Royal Air Force Cranwell or more simply RAF Cranwell is a
Royal Air Force station in
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, 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-we ...
, England, close to the village of
Cranwell, 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 no ...
. Among other functions, it is home to the
Royal Air Force College
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 ...
(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," fr ...
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 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 km
2) of land from the
Marquess of Bristol'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 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
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 ...
(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
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," fr ...
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.
RAF Recruitment
The station is home to the
Officer and Aircrew Selection Centre
The Royal Air Force Officer and Aircrew Selection Centre, at Adastral Hall, RAF Cranwell, Lincolnshire, is the centre through which every potential RAF officer must go to be selected for Initial Officer Training (IOT) and through which potenti ...
(OASC), where all applicants to the RAF as Officers or
non-commissioned aircrew, 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. 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 through
No. 57 (Reserve) Squadron and
No. 703 Naval Air Squadron. The
UK Military Flying Training System (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 app ...
. 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 typ ...
.
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 List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
.
Air Cadets
Since the mid-1990s, Cranwell has been home to Headquarters,
Air Cadets, and the
Air Cadet Organisation's Adult Training Facility.
Based units
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
*** 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 RAF is a Flying Training School (FTS) within No. 22 (Training) Group of the Royal Air Force that delivers flying training to University Air Squadrons and Air Experience Flights.
History
The school was formed by renam ...
*** 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 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 defen ...
Squadron
*** RAF Police
Specialist Investigations Branch (North)
*
No. 38 Group (Air Combat Service Support) RAF
**
RAF Music Services
*** 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
See also
*
List of Royal Air Force stations
*
Cranwell Light Aeroplane Club
*
RAF Harlaxton – satellite airfield of Cranwell during the 1940s and 1950s
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