RAF Weston-on-the-Green

Royal Air Force Weston-on-the-Green
IATA: none – ICAO: none
Summary
Owner		Ministry of Defence
Operator		Royal Air Force
Location		Nr Bicester, Oxfordshire
Elevation AMSL		282 ft / 86 m
Coordinates
Map
RAF Weston-on-the-Green Location in Oxfordshire

RAF Weston-on-the-Green is a former Royal Flying Corps station that was redeveloped after the great war period. Much demolition took place (including the original 1916/1917 hangars). The former RFC Officers and Sergeant's messes are located on the opposite side of the road, and are now in commercial use. The station is located near the village of Weston-on-the-Green in Oxfordshire, England. The station comes under the control of the nearby RAF Brize Norton. It is used for parachute training for the UK military. The No.1 Parachute Training School RAF is based at RAF Brize Norton and uses Weston-on-the-Green regularly as a drop zone.

Basic military parachute jumping takes place at RAF Weston-on-the-Green from civilian aircraft that are based on the airfield and more advanced jumping takes place from C-130 Hercules aircraft based at RAF Lyneham.

No military aircraft are based at RAF Weston-on-the-Green. The airfield is only manned part-time by RAF personnel.

There is also a commercial Skydive weston sky-diving club.

RAF Weston-on-the-Green is one of the few remaining active RAF bases with some original pre-RAF buildings.

The airfield was used for the launch of the first modern hot air balloon in the UK in 1967, called the Bristol Belle and is the home of the Oxford Gliding Club,^[1] one of the oldest gliding clubs in the country.

RAF units and aircraft

^[2]

Unit	Dates	Aircraft	Variant	Notes
No. 2 Squadron RAF	1919–1920	Armstrong Whitworth FK.8
No. 18 Squadron RAF	1919	None		Cadre only
No. 90 Squadron RAF	1939	Bristol Blenheim	I
No. 20 (Pilots) Advanced Flying Unit RAF	1943–1945			Based at RAF Kidlington used Weston-on-the-Green as a Relief Landing Ground
No. 15 Flying Training School RAF	1940–1941			Based at RAF Kidlington used Weston-on-the-Green as a Relief Landing Ground
No. 130 Gliding School RAF	1951–1955	Slingsby Cadet	I, II and TX3
No. 13 Operational Training Unit RAF	1940	Bristol Blenheim		Based at RAF Bicester used Weston-on-the-Green as a Relief Landing Ground
No. 28 Training Depot Station RAF	1918–1919

References

^ [1]
^ Jefford 1988, page 176

Jefford, C.G. (1988). RAF Squadrons. Airlife Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1 85310 053 6.
Sturivant, Ray (2007). RAF Flying Training and Support Units since 1912. Air-Britain. ISBN 0-85130 365 X.

External links

Skydive Weston sky-diving club