Royal Air Force Booker or more simply RAF Booker is a former
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 ...
installation located south west of
High Wycombe
High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, south-southeast of Aylesbur ...
,
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-eas ...
and north east of
Henley-on-Thames
Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, west of Maidenhead, southeast of Oxford and west of London (by road), near the tripoint of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and ...
,
Oxfordshire,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
.
Booker was opened as a flying training school in 1941 on the site of a civilian flying school requisitioned and closed on the outbreak of war in 1939.
In 1965 the site was taken over by Airways Aero Associations (now the
Airways Flying Club), who have operated the airfield as an increasingly commercial training and recreational field, now called
Wycombe Air Park. Booker featured in many of the airfield scenes in the 1965 feature film ''
Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines''.
History
RAF Booker was opened as the home of
No. 21 Elementary Flying Training School RAF in 1941. The flying school operated 72
de Havilland Tiger Moths and
Miles Magister
The Miles M.14 Magister is a two-seat monoplane basic trainer aircraft designed and built by the British aircraft manufacturer Miles Aircraft. It was affectionately known as the ''Maggie''. It was authorised to perform aerobatics.
The Magi ...
s. No. 21 EFTS trained 120 pupils on a seven-week course - later to become 11 weeks.
In May 1942, training was also started on the airfield for the
Glider Pilot Regiment.
In 1950, the
University of London Air Squadron (ULAS) resumed flying out of Booker, and it also temporarily hosted the Manchester and Liverpool University Squadrons.
In 1955, a hard runway (made of 90 feet wide pierced steel planking) was added to the four wartime grass runways.
From 1956, part of the facilities, including a hangar, were used for accommodation and annual training of Air Training Corps staff of Warrant Officer rank. This week of training was an intense course in gaining a deeper understanding of duties and of the modern requirements of an ever-improving service.
During the
Cold War the
Director UKWMO was located at the United Kingdom Regional Air Operations Command (UK RAOC) at RAF Booker tasked with instigating the national
four-minute air raid warnings.
The RAF continued to base its Bomber Command Communications Flight RAF at RAF Booker until 1963 (in close proximity to other Bomber Command stations nearby, such as
RAF Daws Hill).
In 1965, the airfield became privately run, and is now
Wycombe Air Park.
See also
*
List of former Royal Air Force stations
This list of former RAF stations includes most of the stations, airfields and administrative headquarters previously used by the Royal Air Force.
The stations are listed under any former county or country name which was appropriate for the ...
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Booker
Airports in England
Royal Air Force stations in Buckinghamshire
History of Buckinghamshire
Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom