The base was originally conceived, constructed, and operated as Royal Air Force Boscombe Down, more commonly known as RAF Boscombe Down, and since 1939, has evaluated aircraft for use by the British Armed Forces. The airfield has one active runway 3,212 metres (10,538 ft) in length. The airfield's evaluation centre is currently home to Rotary Wing Test and Evaluation Squadron (RWTS), Fast Jet Test Squadron (FJTS), Heavy Aircraft Test Squadron (HATS), Handling Squadron, and the Empire Test Pilots' School (ETPS).[4] It will be home to an anti-jamming test facility by 2026.
History
First World War
An aerodrome opened at the Boscombe Down site in October 1917 and operated as a Royal Flying Corps Training Depot Station.[5] Known as Royal Flying Corps Station Red House Farm, it trained aircrews for operational roles in France during the First World War.[2] Between opening and early 1919 the station accommodated No. 6 Training Depot, No. 11 Training Depot and No. 14 Training Depot.[6] When the United States entered the war in April 1917, the Royal Flying Corps began training groundcrew and aircrew of Aviation Section of the US Army at the airfield. During 1918 the 166th Aero Squadron and 188th Aero Squadron were present.[6] At the end of the war in November 1918, the airfield became an aircraft storage unit until 1920 when it closed and the site returned to agricultural use.[5]
The Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment (A&AEE) arrived from RAF Martlesham Heath, Suffolk, on 9 September 1939, shortly after the outbreak of the Second World War.[6] The move marked the beginning of A&AEE Boscombe Down and aircraft research and testing at the station, a role which it has retained into the 21st century. About fifty aircraft and military and civilian personnel had arrived by mid-September 1939.[18] The necessary facilities required for the specialist work carried out by the A&AEE were lacking at Boscombe Down, and its expansion resulted in many temporary buildings being constructed at the station in an unplanned manner.[5]
The first hard-surface runway opened in October 1945 and was followed by two more runways with parallel taxiways to create the present-day layout.[5] The runways extend into Idmiston and Allington parishes.[24]
With the end of the Cold War, the site was renamed the Aircraft and Armament Evaluation Establishment (AAEE) in 1992. All experimental work was 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, which was amalgamated into the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) in 1995.[25] On 15 August 1995 the first Dominie T.2 for the RAF arrived for trials.[26] On 31 October 1997 the first Panavia Tornado GR.4 in the RAF arrived for evaluation.[27]
During this period, the station may have been involved in assisting the United States with its black projects. On 26 September 1994, after an aircraft crashed on landing due to a nosewheel collapse, a USAFC5 Galaxy was redirected to the station. It is speculated that the crashed plane was an Aurora, a hypersonic spy plane.[28] Whatever it was, it was disassembled and returned to the US by the C5 Galaxy. Both the British and American Governments have refused to comment on the incident.[29][30]
21st century
Following the creation of QinetiQ in 2001, a 25-year Long Term Partnering Agreement (LTPA) was established with the MoD, covering 16 sites including Boscombe Down.[31] Under the agreement, Boscombe Down remains a government military airfield, but is 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 Air Test and Evaluation Centre (ATEC).[32]
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, when required.[34]
An anti jamming test facility is to be built at Boscombe Down by 2026. QinetiQ will build one of Europe’s largest anechoic chambers that will be capable of housing large military assets such as Protector drones, Chinook helicopters, and F-35 fighter jets for testing against electronic warfare threats.[36][37]
Past units
The Heavy Aircraft Test Squadron (HATS) at RAF Boscombe Down was responsible for the flight testing of heavy aircraft (multi-engine types). The department subsequently 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.[38]
The following units were located at the base at some point:
Jefford, C. G. (1988). RAF Squadrons. A comprehensive record of the movement and equipment of all RAF squadrons and their antecedents since 1912. Shrewsbury, UK: Airlife. ISBN1-85310-053-6.
Lake, A (1999). Flying units of the RAF. Shrewsbury: Airlife. ISBN1-84037-086-6.
March, Peter R. (1996). Royal Air Force Yearbook 1996. Fairford, UK: Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund.
March, Peter R. (1998). Royal Air Force Yearbook 1998. Fairford, UK: Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund.
Mason, Tim (2010). The Secret Years: Flight Testing at Boscombe Down, 1939-1945. Crowborough, UK: Hikoki Publications. ISBN978-1-9021-0914-5.