honorary Air Commandant is
William, Prince of Wales
William, Prince of Wales, (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982) is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales.
Born in London, William was edu ...
. The station is under the command of
No. 1 Group (Air Combat).
Typhoon operations
![Typhoon Aircraft At RAF Coningsby MOD 45155052](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Typhoon_Aircraft_At_RAF_Coningsby_MOD_45155052.jpg)
The
Eurofighter Typhoon
The Eurofighter Typhoon is a European multinational twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter. The Typhoon was designed originally as an air-superiority fighter and is manufactured by a consortium of Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo ...
FGR4 provides the RAF with a multi-role combat capability for air policing, peace support and high intensity conflict. RAF Coningsby is the home to three front-line Typhoon units,
No. 3(F) Squadron and
No. 11 Squadron as well as
No. 12 Squadron which is a joint RAF/
Qatar Emiri Air Force
The Qatar Emiri Air Force ( ar, القوات الجوية الأميرية القطرية , Al-Quwwat Al-Jawiyah Al-Amiriyah Al-Qatariyah) (QEAF) is the air arm of the armed forces of the state of Qatar. It was established in 1974 as a small aer ...
squadron. They are accompanied by
No. 29 Squadron which is the Typhoon Operational Conversion Unit which trains new crews.
Quick Reaction Alert
Since June 2007, Coningsby's Typhoons have been responsible for maintaining the
Quick Reaction Alert (Interceptor) South mission (QRA(I)S). Aircraft and crews are held at a high state of readiness, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to respond to unidentified aircraft approaching UK airspace. QRA missions range from civilian airliners which have stopped responding to air traffic control, to intercepting Russian aircraft such as the
Tupolev Tu-95 Bear and
Tu-160 Blackjack.
Test and Evaluation
The fourth Typhoon unit is
No. 41 (Test and Evaluation) Squadron which is part of the
Air Warfare Centre
The Air and Space Warfare Centre (ASWC) is a Royal Air Force research and testing organisation based at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire. It has a training branch nearby as a lodger unit of RAF Cranwell and other branches elsewhere, including ...
. The squadron develops operational tactics and evaluates new avionics and weapons systems. Formerly the Fast Jet and Weapons Operational Evaluation Unit (FJWOEU), it is a merger of the
Strike Attack OEU (previously based at
MOD Boscombe Down
MoD Boscombe Down ' is the home of a military aircraft testing site, on the southeastern 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 De ...
), the Tornado F3 OEU (previously based at
RAF Waddington
Royal Air Force Waddington otherwise known as RAF Waddington is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located beside the village of Waddington, south of Lincoln, Lincolnshire in England.
The station is the RAF's Intelligence Surveillance Target ...
) and the Air-Guided Weapons OEU (previously based at
RAF Valley
Royal Air Force Valley or more simply RAF Valley ( cy, Llu Awyr Brenhinol Y Fali) is a Royal Air Force station on the island of Anglesey, Wales, and which is also used as Anglesey Airport. It provides both basic and advanced fast-jet training ...
).
Battle of Britain Memorial Flight
![BBMF RAF Coningsby (CY), Coningsby - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/BBMF_RAF_Coningsby_%28CY%29%2C_Coningsby_-_geograph.org.uk_-_817198.jpg)
Coningsby has been home of the
Battle of Britain Memorial Flight
The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) is a Royal Air Force flight which provides an aerial display group usually comprising an Avro Lancaster, a Supermarine Spitfire and a Hawker Hurricane. The aircraft are regularly seen at events c ...
(BBMF) and the associated visitor centre since March 1976 when it arrived from
RAF Coltishall
Royal Air Force Coltishall, more commonly known as RAF Coltishall , is a former Royal Air Force station located North-North-East of Norwich, in the English county of Norfolk, East Anglia, which operated from 1938 to 2006.
It was a fighter airf ...
.
The BBMF operate one of two remaining airworthy
Avro Lancaster bombers in the world, alongside; six
Spitfires
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...
of various types; two
Hurricanes
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...
; a
Dakota
Dakota may refer to:
* Dakota people, a sub-tribe of the Sioux
** Dakota language, their language
Dakota may also refer to:
Places United States
* Dakota, Georgia, an unincorporated community
* Dakota, Illinois, a town
* Dakota, Minnesota, ...
and two
Chipmunks
Chipmunks are small, striped rodents of the family Sciuridae. Chipmunks are found in North America, with the exception of the Siberian chipmunk which is found primarily in Asia.
