RAF Shawbury
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Royal Air Force Shawbury, otherwise known as RAF Shawbury, is a
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
station near the village of Shawbury in
Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...
in the West Midlands of England.


History


The First World War

The station at Shawbury was first used for military flying training in 1917 by the
Royal Flying Corps The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC sup ...
. No. 29 (Training) Wing formed on 1 September 1917 with three training squadrons, No. 10 Squadron, No. 29 (Australian) (Training) Squadron and No. 67 Squadron. Several different types of aircraft were operated which caused difficulties with training and maintenance. Two of the squadrons combined to form 9 Training Depot Station on 1 March 1918, the other moving to
Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...
. Training continued on a more organised basis until the end of the war. The airfield closed in May 1920 when the strength of the RAF was drastically reduced. The hangars and other buildings were demolished and the land was returned to agricultural use.


The Second World War

In February 1938 the station was reactivated as a training establishment, firstly used by No. 11 Service Flying Training School and an Aircraft Storage Unit (ASU) which was operated by No. 27 Maintenance Unit. The airfield also had Relief Landing Grounds at RAF Bridleway Gate and RAF Bratton, with additional satellite landing grounds at RAF Hinstock, RAF Hodnet and RAF Weston Park. Shawbury primarily prepared pilots for operational squadrons, with the main aircraft being the
Airspeed Oxford The Airspeed AS.10 Oxford is a twin-engine monoplane aircraft developed and manufactured by Airspeed Ltd, Airspeed. It saw widespread use for training Commonwealth of Nations, British Commonwealth aircrews in navigation, radio-operating, bombin ...
. In 1944 it became the home of the Central Navigation School, which had moved from RAF Cranage in
Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...
, primarily concerned with improving the standard of air navigation in bombers.


Postwar

In 1950, the School of
Air Traffic Control Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled air ...
moved to Shawbury, combining to form the Central Navigation and Control School. No. 27 Maintenance Unit continued its aircraft storage and scrapping work at Shawbury until disbandment in July 1972. Shawbury became home to No. 2 Flying Training School in 1976, tasked with basic and advanced helicopter training and operating the Aerospatiale Gazelle and
Westland Wessex The Westland Wessex is a British-built turbine-powered development of the Sikorsky H-34. It was developed and produced under licence by Westland Aircraft (later Westland Helicopters). One of the main changes from Sikorsky's H-34 was the rep ...
in those roles respectively.


1990s and 2000s

No. 2 Flying Training School was disbanded in March 1997 so that in April 1997 the station could start providing training of helicopter pilots for all three of the UK's armed services, under the newly formed Defence Helicopter Flying School. Between 2001 and 2014 Shawbury was home to the Assault Glider Trust, a charity building a non-flying replica Horsa glider for museum display. The station's physical recreation training centre, named the Jubilee Hall Sports and Fitness Centre to mark the
Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II The year 2012 marked the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II being the 60th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. The only diamond jubilee celebration for any of Elizabeth's predecessors was in 1897, for Queen Victo ...
, was opened by
Prince Michael of Kent Prince Michael of Kent (Michael George Charles Franklin; born 4 July 1942) is a member of the British royal family who is 53rd in line to the British throne as of 2025. The younger son of Prince George, Duke of Kent, and Princess Marina of Gr ...
on 24 April 2012. In April 2016 the Central Air Traffic Control School (CATCS) was renamed the School of Air Operations Control (SAOC) and came under the control of the newly created Defence College of Air and Space Operations.


Transition to Juno

In 2016, the Ministry of Defence selected Ascent Flight Training to deliver the UK Military Flying Training System (UKMFTS), a 25-year contract to provide fixed-wing elementary, basic, multi-engine and fast-jet pilot training, rear crew training and helicopter training to the UK military. Subsequently, Ascent selected
Airbus Helicopters Airbus Helicopters SAS (formerly Eurocopter S.A., trading as Eurocopter Group) is the helicopter manufacturing division of Airbus. It is the largest in the industry in terms of revenues and turbine helicopter deliveries, holding 48% of the wo ...
to supply thirty-two helicopters to replace the DHFS Squirrel and Griffin aircraft. Airbus provided twenty-nine H135 airframes, known as Juno HT1 and three H145 airframes, known as Jupiter HT1. Due to the reduced requirement for search and rescue (SAR) training, following the privatisation of SAR provision, only three of the larger H145 aircraft are required, compared to the larger number of Griffins which were operated. The new fleet is entirely twin-engine, replacing the single engine Squirrel, as nearly all helicopters now operated by the UK military are twin-engined, apart from the Gazelle AH1, which is due for retirement. During 2016 and 2017, refurbishment of existing and construction of new buildings was undertaken as part of the contract. The work was undertaken by Kier Construction and included a new training school building, including space for flight simulators and refurbishment of hangars. The first two Juno and a Jupiter were delivered to Shawbury on 3 April 2017. Deliveries continue throughout 2017 and early 2018, with the final Juno arriving on 24 May 2018. With the new aircraft achieving full training capability, Squirrel and Griffin operations ceased on 1 April 2018 and the aircraft returned to civilian use. Other changes included the DHFS becoming a sub-unit of the Shawbury station headquarters, rather than an independent lodger unit, which it had been since in creation in 1997. Two wings were created, 2 Maritime Air Wing (2 MAW) and No. 9 Regiment. The School of Aerospace Battle Management, part of the Defence College of Air and Space Operations, moved to Shawbury from
RAF Boulmer Royal Air Force Boulmer or more simply RAF Boulmer is a Royal Air Force station near Alnwick in Northumberland, England, and is home to Aerospace Surveillance and Control System (ASACS) Force Command, Control and Reporting Centre (CRC) Boulmer ...
in
Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...
in August 2019. DHFS was re-badged as No. 1 Flying Training School during February 2020 and continues to provide helicopter training the British armed forces.


