MoD Boscombe Down

MoD Boscombe Down
Summary
Airport type Military airbase
Owner Ministry of Defence
Operator QinetiQ,
formerly: Royal Air Force
Location Amesbury, Wiltshire, England
Opened 1 October 1917 (1917-10-01)[1]
Elevation AMSL 407 ft / 124 m
Coordinates 51°09′27″N 01°44′49″W / 51.15750°N 1.74694°W / 51.15750; -1.74694Coordinates: 51°09′27″N 01°44′49″W / 51.15750°N 1.74694°W / 51.15750; -1.74694
Map
EGDM

Location of Boscombe Down in Wiltshire

Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
05/23 3,212 10,538 Concrete / asphalt
17/35 1,914 6,280 Concrete / asphalt
Radio: Boscombe Down talk down - 130.00 (Mhz), approach / zone - 126.70 (Mhz), Tower - 130.75 (Mhz)

MoD Boscombe Down (ICAO: EGDM) is the home of a military aircraft testing site, located near the village of Amesbury in Wiltshire, England. The site is currently run, managed and operated by QinetiQ;[1] the private defence company created as part of the breakup of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) in 2001 by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD). It is also the home of the Empire Test Pilots' School[1] (ETPS).

The site was originally conceived, constructed, and operated as Royal Air Force Station Boscombe Down, more commonly known as RAF Boscombe Down, and since 1939, has evaluated aircraft for use by the British Armed Forces (BAF).

History

The following military squadrons were based here between 1930 and 1939:

Aircraft testing at the airfield started when the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment (A&AEE) moved from RAF Martlesham Heath, near Ipswich in Suffolk, in August 1939, as the Second World War hostilities commenced, when the airfield was known as RAF Boscombe Down.[13]

The site has witnessed many significant developments in the British aviation industry, including trials of many aircraft flown by the British Armed Forces since the Second World War, such as the first flights of the English Electric P 1, forerunner of the English Electric Lightning, the Folland Gnat and Midge, Hawker P.1067 (the prototype Hunter), Westland Wyvern, and the BAC TSR.2. It was also formerly home to the RAF School of Aviation Medicine.

QinetiQ BAe Avro RJ100 departs the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT), 2014.

In 1992, the site was renamed the Aircraft and Armament Evaluation Establishment (AAEE), when experimental work moved to the Defence Research Agency (DRA). Responsibility for the site passed from the MoD Procurement Executive to the Defence Test and Evaluation Organisation (DTEO) in 1993, and subsequently to the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) in 1995.

Following the creation of QinetiQ in 2001, a twenty-five year Long Term Partnering Agreement (LTPA) was established with the MoD. Boscombe Down remains a government military airfield, but operated by QinetiQ on behalf of the MoD. The Joint Test and Evaluation Group (JTEG) was established under the control of RAF Air Command, and together with QinetiQ, forms the Aircraft Test and Evaluation Centre (ATEC). This unique partnership is charged with the test and evaluation of future and in-service military aircraft for all arms of the British Armed Forces. The military personnel of the JTEG play a central role in the test and evaluation process alongside their civilian QinetiQ colleagues.

A small part of Boscombe's history is being preserved in the United States. The Anglo American Lightning Organisation (AALO) are returning to flight the former ETPS English Electric Lightning T.5, XS422.[17] The group is basing the restoration in the US, as the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is expected to refuse permission for the aircraft to fly in the UK. The voluntary group, made up of RAF and former RAF engineers, as well as civilian volunteers, has been carrying out a 'floor-up' restoration, and as of spring 2008, were around 80% mechanically complete. The project is currently seeking investors and supporters.[17]

The following units were here at some point:

Heavy Aircraft Test Squadron

The Heavy Aircraft Test Squadron (HATS) at RAF Boscombe Down was responsible for the flight testing of heavy aircraft (multi-engine types). Prior to the title of Heavy Aircraft Test Squadron, the flight testing of multi-engined aircraft was conducted by 'B Squadron'. Following-on from B Squadron, the department became known as Fixed Wing Test Squadron (FWTS); however, during the late 1980s, the title once more changed to that of the Heavy Aircraft Test Squadron.

On 16 June 2009, HATS formally handed over its flight testing duties to the newly re-formed 206(R) Squadron, which forms part of the Air Warfare Centre, who are headquartered at RAF Waddington.

