Royal Air Force Cosford or RAF Cosford (formerly DCAE Cosford)
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 ...
station in
Cosford, Shropshire, just to the northwest of
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunian ...
and next to
Albrighton.
History
Origins
RAF Cosford opened in 1938 as a joint aircraft maintenance, storage and technical training unit. It was originally intended to be opened as RAF Donington (the parish in which it is located) but to avoid confusion with the nearby army camp at Donnington it was named after Cosford Grange House which was located at the south western edge of the airfield. It has remained mainly a training unit to this day. The ''Fulton'' barrack block was built just before 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 ...
as the largest single building barrack block in the UK. The block was named after Captain Fulton (an early Air Force pioneer) and paid for by his widow, Lady Fulton. It is a listed building and is now used for technical training.
No 2 School of Technical Training was formed in 1938 and during the Second World War it trained 70,000 airmen in engine, airframe and armament trades. No 2 School of Technical Training was subsumed into the No 1 School of Technical Training when it moved to Cosford from
RAF Halton in
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...
.
In the Second World War No 12 Ferry Pool of the
Air Transport Auxiliary
The Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) was a British civilian organisation set up at the start of the Second World War with headquarters at White Waltham Airfield in Berkshire. The ATA ferried new, repaired and damaged military aircraft between factori ...
(ATA) was formed at Cosford. This unit delivered Spitfires from the base and returning with bombers or fighters for No 9 Maintenance Unit. Ferry flights were often flown by women pilots.
Amy Johnson
Amy Johnson (born 1 July 1903 – disappeared 5 January 1941) was a pioneering English pilot who was the first woman to fly solo from London to Australia.
Flying solo or with her husband, Jim Mollison, she set many long-distance records du ...
came to Cosford on more than one occasion.
In 1940 after the
Fall of France a depôt was established at RAF Cosford for
Free Czechoslovak personnel joining the
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve.
The airfield was originally a grass strip. In 1940–41 there was a bad winter in which landing heavy aircraft such as
Vickers Wellington
The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engined, long-range medium bomber. It was designed during the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey. Led by Vickers-Armstrongs' chief designer Rex Pierson; a key feature of the aircraft is its g ...
s and
Avro Anson
The Avro Anson is a British twin-engined, multi-role aircraft built by the aircraft manufacturer Avro. Large numbers of the type served in a variety of roles for the Royal Air Force (RAF), Fleet Air Arm (FAA), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) a ...
s turned the strip into a mudbath. Thereafter a paved runway was built that was long and wide.
A substantial
Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service
Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service (PMRAFNS) is the nursing branch of the British Royal Air Force.
It was established as the Royal Air Force Temporary Nursing Service (RAFNS) in 1918, and became part of the permanent establishment ...
staffed
hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...
was established at RAF Cosford, the most westerly such RAF hospital in the UK. It consisted of wooden spurred huts. It was the main centre for repatriated prisoners of war, processing more than 13,000 by 1948. Many from the Far East had to remain for long term-treatment. The hospital was open to the general public as well as servicemen and women. It was closed on 31 December 1977 and demolished in 1980.
The extensive sports facilities at Cosford, located around a banked indoor running track, became well known nationally through televised annual indoor championships that featured top athletes from all over the world.
Defence Training Review
Following the UK Government's 2001
Defence Training Review
The Defence Training Review was established by the then Defence Secretary, Lord Robertson, on 22 July 1999 to examine all individual training and education, Service and civilian, in the British armed forces. The review report, ''Modernising Defen ...
(DTR), the
Ministry of Defence proposed handing over armed forces skills training to a private sector bidder for a 25-year term, and it was announced on 17 January 2007 that the
Metrix consortium had been awarded Preferred Bidder status for Package 1 of this programme. As a consequence, it was anticipated that all technical training would move from Cosford to Metrix's main campus to be built on the
RAF St Athan
Ministry of Defence St Athan or MOD St Athan (Welsh: Maes awyr Sain Tathan), formerly known as RAF St Athan, is a large Ministry of Defence unit near the village of St Athan in the Vale of Glamorgan, southern Wales. It was the designated site for ...
site over a 5-year period from 2008. This in turn was deferred with no anticipated move from Cosford to St Athan for DCAE and No1 RS staff and trainees before 2014–15 at the earliest. For those other training schools, headquarters and units at present at Cosford, decisions were yet to be made about their future location.
On 31 January 2008, the Government announced that when 1 Signal Brigade and
102 Logistics Brigade withdraw from Germany they would move to Cosford. It was also noted that Metrix proposed to establish a Learning Centre and Design facility at the Cosford site.
In December 2012 the Government announced training facilities from RAF Cosford would be moved by end of 2015 to the site of the
former RAF Station at Lyneham as part of the projected tri-service Defence College of Technical Training, in common with
Army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
and
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 ...
training facilities that would also be consolidated on the site. However, on 15 September 2015, the Defence Secretary,
Michael Fallon
Sir Michael Cathel Fallon (born 14 May 1952) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Defence from 2014 to 2017. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Sevenoaks from 1997 to 2019, ...
announced in Parliament by written statement that the Lyneham site would only be used by the army and that Cosford would not be closed and remain as a separate RAF training establishment which would be given extra work, with a fourth training school (No 4 School of Technical Training) moving to Cosford from
MoD St Athan
Ministry of Defence St Athan or MOD St Athan (Welsh: Maes awyr Sain Tathan), formerly known as RAF St Athan, is a large Ministry of Defence unit near the village of St Athan in the Vale of Glamorgan, southern Wales. It was the designated site for ...
in south Wales. The announcement was described in local media as "a Government U-turn".
No. 633 Volunteer Gliding Squadron, which operated the Grob Vigilant T1, was disbanded in November 2016.
Based units
Flying and notable non-flying units based at RAF Cosford.
Royal Air Force
No. 22 Group RAF
* Defence College of Technical Training (DCTT)
** Defence School of Aeronautical Engineering (DSAE)
*** Defence School of Aeronautical Engineering Headquarters
***
No. 1 School of Technical Training (No. 1 SoTT)
**** Headquarters No. 1 School of Technical Training
****
No. 238 Squadron
**** Aerosystems Training Squadron
**** Mechanical Training Squadron
**** Trenchard Squadron
*** RAF Aerosystems Engineering and Management Training School (AE&MTS)
**
Defence School of Communications and Information Systems
The Defence School of Communications and Information Systems (DSCIS) is a Defence Training Establishment of the British Ministry of Defence. It was formed on 1 April 2004 and comprises a headquarters and The Royal Signals School at Blandford Cam ...
(DSCIS)
***
No. 1 Radio School
No. 1 Radio School is based at RAF Cosford and forms part of the Defence School of Communications and Information Systems. Its motto is ''Thorough'', which was the motto of the Royal Air Force Electrical and Wireless School.
Mission
"To trai ...
* Defence College of Intelligence
**
Joint Intelligence Training Group
The Joint Intelligence Training Group (JITG) is the location of the headquarters of both the Defence College of Intelligence and the British Army Intelligence Corps. It is located at Chicksands, Bedfordshire, approximately north of London. T ...
(JITG)
***
Defence School of Photography
* RAF School of Physical Training
*Robson Academy of Resilience
*
No. 6 Flying Training School
**
University of Birmingham Air Squadron
The University of Birmingham Air Squadron, commonly known as UBAS, is a squadron within the Royal Air Force established on 3 May 1941. It is based at RAF Cosford, Shropshire, and flies a fleet of six Grob Tutors. In 2009 the squadron upgrad ...
–
Grob Tutor T1
**
No. 8 Air Experience Flight – Grob Tutor T1
*
Air Training Corps
The Air Training Corps (ATC) is a British volunteer-military youth organisation. They are sponsored by the Ministry of Defence and the Royal Air Force. The majority of staff are volunteers, and some are paid for full-time work – including C ...
** Wales and Western Region Headquarters
*** West Mercia West Wing
**** West Mercia West Wing Headquarters
**** No. 2497 (Cosford) Squadron
No. 38 Group (Air Combat Service Support) RAF
* An element of
85 Expeditionary Logistics Wing, RAF A4 Force
**
No. 605 (County of Warwick) Squadron (Royal Auxiliary Air Force)
RAF Museum
*
RAF Museum Cosford
The Royal Air Force Museum Cosford, located in Cosford in Shropshire, is a free (currently, 2022) museum dedicated to the history of aviation and the Royal Air Force in particular. The museum is part of the Royal Air Force Museum, a non-departme ...
RAF Voluntary Bands Association
* RAF Cosford Voluntary Band
Civilian
* RAF Cosford Flying Club ––
Piper PA-28
The Piper PA-28 Cherokee is a family of two-seat or four-seat light aircraft built by Piper Aircraft and designed for flight training, air taxi and personal use.Plane and Pilot: ''1978 Aircraft Directory'', pages 62–64. Werner & Werner Corp, ...
*
Midlands Air Ambulance
The Midlands Air Ambulance Charity (MAAC), formerly County Air Ambulance, is a charity operating a Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) in Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Worcestershire and the West Midlands. ...
–
Airbus Helicopters H145
The Eurocopter EC145 (now Airbus Helicopters H145) is a twin-engine light utility helicopter developed and manufactured by Airbus Helicopters. Originally designated as the ''BK 117'', the H145 is based upon the MBB/Kawasaki BK 117 C1, which b ...
Role and operations
Training
Cosford became part of the
Defence College of Aeronautical Engineering
The Defence School of Aeronautical Engineering (DSAE) is a Defence Training Establishment (DTEs) of the British Ministry of Defence. It was formed on 1 April 2004 and provides training for aircraft engineering officers and tradesmen across the th ...
(DCAE), which was formed on 1 April 2004. The Defence College at RAF Cosford came under the Defence Technical Training Change Programme (DCTTP) and as such, with effect from 1 October 2012, was renamed the Defence School of Aeronautical Engineering (DSAE).
Air Ambulance
RAF Cosford's airfield site is home to one of the
Midlands Air Ambulance
The Midlands Air Ambulance Charity (MAAC), formerly County Air Ambulance, is a charity operating a Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) in Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Worcestershire and the West Midlands. ...
helicopters. The first aircraft arrived on site in October 1991 with two other platforms based elsewhere in the region. Cosford remains the operations hub for the service.
RAF Museum Cosford
There is also the Aerospace Museum at the site, which is a branch of the
Royal Air Force Museum
The Royal Air Force Museum is a museum dedicated to the Royal Air Force in the United Kingdom. The museum is a non-departmental public body of the Ministry of Defence and is a registered charity.
The museum is split into two separate sites:
* ...
. Amongst the large collection of military aircraft is a unique collection of research and development aircraft, including one of two existing examples of the
TSR2, a multi-role combat aircraft, controversially scrapped by the
Wilson Government and still a point of discussion within the RAF.
The Cold War Exhibition opened on 7 February 2007 by former prime minister
Baroness Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...
and
HRH Princess Anne. Exhibits include the only collection of three V bombers (
Valiant,
Victor
The name Victor or Viktor may refer to:
* Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname
Arts and entertainment
Film
* ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film
* ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...
and
Vulcan
Vulcan may refer to:
Mythology
* Vulcan (mythology), the god of fire, volcanoes, metalworking, and the forge in Roman mythology
Arts, entertainment and media Film and television
* Vulcan (''Star Trek''), name of a fictional race and their home p ...
) in the same place in the world.
RAF Cosford Air Show
The Cosford Air Show is the only
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 ...
air show that is officially supported by the Royal Air Force in Britain after the closure of
RAF Leuchars and the runway resurfacing 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 ...
[The airshow at Waddington was cancelled and has been reborn at ]RAF Scampton
Royal Air Force Scampton or RAF Scampton is a Royal Air Force station located adjacent to the A15 road near to the village of Scampton, Lincolnshire, and north-west of the city of Lincoln, England.
RAF Scampton stands on the site of a First ...
; however, the Air Force Board only support the Cosford Air Show directly within the RAF. meant the air shows at those respective bases were stopped.
The event is held on the airfield of RAF Cosford and regularly hosts flying and static displays which attract more than 50,000 people.
An air show at Cosford was first proposed in 1978 and continues to the present day. The event was cancelled in 2003 due to an inability to secure enough serving military aircraft. The war in
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
had meant that most aircraft were deployed operationally and the RAF could not commit to the air show. The runway at Cosford is only in length so most flying displays will either arrive on the day or stay overnight at
RAF Shawbury
Royal Air Force Shawbury, otherwise known as RAF Shawbury, is a Royal Air Force station near the village of Shawbury in Shropshire in the West Midlands of England.
History The First World War
The station at Shawbury was first used for military ...
which has a longer airfield.
The air show varies from year to year, but mostly consists of flying and static displays, fun fair rides, concession stands, food outlets, trade stands and also serves to raise money for charity whilst also being seen by the Royal Air Force as a recruitment event as part of its wider public engagement role. Recent years have seen the promotion of
STEM
Stem or STEM may refer to:
Plant structures
* Plant stem, a plant's aboveground axis, made of vascular tissue, off which leaves and flowers hang
* Stipe (botany), a stalk to support some other structure
* Stipe (mycology), the stem of a mushro ...
events
with guests such as
Carol Vorderman
Carol Jean Vorderman, HonFIET (born 24 December 1960) is a Welsh media personality, best known for appearing on the game show ''Countdown'' for 26 years from 1982 until 2008, as a newspaper columnist and nominal author of educational and diet ...
highlighting the STEM approach. All profits raised at the event go to supporting officially recognized charities by the air show committee with the event in 2016 raising £115,000 for RAF charities.
In 2013,
Prince Harry
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, (Henry Charles Albert David; born 15 September 1984) is a member of the British royal family. He is the younger son of Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales. He is fifth in the line of succ ...
, as part of No. 662 Squadron of the
Army Air Corps Army Air Corps may refer to the following army aviation corps:
* Army Air Corps (United Kingdom), the army aviation element of the British Army
* Philippine Army Air Corps (1935–1941)
* United States Army Air Corps (1926–1942), or its p ...
, took part in the Apache helicopter demonstration at the air show, and, in 2018, Cosford hosted an RAF air show dedicated to the
centenary of the Royal Air Force.
Because of the restricted access by vehicle, all roads into the Cosford site become one-way with traffic flow inwards on the morning of the event and outwards on the afternoon and evening of the event. Sometimes the
M54 suffers tailbacks and queuing and the slip and access roads have to be closed due to the site reaching its 18,000 vehicle parking limit. The local train operator,
Arriva Trains Wales, have a deal whereby a combined rail and air show ticket offers a discount and allows users direct access on foot to the air show event.
Cosford railway station
Cosford railway station is a railway station which serves the village of Cosford, Shropshire, Cosford in Shropshire, England. It also serves RAF Cosford which is also home to a branch of the Royal Air Force Museum Cosford, Royal Air Force Museum. ...
is next to the main crash gate access point onto the eastern edge of the airfield.
There is an aspiration to make the air show run over two days as a perceived rival to the
Royal International Air Tattoo
The Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) is the world's largest military air show, held annually in July, usually at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, England in support of The Royal Air Force Charitable Trust. The show typically attracts a t ...
which attracts 150,000 spectators.
Heritage
Station badge and motto
The
RAF Cosford Badge is adorned with an oak tree and the motto is ''Seul Le Premier Pas Coute'', which translates as ''Only the Beginning is Difficult''. The oak tree is symbolic of the nearby oak at
Boscobel which
King Charles II took refuge in after the
Battle of Worcester
The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 in and around the city of Worcester, England and was the last major battle of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A Parliamentarian army of around 28,000 under Oliver Cromwell def ...
. The idea of this association is that of being from little acorns, great oak trees grow (from trainees the airmen of the future grow). This badge was also shared with the No. 2 School of Technical Training until 1986, when the School adopted a new badge with the iron bridge of
Ironbridge
Ironbridge is a large village in the borough of Telford and Wrekin in Shropshire, England. Located on the bank of the River Severn, at the heart of the Ironbridge Gorge, it lies in the civil parish of The Gorge. Ironbridge developed beside, a ...
on it and the motto of ''Scientia Pons Perpetuus Est'' which translates as ''Knowledge is a Lasting Bridge.''
Built heritage
The station's Fulton Block, a combined barracks block, institute and
mess
The mess (also called a mess deck aboard ships) is a designated area where military personnel socialize, eat and (in some cases) live. The term is also used to indicate the groups of military personnel who belong to separate messes, such as the o ...
, was
grade II listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
in December 2005. Built between 1938 and 1939 as permanent accommodation for 1,000 personnel, it was designed in the
Moderne architectural style by J H Binge, of the
Air Ministry's Directorate of Works and Buildings.
Station Commanders
The following are the Station Commanders for RAF Cosford, DCAE and DSAE Cosford.
† Died in office May 2011.
Accidents and incidents
On 4 March 2000, Julian Paszki of Wrekin Gliding Club was killed when his Ex-RAF Chipmunk aircraft crashed. The aircraft was seen to veer left and dive into the ground despite being only in the air at the time. Mr Paszki was pulled alive from the wreckage but died at
Selly Oak Hospital
Selly Oak Hospital was situated in the Selly Oak area of Birmingham, England. Previously managed by the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, the hospital closed in 2011.
History Origins
The site was originally selected for th ...
later that same day.
In popular culture
RAF Cosford is the location for
James May
James Daniel May (born 16 January 1963) is an English television presenter and journalist. He is best known as a co-presenter of the motoring programme '' Top Gear'' alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond from 2003 until 2015. He also ...
's ''Toy Stories'', where the BBC's
Top Gear
Top Gear may refer to:
* "Top gear", the highest gear available in a vehicle's manual transmission
Television
* ''Top Gear'' (1977 TV series), a British motoring magazine programme
* ''Top Gear'' (2002 TV series), a relaunched version of the or ...
presenter constructed a 1:1 scale
Supermarine 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 ...
in the style of an
Airfix
Airfix is a British brand and former manufacturing company which produced injection-moulded plastic scale model kits. In the U.K., the name 'Airfix' is synonymous with plastic models of this type, often simply referred to as "an airfix kit" even ...
kit with the help of students from the Thomas Telford school and
Air Cadets from the ATC.
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 ...
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
External links
*
Cosford Apprentice– RAF Cosford station magazine
Cosford Flying Club Home PageRAF Cosford Air ShowRAF Cosford Voluntary BandRAF Museum CosfordUK Military Aeronautical Information Publication – Cosford (EGWC)
{{authority control
Cosford
Military units and formations established in 1938
Cosford
633 VGS