RAF Cranwell

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This article is about the Royal Air Force station. For the officer training establishment which lodges at RAF Cranwell, see Royal Air Force College Cranwell.

RAF Cranwell
Station badge
Active	1 April 1916 (as RNAS base) – Present
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Air Force
Type	Training
Role	Officer and Aircrew Training
Based near	Sleaford, England
Motto	Altium Altrix
Commanders
Current commander	Group Captain N Wharmby

RAF Cranwell (IATA: N/A, ICAO: EGYD) is a Royal Air Force station in Lincolnshire close to the village of Cranwell, near Sleaford. It is currently commanded by Group Captain N Wharmby.

Contents 1 Origins 2 Jet engine history 3 Current functions 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Origins

The history of military aviation at Cranwell goes back to November 1915 when the Admiralty requisitioned 2500 acres (10 km²) of land from the Earl of Bristol's estate. And on the 1 April 1916 the Royal Naval Air Service, Training Establishment, Cranwell was officially born. The first commander was Commodore Godfrey M. Paine.

As the naval personnel were held on the books of HMS Daedalus, a hulk that was moored on the River Medway, this gave rise to a misconception that Cranwell was first established as HMS Daedalus.^[1]

With the establishment of the Royal Air Force as an independent service in 1918, the RNAS Training Establishment became RAF Cranwell. Cranwell became the entry point for all those who wished to become permanent officers in the RAF and the selection process was extremely stringent. Initially the course took two years but by the fifties this had expanded to three. Until 81 Entry, arriving in September 1959, all flying training took place at the College; basic training on Piston Provosts and advanced on either Vampires or Meteors. With the arrival of 81 Entry the Academic syllabus was improved to allow cadets to gain degrees in humanities or AFRAES. To enable this to happen in the three year course only basic training was carried out at Cranwell on the new Jet Provosts Mks 3 and 4.Cadets still received their wings on passing out of Cranwell but went on to advanced flying courses at either Oakington or Valley. In 1962 Whittle Hall was built to support the new syllabus, opened by Sir Frank Whittle. This meant that the old East and West Camps which had been used for lectures were re-deployed for other activities.

[edit] Jet engine history

Sir Frank Whittle attended RAF Cranwell in the late 1920s. It was here that he formulated many of his ideas for the jet engine, and it was at Cranwell on 15 May 1941 that the first flight of the Gloster E.28/39 took place.

[edit] Current functions

Cranwell is home to the Royal Air Force College (RAFC), which trains the RAFs new officers on a 32-week course. It is thus the RAF equivalent of Sandhurst or the Britannia Royal Naval College, and is considered by some to be the spiritual home of the RAF.

No.3 Flying Training School (FTS), training navigators and non-commissioned aircrew, is also based there. Cranwell is also home to two of the RAF bands namely The Band of the Royal Air Force College and The Band of the Royal Air Force Regiment.

It is home to the Officer and Aircrew Selection Centre (OASC), where all applicants to the RAF as Officers or non-commissioned aircrew, are put through a 4 day rigorous selection process. The OASC is currently commanded by Group Captain Tom McWilliams.

It is also home to the Institute of Recruiting (IofR) - the division of the RAF responsible for providing recruiting and outreach services via the network of Armed Forces Recruiting Offices (AFCO's) around the UK.

Around the 1970s the RAF introduced the Direct Entry Scheme, in which a fresh graduate from any university could be admitted into RAF after a short training period at RAFC Cranwell. These entrants emerged with the rank of Flight Lieutenant.

The Royal Air Force College was also an engineering school offering HND and CNAA degrees courses. The students are mostly commissioned officers from RAF as well as those from the Commonwealth countries. The class sizes were very small (25) and the students had very close attention from their lecturers and instructors. RAF College also offered Non-MOD courses especially customised for air force officers from the Commonwealth countries.

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

The main building of RAF Cranwell is noted for its distinctive dome, visible from most of the surrounding roads.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• RAF Cranwell website
• Airport information for EGYD at World Aero Data
• Airfields & Aviation Memorials

RAF Cranwell
IATA: none – ICAO: EGYD
Summary
Airport type		Military
Operator		Royal Air Force
Location		Cranwell
Elevation AMSL		218 ft / 66 m
Coordinates		53°01′49″N 000°29′00″W / 53.03028, -0.483333
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	ft	m
01/19	4,803	1,464	Asphalt
09/27	6,831	2,082	Asphalt
09R/27L	2,354	717	Grass