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RAF Odiham is a Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the United Kingdom's air force, the oldest independent air force in the world. Formed on 1 April 1918, the RAF has taken a significant role in British military history ever since, playing a large part in World War II and in more recent conflicts....
 station
RAF station

A Royal Air Force station is a permanent Royal Air Force military base. Many RAF stations are aerodromes, or airbases, being the home to one or more flight squadrons....
 situated a little to the south of the historic small village of Odiham
Odiham

Odiham is a village in the Hart of Hampshire, England. The current population is 4,406.There is a Royal Air Force aerodrome to the south of the town, RAF Odiham....
 in Hampshire
Hampshire

Hampshire , sometimes historically Southamptonshire, Hamptonshire, , or the County of Southampton, is a Counties of England on the south coast of England....
, England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
. It is the home of the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the United Kingdom's air force, the oldest independent air force in the world. Formed on 1 April 1918, the RAF has taken a significant role in British military history ever since, playing a large part in World War II and in more recent conflicts....
's heavy lift helicopter, the Chinook HC.2/HC.2A
RAF Chinook

The Boeing Chinook is a tandem rotor helicopter operated by the Royal Air Force. A series of variants based on the United States Army's CH-47 Chinook, the RAF has 48 Chinooks, which is the largest fleet outside of the United States....
.

raft operations began from the site in 1925 but it was not until October 1937 that it was opened as a permanent airfield, ironically by Erhard Milch
Erhard Milch

Erhard Milch was a Germany field marshal who oversaw the development of the Luftwaffe as part of the re-armament of Germany following World War I....
, then the Chief of Staff for the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe

is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1933 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
.

During World War Two
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
 P-51 Mustang
P-51 Mustang

The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was a long-range single-seat fighter aircraft that entered service with Allies of World War II air forces in the middle years of World War II....
s and Hawker Typhoon
Hawker Typhoon

The Typhoon was a United Kingdom single-seat fighter-bomber, produced by Hawker Aircraft starting in 1941. Although it was intended to be a replacement for the Hawker Hurricane in the interceptor aircraft role, the Typhoon underwent a long gestation period, eventually evolving into one of the World War II's most successful ground-attack aircr...
s were flown out of the base.






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RAF Odiham is a Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the United Kingdom's air force, the oldest independent air force in the world. Formed on 1 April 1918, the RAF has taken a significant role in British military history ever since, playing a large part in World War II and in more recent conflicts....
 station
RAF station

A Royal Air Force station is a permanent Royal Air Force military base. Many RAF stations are aerodromes, or airbases, being the home to one or more flight squadrons....
 situated a little to the south of the historic small village of Odiham
Odiham

Odiham is a village in the Hart of Hampshire, England. The current population is 4,406.There is a Royal Air Force aerodrome to the south of the town, RAF Odiham....
 in Hampshire
Hampshire

Hampshire , sometimes historically Southamptonshire, Hamptonshire, , or the County of Southampton, is a Counties of England on the south coast of England....
, England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
. It is the home of the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the United Kingdom's air force, the oldest independent air force in the world. Formed on 1 April 1918, the RAF has taken a significant role in British military history ever since, playing a large part in World War II and in more recent conflicts....
's heavy lift helicopter, the Chinook HC.2/HC.2A
RAF Chinook

The Boeing Chinook is a tandem rotor helicopter operated by the Royal Air Force. A series of variants based on the United States Army's CH-47 Chinook, the RAF has 48 Chinooks, which is the largest fleet outside of the United States....
.

History

Aircraft operations began from the site in 1925 but it was not until October 1937 that it was opened as a permanent airfield, ironically by Erhard Milch
Erhard Milch

Erhard Milch was a Germany field marshal who oversaw the development of the Luftwaffe as part of the re-armament of Germany following World War I....
, then the Chief of Staff for the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe

is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1933 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
.

During World War Two
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
 P-51 Mustang
P-51 Mustang

The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was a long-range single-seat fighter aircraft that entered service with Allies of World War II air forces in the middle years of World War II....
s and Hawker Typhoon
Hawker Typhoon

The Typhoon was a United Kingdom single-seat fighter-bomber, produced by Hawker Aircraft starting in 1941. Although it was intended to be a replacement for the Hawker Hurricane in the interceptor aircraft role, the Typhoon underwent a long gestation period, eventually evolving into one of the World War II's most successful ground-attack aircr...
s were flown out of the base. After the Allied invasion of Europe the site became a prisoner of war
Prisoner of war

A prisoner of war is a combatant who is held in continuing custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict....
 camp. Following the end of the War RAF Fighter Command
RAF Fighter Command

Fighter Command was one of three functional Command that dominated the public perception of the Royal Air Force for much of the mid-20th century....
 assumed control of the base and operated Spitfires
Supermarine Spitfire

The Supermarine Spitfire is a United Kingdom single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allies of World War II countries through the Second World War and on into the 1950s as a frontline fighter and in secondary roles....
, Hunters
Hawker Hunter

The Hawker Hunter was a jet fighter aircraft of the 1950s and 1960s. The Hunter served for many years with the Royal Air Force and was widely exported, serving with 19 air forces....
 and Javelin
Gloster Javelin

The Gloster Aircraft Company Javelin was an "all-weather" interceptor aircraft that served with United Kingdom Royal Air Force in the late 1950s and most of the 1960s....
s. No. 54 Squadron RAF moved in 1949, flying Vampires, before being reequipped with Meteors and being relocated to RAF Stradishall in 1959. As part of her coronation celebrations Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom

Elizabeth II is the queen regnant of sixteen independent states known as the Commonwealth realms: Monarchy of the United Kingdom, Monarchy of Canada, Monarchy of Australia, Monarchy of New Zealand, Monarchy of Jamaica, Monarchy of Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Monarchy of the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Sain...
 reviewed the Royal Air Force at Odiham in 1953.