Current units

Current flying and major non-flying units based at MOD Boscombe Down.[18][19][20][21][22]

Royal Air Force

RAF Air Warfare Centre

Aircraft Test and Evaluation Centre (operated in partnership with QinetiQ)

No. 22 Group (Training) RAF

No. 38 Group (Air Combat Service Support) RAF

Operations

The airfield site has two runways, one of 3,212 metres (10,538 ft) in length, and the second 1,914 metres (6,280 ft).

It is home to Rotary Wing Test Squadron (RWTS), Fast Jet Test Squadron (FJTS), Heavy Aircraft Test Squadron (HATS), Handling Squadron, and the Empire Test Pilots' School (ETPS).[23] It is also currently home to the Southampton University Air Squadron[1] (SUAS).[21]

On 1 April 2010, the Fast Jet Test Squadron (FJTS) was amalgamated into No.41(R) Squadron to create a new entity, 41 Squadron Test and Evaluation Squadron, based at RAF Coningsby.

Boscombe Down airbase has been associated with rumours concerning United States black projects. An incident is reported to have occurred there on 26 September 1994, although evidence is scarce, and both the British and American Governments have refused to comment on it.[24][25] According to witnesses, an aircraft crashed on landing due to nosewheel collapse. The Special Air Service (SAS) were scrambled to set up a perimeter around the airfield, and a C5 Galaxy was redirected to the station. It is speculated that the crashed plane was disassembled and carried back to the US by the C5 Galaxy. It was also speculated that the crashed aircraft may have been the rumoured hypersonic spy plane, the Aurora.[26]

From the 1 May 2007, Boscombe Down became the home of the Joint Aircraft Recovery and Transportation Squadron (JARTS); which was combined from the two Royal Navy and Royal Air Force elements who were responsible for aircraft moves and post-crash management.[27]

In October 2007, it was announced that RAF Boscombe Down would become a Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) airfield from early 2008, offering round-the-clock fighter coverage for the South and South West of UK airspace.[28]

A well preserved Roman coffin was found to the west of the site in 2007, on what is now the 'Archers Gate' development.[29]

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 "Boscombe Down (Red House Farm)". ABCT.org.uk. Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  2. 1 2 Jefford 1988, p. 27.
  3. ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 41.
  4. 1 2 Jefford 1988, p. 43.
  5. ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 48.
  6. ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 51.
  7. ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 53.
  8. ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 62.
  9. ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 64.
  10. 1 2 Jefford 1988, p. 71.
  11. ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 72.
  12. ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 73.
  13. ↑ "Adastral Park - Site History". UCL Adastral Park Post Graduate Campus. Martlesham Heath, Suffolk. Archived from the original on 10 Aug 2007. Retrieved 22 October 2007.
  14. ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 37.
  15. ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 55.
  16. ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 78.
  17. 1 2 "Anglo American Lightning Organisation". Lightning422supporters.co.uk. UK: AALO. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  18. ↑ "MOD Boscombe Down". LTPA. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  19. ↑ "Air Warfare Centre Units". RAF Waddington. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  20. ↑ Nadin, Michael (October 2009). "Crash and Smash no more" (PDF). Royal Air Force. p. 38. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  21. 1 2 "Southampton University Air Squadron". RAF.mod.uk. Royal Air Force. Retrieved 11 October 2013.
  22. ↑ "Royal Air Force Centre of Aviation Medicine" (PDF). RAF Henlow. Retrieved 31 July 2017.
  23. ↑ "Empire Test Pilot School contact information". QinetiQ.com. QinetiQ. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  24. ↑ "RAF Boscombe Down's Black Day". Retrieved 14 September 2008.
  25. ↑ Bellamy, Christopher; Walker, Timothy (14 March 1997). "Secret US spyplane crash may be kept under wraps". The Independent. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
  26. ↑ "STEALTH". Key Publishing Air Forces Monthly. 10 June 2016.
  27. ↑ Nadin, Michael (October 2009). "Crash and Smash no more" (PDF). RAF.mod.uk. Royal Air Force. p. 38. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
  28. ↑ Air base in front line fully-armed - Salisbury Journal, Monday 29 October 2007
  29. ↑ "Video of the Boscombe Down Roman coffin". Wessex Archaeology. 14 January 2008. Retrieved 30 June 2009.

Bibliography

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