Role and operations

RAF Shawbury's mission statement is "To provide a safe, efficient, and effective airfield base environment; to enable and support, commanded, lodged and parented units; and to deliver wider Defence and RAF tasks as directed". The station is home to the School of Air Operations Control.


No.1 Flying Training School

No. 1 Flying Training School (No. 1 FTS) (formerly the Defence Helicopter Flying School) provides basic helicopter pilot training for the RAF, Royal Navy and Army Air Corps (AAC), as well as foreign and commonwealth countries, using twenty-nine Airbus Juno HT1. No. 1 FTS comprises two main elements, 2 Maritime Air Wing (2 MAW) and No. 9 Regiment. 2 MAW includes No. 660 Squadron of the AAC and 705 Naval Air Squadron and provide basic helicopter flying training. No. 9 Regiment comprises No. 60 Squadron of the RAF and No. 670 Squadron of the AAC in the advanced helicopter flying training. No. 202 Squadron is also part of No. 1 FTS and operates the Airbus Jupiter HT1 at RAF Valley in Wales. Airbus provides and maintains the helicopters and Babcock and
Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American Arms industry, defense and aerospace manufacturer with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta on March 15, 1995. It is headquartered in North ...
have contracts for infrastructure and ground Based Training Equipment. No. has 161 instructors, 102 of which are military and 59 which are civilian. The school is expected to train 286 students per annum. Four classes per annum year go through Shawbury on six-month Basic Rotary courses, two with 705 NAS and two with No. 660 Squadron AAC. During the initial course students are taught basic rotary-wing skills and emergency handling, including engine-off landings, leading to a first solo flight and a handling check. Students then develop their basic skills into more applied techniques such as non-procedural instrument flying, basic night flying, low-level and formation flying, mountain flying in
Snowdonia Snowdonia, or Eryri (), is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in North Wales. It contains all 15 mountains in Wales Welsh 3000s, over 3000 feet high, including the country's highest, Snowdon (), which i ...
and an introduction to winching for FAA students, in the advanced phase lasting 8 months.


Central Flying School (Helicopter) Squadron

The RAF Central Flying School (Helicopter) Squadron provides Qualified Helicopter Instructor and Qualified Helicopter Crewman Instructor (QHI/QHCI) training for Juno and
Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a Jupiter mass, mass more than 2.5 times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined a ...
. The unit trains crews from all three UK armed services as well as foreign air arms.


School of Aerospace Battle Management

The School of Aerospace Battle Management, part of the Defence College of Airspace Control, moved to Shawbury from
RAF Boulmer Royal Air Force Boulmer or more simply RAF Boulmer is a Royal Air Force station near Alnwick in Northumberland, England, and is home to Aerospace Surveillance and Control System (ASACS) Force Command, Control and Reporting Centre (CRC) Boulmer ...
in
Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...
in August 2019. Formerly called the School of Fighter Control (SFC), it was located at RAF Boulmer from 1990 to 2019. Commanded by a Wing Commander, the School of Fighter Control was formed in 1946 and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II awarded the Unit its own badge in 1958, which includes a Torch and Pointer. The school's motto is 'Disce ut Dirigas' which freely translates to 'Learn in order that you may guide.


Aircraft Maintenance and Storage Unit

Several RAF aircraft types are stored in long-term reserve at RAF Shawbury. These aircraft are stored in four specially de-humidified hangars at different states of readiness and can be brought back into active service if required. Other aircraft types which are no longer required for operational service are also stored pending their disposal. The unit is operated by FB Heliservices, part of Cobham.


Based Units

Flying and notable non-flying units based at RAF Shawbury.


Royal Air Force

* Aircraft Maintenance and Storage Unit (operated by FB Heliservices) No. 22 Group (Training) RAF * No. 1 Flying Training School **2 Maritime Air Wing (2 MAW) *** No. 660 Squadron (Army Air Corps)Airbus Juno HT1 *** No. 705 Naval Air Squadron (
Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is the naval aviation component of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy (RN). The FAA is one of five :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, RN fighting arms. it is a primarily helicopter force, though also operating the Lockhee ...
) – Airbus Juno HT1 ** No. 9 Regiment *** No. 60 Squadron (RAF) – Airbus Juno HT1 *** No. 670 Squadron (Army Air Corps) – Airbus Juno HT1 * Defence College of Air and Space Operations **School of Air Operations Control **School of Aerospace Battle Management *
Central Flying School The Central Flying School (CFS) is the Royal Air Force's primary institution for the training of military flying instructors. Established in 1912 at the Upavon Aerodrome, it is the longest existing flying training school in the world. The sch ...
**Central Flying School (Helicopter) Squadron


Future


Ministry of Defence personnel relocation

It was announced by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) in November 2016 that MOD staff currently based at 1300 Parkway in
Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
would be relocated to Shawbury by 2020.


No. 1 Flying School expansion

In January 2020, the RAF announced that four additional Jupiter HT1 and further simulator would be acquired for No.1 Flying Training School. The UKMFTS contract amendment worth £183 million is to create further rear crew training capacity. The additional aircraft and simulator are expected to be based at RAF Shawbury, where infrastructure will also be enhanced to accommodate extra students.


See also

*
List of Royal Air Force stations This list of Royal Air Force stations is an overview of all current stations of the Royal Air Force (RAF) throughout the United Kingdom and overseas. This includes front-line and training airbases, support, administrative and training station ...


References


Citations


Bibliography

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External links

*
UK Military Aeronautical Information Publication – Shawbury (EGOS)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shawbury Royal Air Force stations in Shropshire Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom History of Shropshire