Taxonomy and systematics
Chipmunks may be classified either as ...
, the latter type being used for pilot training.
Force Protection
No. 7 Force Protection Wing Headquarters provides operational planning, command and control to two
RAF Regiment field squadrons attached to the wing,
No. 63 (Queen's Colour) Squadron (based at
RAF Northolt
("Ready to carry or to fight")
, pushpin_map = Greater London
, pushpin_label = RAF Northolt
, pushpin_map_caption = Shown within Greater London
, coordinates =
, type = Royal Air Force station
, code =
, site_area =
, height =
, owner ...
) and
No. 2623 (East Anglian) Squadron (RAuxAF) (based at
RAF Honington
Royal Air Force Honington or more simply RAF Honington is a Royal Air Force station located south of Thetford near Ixworth in Suffolk, England. Although used as a bomber station during the Second World War, RAF Honington is now the RAF Regim ...
) whose purpose is to protect RAF bases at home and abroad from ground attack. Part of No. 5
RAF Police
The Royal Air Force Police (RAFP) is the service police branch of the Royal Air Force, headed by the provost marshal of the Royal Air Force. Its headquarters are at RAF Honington and it deploys throughout the world to support RAF and UK defence ...
Squadron, under the command of
No. 8 RAF Force Protection Wing at
RAF Waddington
Royal Air Force Waddington otherwise known as RAF Waddington is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located beside the village of Waddington, south of Lincoln, Lincolnshire in England.
The station is the RAF's Intelligence Surveillance Target ...
, is also based at the station and provides policing, security and guarding.
Air Land Integration (ALI) Cell
No. 7 Force Protection Wing includes the Air Land Integration (ALI) Cell, which provides a
forward air control capability. The ALI Cell trains and provides
Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTACS) and
Tactical Air Controller Parties (TACPS) to support RAF and joint operations. The ALI Cell moved to Coningsby from RAF Honington in Suffolk and came under the control off the wing in June 2018.
Expeditionary Air Wing
No. 121 Expeditionary Air Wing was formed at Coningsby on 1 April 2006 to create a deployable air force structure.
Based units
![Lancaster B1 PA474 28 May 1988](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/Lancaster_B1_PA474_28_May_1988.jpg)
Flying and major non-flying units based at RAF Coningsby.
Royal Air Force
No. 1 Group (Air Combat)
* Combat Air Force
**Headquarters, Combat Air Force
**
No. 3 (Fighter) Squadron –
Typhoon FGR4
The Eurofighter Typhoon is a European multinational twinjet, twin-engine, canard (aeronautics), canard delta wing, multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter. The Typhoon was designed originally as an air-superiority fighter and is manufactu ...
**
No. 11(F) Squadron – Typhoon FGR4
**
No. 12 Squadron – Typhoon FGR4
**
No. 29 Squadron – Typhoon FGR4
**Typhoon Display Team
*
Air and Space Warfare Centre
The Air and Space Warfare Centre (ASWC) is a Royal Air Force research and testing organisation based at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire. It has a training branch nearby as a lodger unit of RAF Cranwell and other branches elsewhere, including ...
**
No. 41 Test and Evaluation Squadron – Typhoon FGR4
*
Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) –
Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...
,
Hurricane
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...
,
Lancaster,
Dakota
Dakota may refer to:
* Dakota people, a sub-tribe of the Sioux
** Dakota language, their language
Dakota may also refer to:
Places United States
* Dakota, Georgia, an unincorporated community
* Dakota, Illinois, a town
* Dakota, Minnesota, ...
and
Chipmunk
Chipmunks are small, striped rodents of the family Sciuridae. Chipmunks are found in North America, with the exception of the Siberian chipmunk which is found primarily in Asia.
Taxonomy and systematics
Chipmunks may be classified either as ...
No. 2 Group (Air Combat Support)
*
No. 7 Force Protection Wing
**Headquarters No. 7 Force Protection Wing
**Air Land Integration (ALI) Cell
*
No. 8 Force Protection Wing
** No. 5
RAF Police
The Royal Air Force Police (RAFP) is the service police branch of the Royal Air Force, headed by the provost marshal of the Royal Air Force. Its headquarters are at RAF Honington and it deploys throughout the world to support RAF and UK defence ...
Squadron
The deployable elements of the station structure form the core of
No. 121 Expeditionary Air Wing.
British Army
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...
(
8 Engineer Brigade, 170 Engineer Group, 20 Works Group Royal Engineers (Air Support)
* 532 Specialist Team Royal Engineers (Airfields) (STRE)
Heritage
Station badge and motto
RAF Coningsby's
badge
A badge is a device or accessory, often containing the insignia of an organization, which is presented or displayed to indicate some feat of service, a special accomplishment, a symbol of authority granted by taking an oath (e.g., police and ...
, awarded in December 1958, features a depiction of
Tattershall Castle
Tattershall Castle is a castle in Tattershall, Lincolnshire, England, about 12 miles (19 km) north east of Sleaford. Since 1925 it has been in the care of the National Trust.
History
Tattershall Castle has its origins in either a sto ...
. The local landmark, dating from the 15th century, is about north-west of the station.
The station's
motto
A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mot ...
is ''Loyalty binds me''.
Gate guardians
Two preserved aircraft are located at the main gate of RAF Coningsby and act as
gate guardian
A gate guardian or gate guard is a withdrawn piece of equipment, often an aircraft, armoured vehicle, artillery piece, or locomotive, mounted on a plinth and used as a static display near to and forming a symbolic display of "guarding" the main ...
s for the station. The first is
McDonnell Douglas F-4M Phantom FGR.2 '
''XT891'
'' wearing No. 41 Squadron markings and the second
Panavia Tornado F3
The Panavia Tornado Air Defence Variant (ADV) was a long-range, twin-engine interceptor version of the swing-wing Panavia Tornado. The aircraft's first flight was on 27 October 1979, and it entered service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) in 198 ...
''
'ZE760 in
No .5 Squadron markings.
Within the No. 3 Squadron
hardened aircraft shelter
A hardened aircraft shelter (HAS) or protective aircraft shelter (PAS) is a reinforced hangar to house and protect military aircraft from enemy attack. Cost considerations and building practicalities limit their use to fighter size aircraft.
...
(HAS) complex,
Hawker Siddeley Harrier GR.3 ''
'XW924''
' is on display and within the No.11 Squadron HAS complex is
English Electric Lightning F.6 ''
'XT753'
''. A further Lightning F.6, '
''XS89''7' (wearing '
''XP765) is preserved in the No. 29 Squadron site.
Incidents and accidents
1974 Norfolk mid-air collision
The 1974 Norfolk mid-air collision happened on 9 August 1974 at Fordham Fen, Norfolk, England when a Royal Air Force McDonnell-Douglas F-4M Phantom FGR.2 of No. 41 Squadron RAF (41 Sqn) collided with a Piper PA-25-235 Pawnee crop spraying air ...
: On 9 August 1974, the station commander 42-year-old Group Captain David Blucke, and his navigator
Flight Lieutenant
Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the India ...
Terence Kirkland (aged 28 and from
Derry), were killed whilst piloting the Phantom XV493 of
41 Squadron. Flying at low level, it hit a
Piper Pawnee
The PA-25 Pawnee is an agricultural aircraft produced by Piper Aircraft between 1959 and 1981. It remains a widely used aircraft in agricultural spraying and is also used as a tow plane, or tug, for launching gliders or for towing banners. In ...
crop-spraying plane (from
Southend-on-Sea
Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...
) over
Fordham, Norfolk
Fordham is a small village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is located north of Downham Market and west of Norwich, located along the A10 between London and King's Lynn and close to the confluence of the River W ...
, near
Downham Market
Downham Market, sometimes simply referred to as Downham, is a market town and civil parish in Norfolk, England. It lies on the edge of the Fens, on the River Great Ouse, approximately 11 miles south of King's Lynn, 39 miles west of Norwich and 30 ...
. Blucke was son of Air Vice-Marshal
Robert Blucke who was known for the 1935
Daventry Experiment
Chain Home, or CH for short, was the codename for the ring of coastal Early Warning radar stations built by the Royal Air Force (RAF) before and during the Second World War to detect and track aircraft. Initially known as RDF, and given the of ...
.
