RAF Coningsby

RAF Coningsby
Near Coningsby, Lincolnshire in England

The airfield seen from Tattershall Castle

Loyalty binds me
EGXC
Shown within Lincolnshire
Coordinates 53°05′35″N 000°09′58″W / 53.09306°N 0.16611°W / 53.09306; -0.16611Coordinates: 53°05′35″N 000°09′58″W / 53.09306°N 0.16611°W / 53.09306; -0.16611
Type Royal Air Force station
Site information
Owner Ministry of Defence
Operator Royal Air Force
Open to
the public		 Access to BBMF Hangar only
Site history
Built 1940 (1940)
In use 1940-Present
Garrison information
Current
commander		 Group Captain Jez Attridge RAF.[1]
Occupants
Airfield information
Identifiers IATA: QCY, ICAO: EGXC
Elevation 8 metres (26 ft) AMSL
Runways
Direction Length and surface
07/25 2,744 metres (9,003 ft) Asphalt
Honorary Air Commandant: Prince William[2]

Royal Air Force Coningsby or more simply RAF Coningsby (IATA: QCY, ICAO: EGXC), is a Royal Air Force station located 8.5 miles (13.7 km) south west of Horncastle, and 9.8 miles (15.8 km) north west of Boston, in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England.

The station is commanded by Group Captain Jez Attridge.

Operational units

617 Squadron memorial at Woodhall Spa nearby, to the north

The station is the home of No. 41 (Test and Evaluation) Squadron - the Operational Evaluational Unit, No. 29(R) Squadron - the Operational Conversion Unit and No. 3(F) Squadron - the first Typhoon Operational Squadron, flying the Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 and T3. No 11 Squadron joined the station as a Typhoon unit in 2006.[3]

Since June 2007 the Typhoons of No. 3(F) Squadron have formed part of air defence of the UK along with RAF Leuchars near St Andrews, Fife, Scotland, both of which were equipped with Panavia Tornado F3 fighters.

The station is also home to No. 121 Expeditionary Air Wing.

History

Second World War

RAF Coningsby was opened in 1940 as a bomber station.[4] No. 106 Squadron RAF arrived in February 1941 and No. 97 Squadron arrived in March 1941.[4] Hard runways were laid in early 1943 in preparation for heavy bombers being stationed, part of 5 Group.[5] No. 617 Squadron were at the station from August 1943-January 1944.[6] Their officers' mess was the Petwood Hotel at Woodhall Spa. 61 Squadron were stationed with Lancasters from February–April 1944. On 12 November, 61 Squadron aircraft equipped with Tallboy bombs sank the Tirpitz in Operation Catechism. 175 aircraft were lost during the war.

Post war

Following the Second World War, it had the Mosquito-equipped 109 Sqn and 139 Sqn, then became part of 3 Group, with Boeing Washington aircraft from 1950. On 17 August 1953 52-year-old Air Vice-Marshal William Brook, the AOC of 3 Group, took off from the base in a Gloster Meteor, and crashed into a Dutch barn at Bradley, Staffordshire.

The airfield received its first jet aircraft — the English Electric Canberra — in 1953.[7] During 1956 the station expanded with the runway being extended.[7] Avro Vulcans arrived in 1962, which were transferred to RAF Cottesmore in November 1964.[7] From 1964-1966, the station had been designated to receive the proposed RAF fighter, the advanced BAC TSR-2 project,[7] which was cancelled for economic reasons in April 1965 by the Labour Government.

Phantoms

RAF Phantom from No. 43 Squadron

The TSR2's intended replacement — the (American) General Dynamics F-111 — was shelved when its costs overshot the UK's budget. Spey-engined Phantoms (the plane the government eventually bought, having been ordered in 1965) were chosen in 1966 for the stations future,[7] with all RAF Phantom training taking place on the airfield, and the station became part in Fighter Command[7] until December 1967, when it joined Air Support Command as the Phantoms were initially in a ground attack role. The first Phantom FGR2 (Fighter/Ground attack/Reconnaissance) arrived at Coningsby on 23 August 1968, with the first aircrew OCU course (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, covering 8,680 mi (13,970 km) in 14 hours and 14 minutes at an average speed of 602 mph (969 km/h). In September 1972, Strike Command was formed and the airfield was transferred to 38 Group.

The Phantom's role changed to air defence in October 1974 when the airfield transferred to 11 Group in RAF Strike Command, when the SEPECAT Jaguar (situated in Norfolk) took over the ground attack role. 111 Sqn were first to take the new air defence Phantoms. 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

Tornado ADV (F3) of No. 29 Squadron

In November 1984, the Tornado F3 squadrons began to form.[8] Tornado training took place until April 1987, when the Phantoms left (to RAF Leuchars) and Coningsby had the first (29 Sqn) Tornado air defence squadron.[9] To accommodate these new aircraft, extensive hardened aircraft shelters (HAS) and support facilities were built.[8] 5 Squadron arrived in January 1988.[10] The Tornado ADV carried the GEC-Marconi AI.24 Foxhunter radar.

Eurofighter Typhoon

Typhoon from No. 3 Squadron takes off in 2008

Coningsby was the first airfield to receive the Phantoms,[7] the Tornado ADV[7] and was the first to receive its replacement, the Eurofighter Typhoon. 56 Squadron was posted here until March 2003 but relocated to RAF Leuchars and in 2008 to RAF Waddington to allow airfield improvements required for the arrival of the Typhoon. 5 Squadron also flew F3s from Coningsby until its disbandment in 2003 (this unit is now at Waddington). Typhoon arrived in May 2005 with No. 17 Squadron, after the RAF first publicly displayed the aircraft at Coningsby in December 2004. In July 2007, the Typhoon became operational from the airfield (and the UK). The Typhoon also became operational from RAF Leuchars in September 2010. BAE Systems Military Air Solutions, who produce the aircraft, are also stationed on the airfield with the contract to maintain the aircraft.[11] On 1 July 2008, the Typhoon was declared by the RAF as being combat ready. The aeroplane, unlike the Tornado, needs no reheat to take off. RAF Coningsby is currently home to four front-line Eurofighter Typhoon squadrons. No. 3 Squadron, No. XI Squadron, No. 29 Squadron and No.41 (R) Squadron are posted to RAF Coningsby.

Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF)

Lancaster PA474 seen in 1988

Coningsby is also the home to the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight[7] (since March 1976 when it arrived from RAF Coltishall) and their Visitor Centre.[7][12] The BBMF operate one of two remaining airworthy Avro Lancaster bombers in the world besides six Spitfires of various types, two Hurricanes, a Dakota and two Chipmunks, the latter type being used for pilot training.

The BBMF is accessed via a separate side entrance, with a car park, to the west of the airfield. The memorabilia display is free but there is a small charge for the hour-long guided tour around the hangar.

Operational Evaluation Units

Also located at Coningsby is the RAF's Fast Jet and Weapons Operational Evaluation Unit (FJWOEU), a merger of the Strike/Attack OEU (previously at Boscombe Down), the Tornado F.3 OEU (previously at RAF Waddington) and the Air-Guided Weapons OEU (previously at RAF Valley). Today, the unit operates under the shadow squadron numberplate of No.41(Test and Evaluation) Sqn since 1 April 2006 and, as part of the Air Warfare Centre, is tasked with operational testing and evaluation of existing and forthcoming aircraft and weapons.

No. 121 Expeditionary Air Wing was formed at Coningsby on 1 April 2006 and encompasses most of the non-formed unit personnel. The EAW does not include any of the flying squadrons. The Station Commander is triple-hatted as the Commanding Officer of the Wing and as Typhoon Force Commander.

Current structure

Typhoon of No. 11 Squadron (seen at Nellis Air Force Base in June 2008)

The RAF Coningsby structure as of October 2010

Station Commanders

Coningsby's fire tender
BBMF practice runs in 2004
Typhoons in 2007

1974 Norfolk mid-air collision: On 9 August 1974, the station commander 42-year-old Group Captain David Blucke, and his navigator Flight Lieutenant Terence Kirkland (aged 28 and from Londonderry), were killed whilst piloting the Phantom XV493 of 41 Sqn. At low-level it hit a Piper Pawnee crop-spraying plane (from Southend-on-Sea) over Fordham, Norfolk, near Downham Market. Blucke was son of Air Vice-Marshal Robert Blucke who was known for the 1935 Daventry Experiment.

The following Station Commanders are listed in the rank held at the time of appointment:

See also

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Station Commander - RAF Coningsby retrieved 10 April 2016
  2. ↑ "RAF Regiment Association Official Site". Rafregt.org.uk. Retrieved 15 October 2008.
  3. ↑ RAF Coningsby squadrons retrieved 29 December 2008
  4. 1 2 Halpenny, Bruce Barrymore Action Stations: Wartime Military Airfields of Lincolnshire and the East Midlands v. 2 - Page 64
  5. ↑ 5 Group
  6. ↑ Halpenny, Bruce Barrymore Action Stations: Wartime Military Airfields of Lincolnshire and the East Midlands v. 2 - Page
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Halpenny, Bruce Barrymore Action Stations: Wartime Military Airfields of Lincolnshire and the East Midlands v. 2 - Page 67
  8. 1 2 Halpenny, Bruce Barrymore Action Stations: Wartime Military Airfields of Lincolnshire and the East Midlands v. 2 - Page 221
  9. ↑ Halpenny, Bruce Barrymore Action Stations: Wartime Military Airfields of Lincolnshire and the East Midlands v. 2 - Page 222
  10. ↑ http://www.tornado-data.com/History/timeline.htm Tornado Data
  11. ↑ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/lincolnshire/7923988.stm BAE Systems maintenance contract
  12. ↑ Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Visitor Centre

Bibliography

External links

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BBMF Hangar
Inside BBMF Hangar

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