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RAF Waddington
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RAF Waddington is a Royal Air Force station in Lincolnshire, England.
Early History
Waddington opened as a Royal Flying Corps flying training station in 1916 until 1920, when the station went into care and maintenance.
It re-opened as a bomber base on 12 March 1937, with squadrons flying the Bristol Blenheim and later Handley Page Hampdens, and was in November 1940 the first station to receive the Avro Manchester heavy bomber.
In the Cold War, RAF Waddington became a Vulcan bomber base.
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Encyclopedia
RAF Waddington is a Royal Air Force station in Lincolnshire, England.
Early History
Waddington opened as a Royal Flying Corps flying training station in 1916 until 1920, when the station went into care and maintenance.
It re-opened as a bomber base on 12 March 1937, with squadrons flying the Bristol Blenheim and later Handley Page Hampdens, and was in November 1940 the first station to receive the Avro Manchester heavy bomber.
In the Cold War, RAF Waddington became a Vulcan bomber base. It continued in this role until 1984 when the last Vulcan squadron, No 50, disbanded. In 1993 the last RAF Avro Vulcan bomber, serialled XH558, was retired to Bruntingthorpe, Leicestershire. This aircraft has returned to display flying following prolonged refurbishment.
Present Day
It is presently home to the RAF's Sentry, Nimrod R1 and Raytheon Sentinel R1 ASTOR ground-surveillance/intelligence aircraft. The station is also home to No. 34 Expeditionary Air Wing.
There is an outdoor viewing area east of the A15 road close to the northern end of the long runway which was designed to accommodate V-bombers. Short-term visits from different NATO and Swiss fighter squadrons, in the past, used to generate occasional additional noise and interest because the airfield was conveniently placed for offshore practice firing ranges above the North Sea. However with the closure of the aforementioned Air Combat Manoeuvring Instrumentation range these visits have ceased. Waddington also has a very active Force Development ethos, putting emphasis on the development of its busy personnel.
No. 34 Expeditionary Air Wing was formed at Waddington on 1 April 2006 encompassing most of the non-formed unit personnel on station. The EAW does not include the flying units at the station. The station commander is dual-hatted as the commander of the wing.
The RAF Waddington structure as of April 2008 is as follows:
- 34 Expeditionary Air Wing
- Combat Support 2 Group
- Other auxiliary units
- No. 26 Sqn - Ground Based Air Defence.This unit disbanded in March 2008 following a tour in Afghanistan.
- No. 2503 Sqn - RAuxAF Regiment Force Sustainment
- No. 39 Sqn - UAV/MQ-9 Reaper Due to relocate at Waddington in 2011-12.It is presently at Creech AFB in Nevada.
- Sentry Maintenance Squadron (SMS) - including the Visiting Aircraft Handling Section (VAHS)
- The E-3D Software Support Team
- Air Warfare Centre
- 7006 Squadron RAuxAF
- 7010 Squadron RAuxAF
- 7630 Squadron RAuxAF
Station Commanders
- Air Cdre Hugh Connolly CB DFC 1955-6
- AVM Arthur Griffiths CB 1967-9
- AVM Hubert Hall CB CBE 1971-3
- AVM Sir Richard Peirse CB 1973
- AVM Michael Pilkington CB CBE 1979-81
Waddington International Air Show
Since its inaugural year 1995, the RAF Waddington International Air Show has developed into the largest of all RAF's air shows. It regularly takes place on the first weekend in July, attracting over 120,000 visitors and representatives of Air Forces from all round the world. The 2008 air show saw a record crowd on Saturday (over 75,000 visitors) despite poor weather conditions. The show was delighted to welcome the famous Avro Vulcan XH558 after 15 years off the display circuit. 2009 Air Show, taking place on 4th & 5th July, will celebrate 60 years of NATO and 90th anniversary of RAF Benevolent Fund.
The 7-hour flying display features top national and international display teams and aircraft. Ground displays include over 100 aircraft, 250 trade stands, two exibition hangars, the Military Village concept where all services display, the Waddington SERE (Survive Evade Resist Extract) School display with its close RNLI association. Many clubs will also feature in the Village demonstrating the diversity of exciting hobbies and interests available to personnel today.
The air show is headed by Wing Commander(Rtd) Colin Reeves OBE and he has a very hardworking and successful team who are devoted all year round to making the airshow weekend a hit, and it does always prove to be.
Air Ambulance
The Lincolnshire & Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance is based at the airfield.
See also
* List of RAF stations
External links
News items
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