RAF Coningsby

Royal Air Force Coningsby or RAF Coningsby (IATA: QCY, ICAO: EGXC), is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located 13.7 kilometres (8.5 mi) south-west of Horncastle, and 15.8 kilometres (9.8 mi) north-west of Boston, in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is a Main Operating Base of the RAF and home to the Typhoon Force Headquarters and three front-line Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 units, No. 3 Squadron, No. 11 Squadron and No. 12 Squadron. In support of front-line units, No. 29 Squadron is the Typhoon Operational Conversion Unit and No. 41 Squadron is the Typhoon Operational Evaluation Unit. Coningsby is also the home of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) which operates a variety of historic RAF aircraft.

RAF Coningsby
Near Coningsby, Lincolnshire in England
A Eurofighter Typhoon takes off from RAF Coningsby.
Loyalty binds me[1]
RAF Coningsby
Shown within Lincolnshire
Coordinates53°05′35″N 000°09′58″W
TypeMain Operating Base
Area420 hectares (1,000 acres)[2]
Site information
OwnerMinistry of Defence
OperatorRoyal Air Force
Controlled byNo. 1 Group (Air Combat)
Open to
the public		Access to BBMF Hangar only
ConditionOperational
Websitehttp://www.raf.mod.uk/rafconingsby/
Site history
Built1940 (1940)
In use1940 – present
Garrison information
Current
commander		Group Captain Matt Peterson
Occupants See Based units section for full list.
Airfield information
IdentifiersIATA: QCY, ICAO: EGXC, WMO: 03391
Elevation24 feet (7 m) AMSL
Runways
Direction Length and surface
07/25 2,744 metres (9,003 ft) Asphalt and Concrete
Source: RAF Coningsby Defence Aerodrome Manual[3]

History

Second World War

Plans for an airfield at Coningsby began in 1937 as part of the RAF's expansion plan. However progress in the compulsory purchase of the land was slow and delayed the start of work for two years.[4] The station opened on 4 November 1940 under No. 5 Group, part of RAF Bomber Command.[5][6][7] The first flying unit, No. 106 Squadron with the Handley Page Hampden medium bomber, arrived in February 1941, with active operations taking place the following month when four Hampdens bombed Cologne in Germany.[7] The squadron was joined in April 1941 by No. 97 Squadron equipped with Avro Manchester medium bombers.[6][5] In May 1942, aircraft from Coningsby participated in the 'Thousand Bomber' raid on Cologne.[7]

The original grass runways were found to be unsuitable for heavy bomber operations so the station was closed for nearly a year between September 1942 and August 1943, whilst paved runways were laid in preparation for accommodating such aircraft. At the same time further hangars were constructed.[4][5]

Three Avro Lancaster B.IIIs of No. 619 Squadron, airborne from RAF Coningsby whilst based there during 1944.

The first unit to return was the now-famous No. 617 'Dambusters' Squadron. Equipped with Avro Lancaster heavy bombers, the squadron was stationed at Coningsby from August 1943. Due to its specialist nature, the Dambusters carried out limited operations whilst at Coningsby, with the most notable being Operation Garlic, a failed raid targeting the Dortmund-Ems canal in Germany, when five out of the eight Lancasters on the mission failed to return home. As the squadron required more space, it moved to nearby RAF Woodhall Spa in January 1944, swapping places with another Lancaster unit, No. 619 Squadron, which itself later moved on to RAF Dunholme Lodge.[4][8]

Further Lancaster squadrons were based at Coningsby during the final months of the war, including No. 61 Squadron from RAF Skellingthorpe, No. 83 Squadron and No. 97 Squadron.[5]

Post war

Following the Second World War, Coningsby was home to the Mosquito-equipped No. 109 Squadron and No. 139 Squadron, then became part of No. 3 Group, with Boeing Washington aircraft from 1950. On 17 August 1953 52-year-old Air Vice-Marshal William Brook, the Air Officer Commanding of No. 3 Group, took off from the base in a Gloster Meteor, and crashed into a Dutch barn at Bradley, Staffordshire.[9]

Jet aircraft

The airfield received its first jet aircraft—the English Electric Canberra—in 1953.[10] During 1956, the station expanded with the runway being extended.[10] Avro Vulcans arrived in 1962, then transferred to RAF Cottesmore in November 1964.[10]

From 1964 to 1966, the station had been initially designated to receive the proposed RAF strike aircraft, the advanced BAC TSR-2,[10] which was cancelled for purported economic reasons in April 1965 by the Labour Government. The TSR2 was planned to join No. 40 Squadron at Coningsby in 1968 to replace the Canberra.[11]

Phantoms
See also: McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II in UK service

The TSR2's intended replacement—the American General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark—was shelved on 16 January 1968[12] when its costs overshot the UK's budget (it would have cost £425m for 50 aircraft). The TSR2 had large development costs, whereas the F-111 (also known as Tactical Fighter Experimental, or TFX) could be bought off the shelf. Coningsby was planned to get the General Dynamics F-111K, the RAF version of the F-111; also in the 1966 Defence White Paper, it was intended that the Anglo-French AFVG, later the UKVG, would replace the TSR2 (it did eventually as the Tornado). 50 F-111Ks were planned with 100 AFVGs (to enter service by 1970); Denis Healey claimed the F-111s and AFVGs would be cheaper than the TSR2 programme (158 aircraft) by £700m. As Minister of Aviation throughout 1965, the Labour MP Roy Jenkins had also wanted to similarly cancel the Olympus-powered Concorde, but the 1962 Anglo-French treaty imposed prohibitively steep financial penalties for cancellation; the Hawker Siddeley P.1154 and HS.681 were cancelled at the same time.[13]

AFVGs were also planned to replace the Buccaneer in the Royal Navy—Tornados were never flown by the Royal Navy, as the carriers for them, the CVA-01s, were cancelled. But the Royal Navy did operate fourteen Phantoms on Ark Royal, until the new smaller carriers entered service—48 Phantoms had been designated for the Fleet Air Arm, with twenty of these ending up at Leuchars, and Ark Royal's Phantoms ended up at Leuchars in 1978. Eagle was never converted to Phantom use as it was deemed too expensive, and the carrier was scrapped in January 1972, with its Sea Vixen aircraft. Another alternative considered by the Labour government in July 1965 for the TSR-2 was to order Spey-engined French Mirage IV aircraft, to be known as the Mirage IVS; it would have avionics from the TSR-2, and be partly made by BAC at Warton.[14]

RAF Phantom from No. 43 Squadron in September 1980; 6 Squadron was the first to get operational Phantoms in May 1969 at Coningsby; 54 Squadron received the aircraft in September 1969; both squadrons were disbanded in 1974

Spey-engined Phantoms (the plane the government eventually bought, having been ordered in February 1964 for the Fleet Air Arm, instead of the P.1154) were chosen in 1966 for the station's future as with the scrapping of aircraft carriers the Phantoms were not needed for the Fleet Air Arm,[10] with all RAF Phantom training taking place on the airfield, and the station became part of Fighter Command[10] until December 1967, when it joined Air Support Command as the Phantoms were initially in a ground attack role. Phantoms first saw operational service with the Fleet Air Arm in 1970. The first Phantom FGR2 (Fighter/Ground attack/Reconnaissance) arrived at Coningsby on 23 August 1968, with the first aircrew OCU course (228 OCU) beginning in October 1968. Air-defence Phantoms (FG1) also entered service in 1969 at RAF Leuchars. On 18 May 1970, a Phantom flew from the base non-stop to RAF Tengah in Singapore, covering 8,680 mi (13,970 km) in 14 hours and 14 minutes at an average speed of 602 mph (969 km/h). In April 1968, Strike Command was formed and the airfield was transferred to 38 Group.[15]

41 Squadron joined in April 1972, and stayed until 1977. The other ground-attack Phantom squadrons (four of them) were at RAF Bruggen. 111 Squadron replaced their Lightnings (from Wattisham) with Phantoms from 1 October 1974. On 1 January 1975, 29 Squadron joined and stayed until 1987, when disbanded. On 1 November 1975, 23 Squadron joined until February 1976, when moved to Wattisham. In March 1976, 56 Squadron joined until July 1976, then went to Wattisham.[16]

The Phantom's role changed to air defence in October 1974 when the airfield transferred to 11 Group in RAF Strike Command, when the SEPECAT Jaguar (situated in Norfolk) took over the ground attack role. 111 Squadron were the first to take the new air defence Phantoms. During 1975, the UK's air defence transferred to the Phantom FGR.2 from five squadrons of Lightnings. The UK was covered by NATO Early Warning Area 12. Three Sector Operations Centres were at Buchan, Boulmer and Neatishead; in the 1960s, the UK had the Linesman/Mediator radar system, which was obsolete by the 1970s. No 29 Squadron formed with Phantoms at Coningsby on 1 January 1975; until then the Phantom FG.1 had been operating with the Royal Navy only. On 3 March 1975 a Phantom crashed into a nearby house, with both pilot and navigator ejecting. The Queen visited the station on 30 June 1976.[17]

Tornados
Panavia Tornado F3 ZE785 of No. 41 Squadron in July 2007.

Panavia Tornado F3 squadrons began to form from November 1984, namely No. 229 OCU/No. 65 Squadron.[18] Tornado training took place until April 1987, when the Phantoms left (to RAF Leuchars) and Coningsby had the first (No. 29 Squadron) Tornado air defence squadron.[19] To accommodate these new aircraft, extensive hardened aircraft shelters (HAS) and support facilities were built.[18] No. 5 Squadron arrived in January 1988, having previously operated the English Electric Lightning.[20]

During the Gulf War, Tornados from Coningsby were based for three months at Dhahran International Airport. Tornado engines were serviced on the northern section of the former RAF Woodhall Spa, denoted as RAF Woodhall.[21][22]

Eurofighter Typhoon
A Eurofighter Typhoon from No. 3 Squadron takes off in 2008.

Coningsby was the first airfield to receive the Phantoms,[10] the Tornado ADV[10] and was the first to receive its replacement, the Eurofighter Typhoon. Typhoon arrived in May 2005 with No. 17 Squadron, after the RAF first publicly displayed the aircraft at Coningsby in December 2004.[23] No. 3 Squadron moved to RAF Coningsby where it became the first operational front line RAF Typhoon squadron in July 2007[24] and No. 11 Squadron became operational at RAF Coningsby shortly thereafter.[25] No.12 Squadron reactivated in July 2018 and is temporarily integrating Qatari Emri Air Force air and ground crews in order to provide training and support as part of the Qatari purchase of twenty-four Typhoons from the UK.[26]

In October 2019, RAF Coningsby signed a twinning agreement with Fighter Wing 73 (Jagdgeschwader 73) of the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) to enhance opportunities to meet and train with one another. The wing, based at Laage in north-eastern Germany, also operates the Eurofighter Typhoon.[27]

Role and operations

RAF Coningsby's mission statement is 'To develop the future, deliver the present and commemorate the past of the Royal Air Force's combat air power.'[28] The station is home to nearly 3,000 military personnel, civil servants, and contractors.[29] BAE Systems Military Air Solutions, who produce the Typhoon, are also stationed on the airfield with the contract to maintain the aircraft.[30]

Command

The station commander is Group Captain Matt Peterson. The station's Honorary Air Commandant is Prince William, Duke of Cambridge.[31] The station is under the command of No. 1 Group (Air Combat).[32]

Typhoon operations
A No. 11 Squadron Eurofighter Typhoon outside a hardened aircraft shelter at Coningsby.

The Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 provides the RAF with a multi-role combat capability for air policing, peace support and high intensity conflict. RAF Coningsby is the home to three front-line Typhoon units, No. 3(F) Squadron and No. 11 Squadron as well as No. 12 Squadron which is a joint RAF/Qatari Emri Air Force squadron. They are accompanied by No. 29 Squadron which is the Typhoon Operational Conversion Unit which trains new crews.[33]

Quick Reaction Alert

Since June 2007 Coningsby's Typhoons have been responsible for maintaining the Quick Reaction Alert (Interceptor) South mission (QRA(I)S). Aircraft and crews are held at a high state of readiness, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to respond to unidentified aircraft approaching UK airspace. QRA missions range from civilian airliners which have stopped responding to air traffic control, to intercepting Russian aircraft such as the Tupolev Tu-95 Bear and Tu-160 Blackjack.[34]

Test and Evaluation

The fourth Typhoon unit is No. 41 (Test and Evaluation) Squadron which is part of the Air Warfare Centre. The squadron develops operational tactics and evaluates new avionics and weapons systems. Formerly the Fast Jet and Weapons Operational Evaluation Unit (FJWOEU), it is a merger of the Strike Attack OEU (previously based at MOD Boscombe Down), the Tornado F3 OEU (previously based at RAF Waddington) and the Air-Guided Weapons OEU (previously based at RAF Valley).[35]

Battle of Britain Memorial Flight
Spitfire Mk IX MK356 inside the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight hangar.

Coningsby has been home of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) and the associated visitor centre since March 1976 when it arrived from RAF Coltishall.[10][36] The BBMF operate one of two remaining airworthy Avro Lancaster bombers in the world, alongside; six Spitfires of various types; two Hurricanes; a Dakota and two Chipmunks, the latter type being used for pilot training.[37]

Force Protection

No. 7 Force Protection Wing Headquarters provides operational planning, command and control to two RAF Regiment field squadrons attached to the wing, No. 63 (Queen's Colour) Squadron (based at RAF Northolt) and No. 2623 (East Anglian) Squadron (RAuxAF) (based at RAF Honington) whose purpose is to protect RAF bases at home and abroad from ground attack. Part of No. 5 RAF Police Squadron, under the command of No. 8 RAF Force Protection Wing at RAF Waddington, is also based at the station and provides policing, security and guarding.[38]

Air Land Integration (ALI) Cell

No. 7 Force Protection Wing includes the Air Land Integration (ALI) Cell, which provides a forward air control capability. The ALI Cell trains and provides Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTACS) and Tactical Air Controller Parties (TACPS) to support RAF and joint operations. The ALI Cell moved to Coningsby from RAF Honington in Suffolk and came under the control off the wing in June 2018.[39]

Expeditionary Air Wing

No. 121 Expeditionary Air Wing was formed at Coningsby on 1 April 2006 to create a deployable air force structure.[40]

Based units
Lancaster PA474 seen in 1988

Flying and major non-flying units based at RAF Coningsby.[41][42][43]

Royal Air Force

No. 1 Group (Air Combat) RAF

No. 2 Group (Air Combat Support) RAF

RAF Air Warfare Centre

The deployable elements of the station structure form the core of No. 121 Expeditionary Air Wing.[44]

British Army

Royal Engineers (8 Engineer Brigade, 170 Engineer Group, 20 Works Group Royal Engineers (Air Support)

  • 532 Specialist Team Royal Engineers (Airfields) (STRE)

Heritage

Station badge and motto

RAF Coningsby's badge, awarded in December 1958, features a depiction of Tattershall Castle. The local landmark, dating from the 15th century, is about 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) north-west of the station.[45]

The station's motto is Loyalty binds me.[45]

Gate guardians

Two preserved aircraft are located at the main gate of RAF Coningsby and act as gate guardians for the station. The first is McDonnell Douglas F-4M Phantom FGR.2 'XT891' wearing No. 41 Squadron markings and the second Panavia Tornado F3 'ZE760' in No .5 Squadron markings.[46][47]

Within the No. 3 Squadron hardened aircraft shelter (HAS) complex, Hawker Siddeley Harrier GR.3 'XW924' is on display and within the No.11 Squadron HAS complex is English Electric Lightning F.6 'XT753'. A further Lightning F.6, 'XS897' (wearing 'XP765') is preserved in the No. 29 Squadron site.[46]

Incidents and accidents

1974 Norfolk mid-air collision: On 9 August 1974, the station commander 42-year-old Group Captain David Blucke, and his navigator Flight Lieutenant Terence Kirkland (aged 28 and from Derry), were killed whilst piloting the Phantom XV493 of 41 Squadron. Flying at low level, it hit a Piper Pawnee crop-spraying plane (from Southend-on-Sea) over Fordham, Norfolk, near Downham Market. Blucke was son of Air Vice-Marshal Robert Blucke who was known for the 1935 Daventry Experiment.[48]

Station Commanders
BBMF Hangar
This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

The following Station Commanders are listed in the rank held at the time of appointment:

  • Group Captain Bob Judson (2004–2006)
  • Group Captain Stuart Atha DSO (2006–2008)
  • Group Captain J J Hitchcock (2008–2010)
  • Group Captain Martin Sampson DSO (2010–2012)
  • Group Captain Johnny Stringer (2012–2014)
  • Group Captain Jez Attridge OBE (2014–2016)
  • Group Captain Mike Baulkwill (2016–2018)
  • Group Captain Mark Flewin (2018–2020)[49]
  • Group Captain Matt Peterson (2020-Present)[50]

