RAF Henlow

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Royal Air Force support station in Bedfordshire, England

title: "RAF Henlow" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["royal-air-force-stations-in-bedfordshire", "volunteer-gliding-squadron", "museums-in-bedfordshire", "military-and-war-museums-in-england", "technology-museums-in-the-united-kingdom", "telecommunications-museums-in-the-united-kingdom", "henlow", "military-airbases-established-in-1918"] description: "Royal Air Force support station in Bedfordshire, England" topic_path: "engineering" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Henlow" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Royal Air Force support station in Bedfordshire, England ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox military installation"]

FieldValue
nameRAF Henlow
ensignEnsign of the Royal Air Force.svg
ensign_size90px
locationHenlow, Bedfordshire
countryEngland
imageHenlow Airfield - geograph.org.uk - 4549988.jpg
captionRAF Henlow from above
image2RAF Henlow badge.png
image2_size150px
caption2
pushpin_mapBedfordshire
pushpin_labelRAF Henlow
pushpin_map_captionShown within Bedfordshire
pushpin_label_positionleft
coordinates
typeRAF training station
ownershipMinistry of Defence
operatorRoyal Air Force
controlledbyNo. 2 Group
built
builderMcAlpine (1918)
various since
used1918–Present
current_commanderWing Commander Chris Brooke
past_commanders
occupants* RAF Centre of Aerospace Medicine
elevation51.2 m
ICAOEGWE
r1-number02/20
r1-length1199 m
r1-surfaceGrass
r2-number13/31
r2-length1157 m
r2-surfaceGrass
r3-number08R/26L
r3-length979 m
r3-surfaceGrass
r4-number08L/26R
r4-length736 m
r4-surfaceGrass
website
footnotes''Source''': RAF Henlow Defence Aerodrome Manual
::

| name = RAF Henlow | ensign = Ensign of the Royal Air Force.svg | ensign_size = 90px | native_name = | partof = | location = Henlow, Bedfordshire | nearest_town = | country = England | image = Henlow Airfield - geograph.org.uk - 4549988.jpg | caption = RAF Henlow from above | image2 = RAF Henlow badge.png | image2_size = 150px | caption2 = | pushpin_map = Bedfordshire | pushpin_label = RAF Henlow | pushpin_map_caption = Shown within Bedfordshire | pushpin_label_position = left | coordinates = | type = RAF training station | code = | site_area = | height = | ownership = Ministry of Defence | operator = Royal Air Force | controlledby = No. 2 Group | open_to_public = | condition = | built = | builder = McAlpine (1918) various since | used = 1918–Present | materials = | fate = | battles = | events = | current_commander = Wing Commander Chris Brooke | past_commanders = | garrison = | occupants = * RAF Centre of Aerospace Medicine

  • Joint Arms Control Implementation Group | elevation = 51.2 m | IATA = | ICAO = EGWE | GPS = | WMO = | r1-number = 02/20 | r1-length = 1199 m | r1-surface = Grass | r2-number = 13/31 | r2-length = 1157 m | r2-surface = Grass | r3-number = 08R/26L | r3-length = 979 m | r3-surface = Grass | r4-number = 08L/26R | r4-length = 736 m | r4-surface = Grass | website = | footnotes = ''Source''': RAF Henlow Defence Aerodrome Manual Royal Air Force Henlow or more simply RAF Henlow is a Royal Air Force station in Bedfordshire, England, equidistant from Bedford, Luton and Stevenage. It houses the RAF Centre of Aerospace Medicine and the Joint Arms Control Implementation Group (JACIG), and was home to the Signals Museum, which closed in June 2024. It formerly hosted light aircraft flying and 616 Volunteer Gliding Squadron. The Ministry of Defence announced on 6 September 2016 that the base is set to be closed. As of January 2024, the closure and disposal of the station is expected to take place from 2026. Flying activity ceased in July 2020.

History

Henlow was chosen as a military aircraft repair depot in 1917 and was built by MacAlpine during 1918. Four Belfast Hangars were built and are now listed buildings. Henlow Camp, a civilian settlement, grew up around the base at that time.

Originally a repair depot for aircraft from the Western Front, the Station officially opened on 18 May 1918 when Lt Col Robert Francis Stapleton-Cotton arrived with a party of 40 airmen from Farnborough. In May 1920, RAF Henlow became the first parachute testing centre and was later joined by another parachute unit from RAF Northolt. Parachute testing was undertaken with Vimy aircraft and parachutists hanging off the wings and allowing the chute to deploy and enable them to drift back to the ground. The Officers Engineering School moved there in 1924 from Farnborough.

After the First World War, Henlow was home to four aircraft squadrons; No. 19 Squadron RAF, No. 23 Squadron RAF, No. 43 Squadron RAF and No. 80 Squadron RAF. Between 1932 and 1933, Sir Frank Whittle was a student at the RAF technical College on the base. He later spent some time in charge of aero engine testing on the base before being sent to Cambridge. An additional hangar was added to the inventory in the 1930s and this too is now listed.

During the Second World War Henlow was used to assemble the Hawker Hurricanes which had been built at the Hurricane factory operated by Canadian Car and Foundry in Fort William, Ontario, Canada, under the leadership of Elsie MacGill. After test flying in Fort William, they were disassembled and sent to Henlow in shipping containers and reassembled. During Operation Quickforce in 1941, 100 fitters from the base were deployed onto carriers which were shipping Hurricane fighters to Malta. The finished Hurricanes were completed on the decks of the carriers and flown out to Malta. Over 1,000 Hurricanes (about 10% of the total) were built by Canadian Car and Foundry and shipped to Henlow. Henlow was also used as a repair base for many aircraft types under the direction of No. 13 Maintenance Unit.

The empty packing crates that the Hurricane aircraft were shipped in were used to make the original control tower (which has now been replaced by a more modern two-storey Portakabin type). The original tower and parts of the airfield were seen in several scenes in the 1969 war film 'The Battle of Britain'.

A major RAF technical training college was also formed at Henlow in 1947. This was formed from the RAF School of Aeronautical Engineering, formerly at RAF Farnborough, and its purpose was to train cadets and engineering officers. The college was amalgamated with RAF College Cranwell in 1965. The RAF Officer Cadet Training Unit then moved in, but this also moved to Cranwell in 1980.

Henlow then hosted the RAF Signals Engineering Establishment and the Radio Engineering Unit, established in 1980. In 1983, the Land Registry took over part of the site.

In December 2011, RAF Henlow along with 14 other Ministry of Defence sites in the United Kingdom were designated as being dangerously radioactive. The 15 bases were poisoned by "radium that was used to coat the dials of aircraft...so that they could be seen in the dark" during the Second World War.

Administratively, RAF Henlow was part of a combined base, RAF Brampton Wyton Henlow, until RAF Brampton was closed in 2013.

Flying activity ceased in July 2020.

Based units

Notable units based at RAF Henlow.

Royal Air Force

No. 2 Group (Air Combat Support)

  • Air Security Force
    • Forensic Exploitation Flight
      • Digital Forensic Team
      • Scientific Support Unit
  • RAF Medical Services

[[Strategic Command (United Kingdom)|Strategic Command]]

Directorate of Overseas Bases

Former units

The following units were here at some point:

Signals Museum

The Signals Museum, focused on the development of electronic communications by the RAF since the First World War, was established in 1999. The museum closed permanently on 8 June 2024.

Future

On 6 September 2016, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) announced the planned closure of RAF Henlow, with a disposal date of 2020. By 2019, a staged drawdown and closure was expected to take place between 2020 and 2023. In January 2024, the MOD indicated that the closure and disposal would take place from 2026.

References

Bibliography

References

  1. (1983). "A dictionary of mottoes". Routledge and Kegan Paul.
  2. (1 February 2017). "RAF Halton Defence Aerodrome Manual (DAM)". Military Aviation Authority.
  3. (11 February 2015). "Non-inhabited listed buildings on the MOD UK estate: 2015". Ministry of Defence.
  4. Christopher Paul, G. J.. (2012). "Aviator Extraordinaire: My Story". Pen and Sword.
  5. (1978). "The RAF – a pictorial history". Robert Hale.
  6. (2005). "The Royal Air Forces; An Encyclopedia of the Inter-War Years, 1918–1929". Pen and Sword.
  7. (1985). "The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force". Air Britain.
  8. "Royal Air Force Henlow".
  9. {{National Heritage List for England
  10. {{National Heritage List for England
  11. {{PastScape
  12. "Henlow".
  13. "RAF Henlow at 90". Royal Air Force.
  14. (1999). "The Royal Air Force". Cassell & Co.
  15. (2008). "The Royal Air Force day by day". Sutton Publishing.
  16. Haslam, E. B.. (1982). "History of Royal Air Force Cranwell". HM Stationery Office.
  17. (20 December 2011). "MoD reveals 15 radioactive UK sites". The Guardian.
  18. "RAF Wyton". Royal Air Force.
  19. "Flying Info – RAF Henlow".
  20. "RAF Henlow - Who's Based Here?".
  21. "11th Security Force Assistance Brigade".
  22. (8 February 2023). "Directorate of Overseas Bases".
  23. "Henlow – Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust UK".
  24. (23 August 2015). "Signals Museum at RAF Henlow invites public to open day". Bedford Times.
  25. (17 May 2024). "RAF Henlow Signals Museum to close". Radio Society of Great Britain.
  26. (6 September 2016). "Ministry of Defence to sell 13 sites for 17,000 homes". BBC News.
  27. (28 February 2019). "Defence Estate Optimisation Programme Update - February 2019".
  28. (18 January 2024). "RAF Henlow – Question for Ministry of Defence (UIN 9721)".

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royal-air-force-stations-in-bedfordshirevolunteer-gliding-squadronmuseums-in-bedfordshiremilitary-and-war-museums-in-englandtechnology-museums-in-the-united-kingdomtelecommunications-museums-in-the-united-kingdomhenlowmilitary-airbases-established-in-1918