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Feb 5, 2020 · Today, Royal Air Force College Cranwell is the oldest military air academy in the world. From its inception in 1920, the College has sought to deliver training that meets the needs of a rapidly evolving Air Force, underpinned by the core principles of respect, integrity, service and ethos.
With the amalgamation of the RNAS and the Royal Flying Corps on 1 April 1918, ownership of Cranwell was placed in the hands of the newly established RAF. The former Naval base title was replaced by the designation Royal Air Force Station Cranwell.
And if there is one place that runs as a common thread throughout the history of the RAF, it is the world’s first military aviation academy at RAF Cranwell. Founded in 1918 but transformed into RAF Cranwell when the RAF was established as an independent service in 1918, the building has seen some of the most remarkable aviators in recent ...
- Origins
- Jet Engine History
- Current Functions
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- External Links
The history of military aviation at Cranwell goes back to November 1915, when the Admiralty requisitioned 2500 acres (10 km²) of land from the Earl of Bristol's estate. And on 1 April 1916, the Royal Naval Air Service, Training Establishment, Cranwell was officially born. The first commander was Commodore Godfrey M. Paine. As the naval personnel we...
Sir Frank Whittle attended RAF Cranwell in the late 1920s. It was here that he formulated many of his ideas for the jet engine, and it was at Cranwell on 15 May 1941 that the first flight of the Gloster E.28/39took place. When Whittle died in 1996, his ashes were buried in a church at RAF Cranwell.
Royal Air Force College
Cranwell is home to the Royal Air Force College (RAFC), which trains the RAFs new officers on a 32-week course. It is thus the RAF equivalent of Sandhurst or the Britannia Royal Naval College, and is considered by some to be the spiritual home of the RAF. The Royal Air Force College was also an engineering school offering HND and CNAA degrees courses. The students are mostly commissioned officers from RAF as well as those from the Commonwealth countries. The class sizes were very small (25),...
RAF recruitment
The station is home to the Officer and Aircrew Selection Centre (OASC), where all applicants to the RAF as Officers or non-commissioned aircrew, are put through a 4 day rigorous selection process. The OASC is currently commanded by Group CaptainTom McWilliams. The selection process features aptitude testing, medical examinations, interviews, plus a number of challenging individual plus team planning and initiative exercises. It is also home to the Inspectorate of Recruiting (IofR) - the divis...
Headquarters Central Flying School
HQ CFS has been located at RAF Cranwell since 1995 when it moved from RAF Scampton. Central Flying School is the longest established military flying school in the world and currently trains all RAF QFIflying instructors.
Bibliography
1. Halpenny, Bruce Barrymore. 1981. Action Stations Vol.2: Wartime Military Airfields of Lincolnshire and the East Midlands ISBN 978-1-85260-405-9
Founders Day at RAF College Cranwell. The first 52 Flight Cadets walked through the gates of the RAF Cadet College. Lord Trenchard, Chief of the Air Staff, said:‘ . . . such a College was the essential foundation of a separate Air Service. This College will have the making . . . of the future of this great Service . . . built up during the ...
RAF Cranwell. Military aviation at Cranwell began on 1 April 1916, when the Admiralty commissioned the site as the ‘Royal Naval Air Service, Training Establishment, Cranwell’. The establishment trained officers and men to fly and operate a range of aircraft, including balloons and airships, and in common with other Naval Air Stations the ...
RAF Cranwell is also home to the Royal Air Force College (RAFC), which trains the RAF's new officers on a 32-week course. It is thus the RAF equivalent of Sandhurst or the Britannia Royal Naval College, and is considered by some to be the spiritual home of the RAF.