See also

References

Citations
  1. Pine, L.G. (1983). A dictionary of mottoes (1 ed.). London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. p. 131. ISBN 0-7100-9339-X.
  2. "Defence Estates Development Plan 2009 – Annex A". GOV.UK. Ministry of Defence. 3 July 2009. p. 18. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  3. "RAF Coningsby Defence Aerodrome Manual" (PDF). Royal Air Force. Military Aviation Authority. 29 June 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  4. "Bomber Command – Coningsby". Royal Air Force Bomber Command 60th Anniversary. 6 April 2005. Archived from the original on 6 April 2011. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  5. Marriott 1997, p. 76.
  6. Halpenny, Bruce Barrymore Action Stations: Wartime Military Airfields of Lincolnshire and the East Midlands v. 2, page 64
  7. "History – WWII to Phantoms". RAF Coningsby. Archived from the original on 22 July 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  8. Halpenny, Bruce Barrymore Action Stations: Wartime Military Airfields of Lincolnshire and the East Midlands v. 2. Page ?
  9. Grounds, Eric (2015). The Quiet Australian: The story of Teddy Hudleston, the RAF's troubleshooter for 20 years. Mereo Books. ISBN 978-1861514783.
  10. Halpenny, Bruce Barrymore Action Stations: Wartime Military Airfields of Lincolnshire and the East Midlands v. 2. Page 67.
  11. McLelland, Tim (2010). TSR2: Britain's Lost Cold War Strike Aircraft. Ian Allan. p. 115. ISBN 978-1-906537-19-7.
  12. "DEFENCE (Hansard, 4 March 1968)". api.parliament.uk.
  13. Wood 1975, p. 224.
  14. "F.111 Aircraft (Hansard, 13 December 1965)". api.parliament.uk.
  15. Darling, p. 91
  16. "56 Squadron History". 56 Squadron – Home of the Firebirds. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
  17. "The Queen Leaves For Raf Coningsby". Shutterstock. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  18. Halpenny, Bruce Barrymore Action Stations: Wartime Military Airfields of Lincolnshire and the East Midlands v. 2. Page 221.
  19. Halpenny, Bruce Barrymore Action Stations: Wartime Military Airfields of Lincolnshire and the East Midlands v. 2. Page 222.
  20. "History". Tornado Data. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
  21. Historic England. "RAF Woodhall Spa, Tattershall Thorpe (1432038)". PastScape. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  22. "Thorpe Camp". Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  23. "BAE Systems bids farewell to 17(R) Sqn as they head for new home at RAF Coningsby". BAE Systems plc. 1 April 2005. Archived from the original on 11 March 2006. Retrieved 17 October 2006.
  24. "Typhoon Goes Operational". Ministry of Defence. 11 July 2007. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  25. RAF Coningsby squadrons retrieved 29 December 2008
  26. "Joint UK-Qatari Typhoon squadron stands up as defence relationship deepens". GOV.UK. Ministry of Defence. 24 July 2018. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  27. "RAF Coningsby Twinned with German Eurofighter Wing". Royal Air Force. 17 October 2019. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  28. "About us". RAF Coningsby. Archived from the original on 3 July 2017. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  29. "RAF Coningsby – The Station". Royal Air Force. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  30. "Eurofighter contract secures jobs". BBC. 4 March 2009. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  31. "RAF Regiment Association Official Site". Rafregt.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2 February 2009. Retrieved 15 October 2008.
  32. "No 1 Group". Royal Air Force. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  33. "RAF Coningsby". Royal Air Force. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  34. "RAF Coningsby: At the Cutting Edge of the Typhoon Force". Forces.net. 17 April 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  35. "Eurofighter Typhoon enhancement programme: our crucial role". Qinetiq. 19 January 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  36. Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Visitor Centre
  37. "Prince William takes to skies at Battle of Britain memorial". BBC. 22 September 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
  38. "Force Protection". Royal Air Force. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  39. "Air Land Integration (ALI) Cell" (PDF). One to One - the RAF Coningsby Journal. Issue 2: 7. 2018.
  40. Cotter 2008, p. 33.
  41. "RAF Coningsby – Who's Based Here". Royal Air Force. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  42. "An introduction to...20 Works Group Royal Engineers" (PDF). Wittering View. Lance Publishing Ltd.: 18 Spring 2015.
  43. "RAF Police – Force Protection – Squadrons and Units". Royal Air Force. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
  44. "121 Expeditionary Air Wing Training". Royal Air Force. 17 September 2015. Archived from the original on 1 January 2018. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
  45. "RAF Coningsby". RAF Heraldry Trust. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  46. "RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire". Demobbed - Out of Service British Military Aircraft. February 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  47. "Preserved Aircraft Information". Bomber County Aviation Resource. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  48. "Collision over Norfolk". Flight International. IPC Transport Press Ltd. 106 (3413): 146. 15 August 1974.
  49. "RAF Coningsby Welcomes New Station Commander". Forces Network. 18 October 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  50. "Group Captain Matt Peterson in command at RAF Coningsby", Horncastle News, 7 May 2020, retrieved 4 October 2020CS1 maint: date and year (link)

Bibliography
  • Cotter, Jarrod (2008). Royal Air Force celebrating 90 years. Stamford, UK: Key Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-0-946219-11-7.
  • Darling, Kev (2012). RAF Strike Command, 1968-2007: Aircraft, Men and Action. Pen & Sword. ISBN 978-1848848986.
  • Bruce Barrymore Halpenny (1991) Action Stations: Wartime Military Airfields of Lincolnshire and the East Midlands v. 2, Patrick Stephens, ISBN 978-1852604059
  • Marriott, Leo (1997). British Military Airfields – Then and Now. Shepperton, Surrey: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7110-2515-8.
  • Wood, Derek (1975). Project Cancelled. London: Macdonald and Jane's. ISBN 0-356-85109-5.
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