Royal Air Force Cranwell or more simply RAF Cranwell is a Royal Air Force station in

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, close to the village of

Cranwell Cranwell is a village in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is part of the civil parish of Cranwell and Byard's Leap and is situated approximately north-west from Sleaford and south-east from the city and county town o ...

, near

Sleaford Sleaford is a market town and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. Centred on the former parish of New Sleaford, the modern boundaries and urban area include Quarrington to the south-west, Holdingham to the nor ...

. Among other functions, it is home to the Royal Air Force College (RAFC), which trains the RAF's new

officers An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

and Aircrew. The motto, ''Altium Altrix'', meaning "Nurture the highest" appears above the main doors of the Officers Mess. RAF Cranwell is currently commanded by

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 ...

Joanne Campbell.

History

The history of military aviation at Cranwell goes back to November 1915,Halpenny (1981), p.74 when the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

requisitioned 2,500 acres (10 km²) of land from the

Marquess of Bristol Marquess of Bristol is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom held by the Hervey family since 1826. The Marquess's subsidiary titles are Earl of Bristol (created 1714), Earl Jermyn, of Horningsheath in the County of Suffolk (1826), and B ...

's estate. On 1 April 1916, the "Royal Naval Air Service Training Establishment, Cranwell" was officially born. In 1917 a dedicated railway station was established for the RNAS establishment on a new single track branch line from Sleaford, the train being known as The Cranwell Flyer.A J Ludlam, ''The RAF Cranwell Railway'', Oakwood Press, Headington, 1988, With the establishment of the Royal Air Force as an independent service in 1918, the RNAS Training Establishment became RAF Cranwell.Halpenny (1981), p.75 The

Royal Air Force College Cranwell The Royal Air Force College (RAFC) is the Royal Air Force military academy which provides initial training to all RAF personnel who are preparing to become commissioned officers. The College also provides initial training to aircrew cadets and ...

was formed on 1 November 1919 as the RAF (Cadet) College.

Role and operations

Royal Air Force College

Cranwell is home to the Royal Air Force College (RAFC), which overseas all RAF phase 1 Training. The RAF Officer Training Academy (RAFOTA) is the sub organisation of the RAFC which trains the RAFs new

on a 24-week modularised initial officer training course (MIOTC), after which they are dispersed to their Phase II training for specific branch instruction. It is thus the RAF equivalent of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst or the

Britannia Royal Naval College Britannia Royal Naval College (BRNC), commonly known as Dartmouth, is the naval academy of the United Kingdom and the initial officer training establishment of the Royal Navy. It is located on a hill overlooking the port of Dartmouth, Devon, En ...

RAF Recruitment

The station is home to the Officer and Aircrew Selection Centre (OASC), where all applicants to the RAF as Officers or non-commissioned

aircrew Aircrew, also called flight crew, are personnel who operate an aircraft while in flight. The composition of a flight's crew depends on the type of aircraft, plus the flight's duration and purpose. Commercial aviation Flight deck positions ...

, are put through a rigorous selection process.

Headquarters Central Flying School

HQ CFS has been located at RAF Cranwell since 1995 when it moved from

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 Firs ...

. The Central Flying School currently trains all RAF QFI flying instructors.

No. 3 Flying Training School

Cranwell is home to the headquarters of No. 3 Flying Training School (No. 3 FTS). The school provides elementary flying training for fixed wing and multi-engine student pilots from the RAF and

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 ...

through No. 57 (Reserve) Squadron and No. 703 Naval Air Squadron. The

UK Military Flying Training System The UK Military Flying Training System (UKMFTS) takes UK armed forces aircrew from initial training through elementary, basic, and advanced flying training phases, preparing them for their arrival at their designated operational aircraft units. ...

(UKMFTS) operates the Grob Prefect T1 in this role. Although nominally based at Cranwell, elementary training largely takes place at nearby

RAF Barkston Heath Royal Air Force Barkston Heath or RAF Barkston Heath is a Royal Air Force station near Grantham, Lincolnshire, England. RAF Barkston Heath has the Naval Element of No. 3 Flying Training School RAF (No. 3 FTS) which, for a period between appr ...

. After elementary training, aircrews streamed to fly multi-engine aircraft and rear-seat roles are trained by No. 45(R) Squadron, which operate five

Embraer Phenom 100 The Embraer EMB-500 Phenom 100 is a light business jet designed and produced by the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer. The project was announced in November 2005. On 26 July 2007, the aircraft made its first flight. It was awarded a type ...

. On 16 January 2018, the Skyes Building was opened at Cranwell by Air Marshal Sean Reynolds, the Deputy Commander Capability and Senior Responsible Owner of the UKMFTS. The building acts as a UKMFTS operational support building and is used to train new RAF pilots. It was named after Air-Vice Marshal Sir Frederick Hugh Sykes, a British military officer and politician who served during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Air Cadets

Since the mid-1990s, Cranwell has been home to Headquarters, Air Cadets, and the

Air Cadet Organisation The Royal Air Force Air Cadets (RAFAC) is a volunteer-military youth organisation sponsored by the Royal Air Force that manages both the Air Training Corps and RAF Sections of the Combined Cadet Force. The organisation is headed by a former serv ...

's Adult Training Facility.

Based units

45 (R) Squadron, Embraer Phenom 100 MOD 45164824

The following notable flying and non-flying units are based at RAF Cranwell.

Royal Air Force

* No. 22 Group (Training) RAF ** RAF College Cranwell *** Royal Air Force Officer Training Academy (RAF OTA) ***Recruiting and Selection ***Tedder Academy ** Defence College of Aeronautical Engineering (DCAE) ***Officer Training **

Central Flying School The Central Flying School (CFS) is the Royal Air Force's primary institution for the training of military flying instructors. Established in 1912 at the Upavon Aerodrome, it is the longest existing flying training school. The school was based at ...

*** Central Flying School Headquarters ** No. 3 Flying Training School *** No. 3 Flying Training School Headquarters *** No. 45 Squadron – Embraer Phenom T1 *** No. 57 Squadron – Grob Prefect T1 ** No. 6 Flying Training School *** No. 6 Flying Training School Headquarters ***

East Midlands Universities Air Squadron The East Midlands Universities Air Squadron (EMUAS) is the Nottinghamshire-centred University Air Squadron for the East Midlands. History It was formed on 26 February 1941 as University College Nottingham Air Squadron then became Nottingham Unive ...

– Grob Tutor T1 *** No. 7 Air Experience Flight – Grob Tutor T1 *

Royal Air Force Air Cadets The Royal Air Force Air Cadets (RAFAC) is a volunteer-military youth organisation sponsored by the Royal Air Force that manages both the Air Training Corps and RAF Sections of the Combined Cadet Force. The organisation is headed by a former ser ...

Headquarters * No. 2 Group (Air Combat Support) RAF ** No. 8 RAF 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 *** RAF Police Specialist Investigations Branch (North) * No. 38 Group (Air Combat Service Support) RAF **

RAF Music Services Royal Air Force Music Services is the organization which provides military musical support to the Royal Air Force. Based at RAF Northolt (previously at RAF Uxbridge) and RAF Cranwell, it forms the central administration of one hundred and sevent ...

*** The Band of the Royal Air Force College *** The Band of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force * RAF Air Warfare Centre **Air Warfare School *Other RAF Units **RAF Disclosures

Civilian

* RAF Cranwell Flying Club * Cranwell Gliding Club

References

Citations

Bibliography

* Halpenny, Bruce Barrymore. 1981. Action Stations Vol.2: Wartime Military Airfields of Lincolnshire and the East Midlands

External links

*
Cranwell Gliding ClubUK Military Aeronautical Information Publication – Cranwell (EGYD)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cranwell Royal Air Force stations in Lincolnshire Airports in England