RAF Wittering

RAF Wittering
RAF Wittering, with the guard room & reception behind the deactivated 'Gate Guardian' Harrier aircraft.
IATA: none – ICAO: EGXT
Summary
Airport type		Military
Operator		Royal Air Force
Location		Cambridgeshire
Elevation AMSL		83 m / 273 ft
Coordinates		52°36′45″N 000°28′35″W / 52.6125°N 0.47639°W / 52.6125; -0.47639
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	m	ft
08/26	2,759	9,052	Asphalt

RAF Wittering (IATA: N/A, ICAO: EGXT) is a Royal Air Force station within the unitary authority area of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire. Although Stamford is the nearest town, the runways of RAF Wittering cross the boundary between Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.

History

RFC Stamford

Wittering's use as a military airfield dates back to 1916 when it began as RFC Stamford.

Formation

RAF Wittering officially opened in 1924. The Central Flying School was at Wittering until 1935, when it became a fighter base.

Second World War

During the Second World War, the station was very active during the Blitz in 1940/1 in No. 12 Group (controlled from RAF Watnall in Nottingham) as it was the main fighter station for a lot of the southern East Midlands, and fighters from the station would often patrol as far as Birmingham. RAF Collyweston, a satellite station, was next door until 1941, although the next main fighter station further north was RAF Digby. The airfield was bombed five times, with seventeen people being killed on March 14 1941. Aircraft from the station downed 151 Luftwaffe planes and 89 V-1 flying bombs.

Post-war use

The current airfield was created by the merging of RAF Wittering and nearby RAF Collyweston, by the construction of a 1.7 mile runway between them in 1941.

During the cold war RAF Wittering was a vital part of the strategic nuclear deterrent, with a runway built in 1954 long enough for the 'V' bombers (Avro Vulcan, Handley Page Victor and Vickers Valiant). Until January 1969 two squadrons (100 and 139) of Victor B.2 bombers equipped with Blue Steel stand-off missiles were part of the QRA (Quick Reaction Alert) force of the RAF. Two nuclear armed aircraft were permanently on 15 minutes readiness to take off. They were parked within 100m of the westerly runway threshold. In times of higher tension, four bombers could be stationed beside the runway on the ORP (Operational Readiness Platform). If the aircraft were manned they could all be airborne within 30 seconds, a feat often demonstrated at V force stations across the country. Since the incoming missile warning from RAF Fylingdales BMEWS was only four minutes before impact this ensured if the country came under attack, the bombers would be scrambled and able to retaliate.

Harriers

Since 1968, the station has been known as the Home of the Harrier, although the first Harriers arrived for No. 1 Sqn in August 1969: the first squadron to have a vertical take off aircraft. The Squadron left the base in August 2000. No. 20 Sqn is currently at the base, having been at the base since October 1970, although only officially since September 1992.

RAF Regiment

From 1970 to 1983 the station was also home to [No.5 Wing RAF Regiment]. consisting of No.15 and No.51 Squadrons RAF Regiment. In October 2001 [No.37 Squadron GBAD RAF Regiment]. arrived from [RAF Bruggen] but was later disbanded in March 2006.

Current use

Although known as the 'Home of the Harrier', Wittering is currently home only to 20 Sqn, the Operational Conversion Unit for the Hawker Siddeley Harrier. No. 1 (Fighter) Squadron relocated to RAF Cottesmore in the late 1990s. The station has re-roled to be the home of the 'A4 Force' (the Royal Air Force's Air Combat Service Support Units (ACSSUs)), with No 85 Expeditionary Logistics Wing and its subordinate ACSSUs, 2 MT Squadron and 3 Mobile Catering Squadron (formerly the Mobile Catering Support Unit (MCSU)) moving in from RAF Stafford. Elements of the Armament Support Unit (ASU) also returned to RAF Wittering from RAF Marham in Norfolk to be part of the newly-formed No 42 (Expeditionary Support) Wing, which also took 5001 Squadron under command from 85 Wing when that unit also relocated from RAF Stafford. The Ministry of Defence Hospital Unit (MDHU) based in Peterborough, continues to be attached to and parented by the Station. The station is also home to 3 Sqn RAF Regiment who moved to Wittering from RAF Aldergrove in 2006 after a 7 month tour in Iraq. 3 Sqn are part of No 1 Force Protection Wing, also based ay Wittering. 1 FP Wing also consists of 504 Sqn Royal Auxiliary Air Force based at nearby RAF Cottesmore.

Seniority

The station commander of RAF Wittering is currently Group Captain Paul Higgins ADC, MA, BA (Hons), RAF.

Gliding

RAF Wittering is also the birth place of the RAF Gliding and Soaring Association's Four Counties Gliding Club, originally set up in March 1955. Following several relocations, the club returned to Wittering in late 2005.

RAF Wittering is also HQ of the Air Training Corps South East Midlands Wing.

Subordinate and lodger units

• No. 42 (Expeditionary Support) Wing
  • No 71 (Inspection and Repair) Sqn
  • No 5001 Squadron
  • No 5131 (Bomb Disposal) Squadron
  • No 93 (Expeditionary Armaments) Sqn based at RAF Marham

• No 85 (Expeditionary Logistics (EL)) Wing
  • No 1 Expeditionary Logistics Sqn
  • No 2 Mechanical Transport Sqn
  • No 3 Mobile Catering Sqn
  • Joint Aircraft Recovery & Transportation Squadron (JARTS) [based at RAF St Athan]

• No. 20 (Reserve) Squadron
• Headquarters No 1 RAF Force Protection Wing
• No. 3 Squadron RAF Regiment
• Harrier Aerosystems Squadron
• Low Flying Operations Squadron

Station Commanders

• Air Cdre Dudley Radford CB 1948
• AVM Sir Alan Boxer 1958-9
• Gp Capt Leonard Trent VC DFC 1959-62
• AVM John Lawrence CB 1962-4
• AVM Paul Mallorie CB 1967-8
• AVM Peter Williamson CB CBE DFC 1969-70
• AVM Alan Merriman CB CBE 1970-2
• Air Mshl Sir Laurence Jones 1975-6
• AVM David Brook CBE 1976-8
• AVM Peter Dodworth CB OBE 1983-5
• AVM Peter Millar CB 1985-6
• AVM John Feesey 1986-8

External links

• RAF Wittering
• Airport information for EGXT at World Aero Data. Data current as of October 2006.
• Four Counties Gliding Club website

News items

• Airmen told 'no uniforms in city'