After a short period in "care and maintenance" status the base was reopened as part of Transport Command
RAF Transport Command

RAF Transport Command was an Royal Air Force Command which controlled all transport aircraft of the RAF. It was established on 25 March 1943 by the renaming of RAF Ferry Command, and was subsequently renamed RAF Air Support Command in 1967....
. In this role Westland Whirlwind and then Bristol Belvedere
Bristol Belvedere

The Bristol Type 192 Belvedere is a United Kingdom twin-engined, tandem rotor military helicopter built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It was designed for a variety of transport roles including troop transport, supply dropping and casualty evacuation....
 helicopters were operated from the base. From 1961 to 1981 the Westland Wessex
Westland Wessex

The Westland Wessex is a British turbine-powered version of the Sikorsky H-34, developed under license by Westland Aircraft , initially for the Royal Navy, and later for the Royal Air Force....
 was based here, joined by the Puma
Aérospatiale Puma

The A?rospatiale Puma is a four-bladed, twin-engined medium transport/utility helicopter. The Puma was originally manufactured by Sud Aviation of France under the designation SA 330....
 in 1971.

In 1981 the Wessex helicopters of 72 Squadron
No. 72 Squadron RAF

No. 72 Squadron Royal Air Force is currently a training reserve squadron based at RAF Linton-on-Ouse using the Short Tucano T1, a modified version of the Brazilian Embraer EMB-312 Tucano training aircraft....
 moved to RAF Aldergrove
RAF Aldergrove

RAF Aldergrove is a Royal Air Force station situated 18 miles north-west of Belfast. It adjoins Belfast International Airport, sometimes referred to simply as Aldergrove which is the name of the surrounding area....
, followed by 33 Squadron's
No. 33 Squadron RAF

No. 33 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the A?rospatiale Puma from RAF Benson, Oxfordshire....
 Pumas in 1997 to RAF Benson
RAF Benson

RAF Benson is a Royal Air Force station near Benson, Oxfordshire in Oxfordshire, England. It is home to the Royal Air Force's support helicopters, the A?rospatiale Puma and the AgustaWestland AW101, known as the Puma HC1 and the Merlin Mk3 and Mk3a....
.

Current role

The first Chinook HC.1s were delivered to the RAF in 1980 and arrived at Odiham in 1982. The first HC.2 arrived in 1993. The RAF ordered the Chinook HC.3, a special forces
Special forces

Special Forces , also known as, Special Operation Forces is a generic term for highly-trained military teams/units that conduct specialized Military operation such as reconnaissance, unconventional warfare, and counter-terrorism actions....
 variant, in 1995. These are yet to enter service.

618 VGS arrived in July 2000. The Unit operates the Vigilant T Mk 1. The Unit provides basic flying and gliding training to members of the Air Cadet Organisation. The Squadron operates normally at weekends and also runs four continuous week courses each year.

The Kestrel Gliding Club continues to fly from Odiham at weekends, having become part of the Royal Air Force Gliding and Soaring Association in 2006.

Resident units

  • Headquarters, Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing
    Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing

    The Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing is a tri-service organisation which provides aviation support to United Kingdom Special Forces, using both fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft....
  • 7 Squadron
    No. 7 Squadron RAF

    No. 7 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the CH-47 Chinook RAF Chinook from RAF Odiham, Hampshire.7 Sqn is earmarked as the operator of the eight RAF Chinook#HC.3s on order, if the problems with the helicopters are ever resolved....
     - 5 Chinook HC2. The 2 Gazelle AH.1 formerly operated by 7 Squadron have been re-assigned, XX385 into storage at RAF Shawbury and XZ296 to 666(V) Sqn at Netheravon.
  • 18 Squadron
    No. 18 Squadron RAF

    No. 18 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the CH-47 Chinook RAF Chinook from RAF Odiham. No. 18 Squadron was the first and is currently the largest RAF operator of the Chinook....
     - 18 Chinook HC2/HC.2A
  • 27 Squadron
    No. 27 Squadron RAF

    No. 27 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Boeing Chinook from RAF Odiham....
     - 10 Chinook HC2
  • Joint Helicopter Support Unit
    Joint Helicopter Support Unit

    The Joint Helicopter Support Unit is a joint organisation of the British Army and the Royal Air Force, located in RAF Odiham.Formation ...
  • No. 618 Volunteer Gliding Squadron
    Volunteer Gliding Squadron

    File:grob g109b zh268 motorglider arp.jpgVolunteer Gliding Squadrons are Royal Air Force flying training units, operating military Grob G103a Twin II and Grob Vigilant gliders to train Air Cadets from the Combined Cadet Force and the Air Training Corps....
     - 4 Vigilant T Mk 1
  • No. 657 Squadron Army Air Corps
    Army Air Corps

    The Army Air Corps is a component of the British Army, first formed in 1942. There are eight regiments of the AAC as well as five Independent Flights and two Independent Squadrons deployed in support of British Army operations across the world....
     flying Lynx AH.7 helicopters (approximately 6)


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