List of Station Commanders
![Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Hangar - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/Battle_of_Britain_Memorial_Flight_Hangar_-_geograph.org.uk_-_541602.jpg)
*
Air Chief Marshal Sir
Augustus Walker
Air Chief Marshal Sir George Augustus Walker, (24 August 1912 – 11 December 1986) was a Second World War bomber pilot, a jet aircraft pioneer, and a senior Royal Air Force officer in the post-war era, as well as a rugby player.
Early life
Walk ...
GCB 1951–1954
*
Air Commodore David Strong
CB 1957–59
*
Air Vice-Marshal
Air vice-marshal (AVM) is a two-star air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes ...
Michael Le Bas CB
CBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
DSO AFC 1959–1961
* Air Vice-Marshal Frank Dodd CBE
DFC 1961–1963
* Air Chief Marshal
Sir John Rogers KCB CBE 1967–1969
* Group Captain David Robert Kidgell Blucke ?-1974
* Air Vice-Marshal Dennis Allison CB 1974–1976
* Air Vice-Marshal
Derek Bryant CB OBE 1976–1978
*
Group Captain
Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force, where it originated, as well as the air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. It is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank i ...
Christopher Sprent 1978–80
* Air Chief Marshal
Sir William Wratten CBE CB 1980–1982
* Air Commodore Robert (Bob) Arnott CBE 1982–1984
* Group Captain Mike Elsam 1984–1986
*
Air Marshal Sir Christopher Coville CB 1986–1988
* Air Commodore
Martin Widdowson
Air Commodore Martin Keith Widdowson (born 10 May 1946) was a senior Royal Air Force officer in the 1980s and 1990s and the 24th and last Commandant Royal Observer Corps.
Military career
Widdowson was commissioned into the Royal Air Force on 2 ...
1988–1990
* Air Marshal
Clifford Spink CB CBE 1990–1993
* Air Vice-Marshal Peter Ruddock CBE 1999–2000
The following Station Commanders are listed in the rank held at the time of appointment:
* Group Captain
Bob Judson
Air Vice Marshal Robert W. "Bob" Judson is a retired senior Royal Air Force officer. He was the first Station Commander of RAF Coningsby in the Eurofighter Typhoon-era.
RAF career
Judson has been involved in many milestone events, personally pilo ...
(2004–2006)
* Group Captain
Stuart Atha
Air Marshal Sir Stuart David Atha, (born 30 April 1962) is a former senior officer of the Royal Air Force. He led No. 3 (Fighter) Squadron from 2000 to 2004, which included deployment to Iraq on Operation Telic, commanded RAF Coningsby (2006 ...
DSO (2006–2008)
* Group Captain J J Hitchcock (2008–2010)
* Group Captain
Martin Sampson
Air Marshal Martin Elliot Sampson, is a senior Royal Air Force officer, serving as UK Defence Senior Advisor to the Middle East and North Africa.
RAF career
Sampson was commissioned into the Royal Air Force in 1986. After passing pilot trainin ...
DSO (2010–2012)
* Group Captain Johnny Stringer (2012–2014)
* Group Captain Jez Attridge
OBE (2014–2016)
* Group Captain Mike Baulkwill (2016–2018)
* Group Captain Mark Flewin (2018–2020)
* Group Captain Matt Peterson (2020–Present)
See also
*
List of Royal Air Force stations
The Royal Air Force (RAF) operates several stations throughout the United Kingdom and overseas. This includes front-line and training air bases, support, administrative and training stations with no flying activity, unmanned airfields used fo ...
References
Citations
Bibliography
*
*
*
Bruce Barrymore Halpenny
Bruce Barrymore Halpenny (1937 – 3 May 2015) was an English military historian and author, specialising in airfields and aircraft, as well as ghost stories and mysteries. He was also a broadcaster''Framlington Times'' - Journal of the 390t ...
(1991) ''Action Stations: Wartime Military Airfields of Lincolnshire and the East Midlands v. 2'', Patrick Stephens,
*
*
External links
*
OnetoOne Online– RAF Coningsby station magazine
RAF Coningsby Defence Aerodrome ManualUK Military Aeronautical Information Publication – Coningsby (EGXC)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coningsby
Royal Air Force stations in Lincolnshire
Airports in England
Military units and formations established in 1940
East Lindsey District
1940 establishments in England
Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom