The Yorkshire Universities Air Squadron (more commonly known as YUAS) 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) an ...

flying training unit that currently operates out of

RAF Leeming Royal Air Force Leeming or RAF Leeming is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located near Leeming, North Yorkshire, England. It was opened in 1940 and was jointly used by the RAF and the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Between 1950 and 1991, it ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by national parks, including most of the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. It is one of four co ...

, England. One of fourteen University Air Squadrons, the unit traditionally recruits students from universities across the

Yorkshire and Humber Yorkshire and the Humber is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The population in 2011 was 5,284,000 with its largest settlements being Leeds, Sheffield, Bradford, Hull, and York. It is ...

region and provides bursaries for those who wish to pursue a career in the Royal Air Force.

History

YUAS was formed in 1969 when the University Air Squadron (UAS) from Hull and the UAS from Leeds, were combined to make YUAS. Leeds UAS was formed in January 1941 and had been allocated to airfields at Sherburn-in-Elmet and RAF Yeadon. Whilst at Yeadon, the squadron represented the final RAF presence when the airfield had gone over to a commercial operation as (what is now)

Leeds Bradford Airport Leeds Bradford Airport is located in Yeadon, in the City of Leeds Metropolitan District in West Yorkshire, England, about northwest of Leeds city centre, and about northeast from Bradford city centre. It serves Leeds and Bradford and the ...

. Hull UAS was formed at

RAF Driffield Royal Air Force Driffield or RAF Driffield is a former Royal Air Force station in the East Riding of Yorkshire, in England. It lies about south-west of Driffield and north-west of Beverley. It is now operated by the Defence Infrastructure Org ...

, but flew out of Leconfield and Brough. With the amalgamation of the two squadrons in 1969, flying was retained at RAF Leconfield for students from

Hull University , mottoeng = Bearing the Torch f learning, established = 1927 – University College Hull1954 – university status , type = Public , endowment = £18.8 million (2016) , budget = £190 million ...

. As a formed squadron, YUAS first flew from RAF Church Fenton between 1969 and 1975. The Queen approved the

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 ...

for the squadron in 1972; the

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The ...

depicts a Yorkshire white rose with an open book on top of it. The rose represents Yorkshire, and the book represents the universities of the county. In July 1976, two Bulldog aircraft from the squadron were damaged over

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Iris ...

beach in north west England. One aircraft went into a spin from which the aircrew could not recover, and both pilot and instructor bailed out, with the instructor's parachute opening just before he hit the ground, which resulted in spinal damage. The student pilot was unhurt. Another aircraft landed on the beach to check on the bailed-out crew, and this second aircraft flipped over in the mud. All aircrew survived. When Church Fenton was placed under a care and maintenance programme as a Relief Landing Ground (RLG) for

RAF Linton-on-Ouse RAF Linton-on-Ouse was a Royal Air Force (RAF) station at Linton-on-Ouse in North Yorkshire, England, north-west of York. It had satellite stations at RAF Topcliffe and Dishforth Airfield (British Army). The station opened in 1937. With t ...

, the squadron moved to RAF Finningley in 1975. It returned to a resurgent Church Fenton in 1995 when RAF Finningley was closed. YUAS is one of fourteen University Air Squadrons that are spread out across

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...

and it recruits from the universities at

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence i ...

, Hull,

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popul ...

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire ...

and

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

, with about 30 new intakes every year. Alongside the original universities that were listed for YUAS, students from Sheffield Hallam,

Leeds College of Music Leeds () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the thi ...

Leeds Metropolitan University Leeds Beckett University (LBU), formerly known as Leeds Metropolitan University (LMU) and before that as Leeds Polytechnic, is a public university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It has campuses in the city centre and Headingley. The univ ...

and

York St John University , mottoeng = They may have life and have it more abundantly , established = , type = Public , administrative_staff = 618 , chancellor = Reeta Chakrabarti , vice_chancellor = Professor Karen Bryan , student ...

, can also apply to join YUAS. Students who join YUAS are enlisted as Officer Cadets in 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 ...

and receive 30 hours of flying training annually. In 1998, a contract was signed to replace the Bulldog trainer aircraft with the Grob G115 (Tutor). A private company, Vosper Thorneycroft, were contracted to supply maintenance on the aircraft through a private contract. The Tutor aircraft was delivered to the University Air Squadrons from July 1999 onwards. In 2013, it was announced that RAF Church Fenton would be closing down and that all units would need to be transferred elsewhere. In the case of YUAS and No. 9 Air Experience Flight RAF, this would mean a transfer to

, some north-west of York. In 2014, a year after moving to Linton-on-Ouse, YUAS won the best University Air Squadron beating 13 other University Air Squadrons across Great Britain. Due to the closure of RAF Linton-on-Ouse in 2021, YUAS relocated to

on 1 December 2020. An announcement was made on that day that YUAS would operate alongside

Northumbrian Universities Air Squadron Northumbrian Universities Air Squadron (NUAS ) is a unit of the Royal Air Force which provides basic flying training, adventurous training and personal development skills to undergraduate students of the University of Durham, University of Newcas ...

at RAF Leeming.

Locations

*March 1969 – August 1975:

RAF Church Fenton Royal Air Force Church Fenton or RAF Church Fenton was a former Royal Air Force (RAF) station located south east of Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, England and north west of Selby, North Yorkshire, near the village of Church Fenton. The station wa ...

*August 1975 – October 1995:

RAF Finningley Royal Air Force Finningley or RAF Finningley was a Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force station at Finningley, in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The station straddled the historic county boundaries of both ...

*October 1995 – August 2013:

*August 2013 – December 2020:

*December 2020 – present:

References

Sources

*{{cite book, last=Delve, first=Ken, title=The Military Airfields of Britain; Northern England, year=2006 , publisher=Crowood Press, location=Marlborough, isbn=1-86126-809-2

External links

YUAS Badge on RAF Heraldry Trust website
Hambleton District Military units and formations in the North Riding of Yorkshire Military units and formations established in 1969 Organisations based in North Yorkshire Royal Air Force university air squadrons Universities in Yorkshire