RAF Hullavington

RAF Hullavington (IATA: ­­—, ICAO: EGDV) was a Royal Air Force station in Hullavington, near Chippenham, Wiltshire. RAF Hullavington has switched regiments. At the current time it is RLC-Royal Logistic Corps.

Main Entrance RAF Hullavington

Location

• 5 miles N of Chippenham
• 51°31′30″N 02°08′00″W
• Grid Ref: ST900810
• Height above sea level: 340 ft

History

Opened on 9 July 1937 as a Flying Training School.

During World War Two top officers from allied nations came to Hullavington to share ideas and ways of using aircraft. An effective Met. Office was also stationed at Hullavington. An aircraft which left every day at dawn flew at various heights in order to send data back for the Met. Office to assess the weather.

Unit badge

The RAF Hullavington Badge shows a red Wyvern holding aloft a beacon. The motto is in English, 'Service to Many'.

Units based at the station

The station has performed many different roles; these are summarised with dates below:

Royal Air Force

• 1937-1957 Flying Training Schools (from Apr 1942-Jul 1949 Empire Central Flying School)
• 1938-1959 Maintenance Unit
• 1958 114 Sqn
• 1949-1957 Air Navigation School
• 1955-1957 no2FTS Jet Provost mk 1
• 1957-1962 Air Electronics School
• 1971-1976 16 Parachute Heavy Drop Company Royal Army Ordnance Corps (Disbanded 1st Sept 1976)
• 1967-1992 Parachute Packing Unit/Parachute Servicing Flight
• 1965-1995 Balloon Operations Sqn
• 1986-1995 No 4626 (Aeromedical Evacuation) Squadron RAuxAF
• 1992- Present 625 VGS (Volunteer Gliding School) Squadron RAF VR/T
• 1993- Present 621 VGS (Volunteer Gliding School) Squadron RAF VR/T

Royal Air Force Regiment

• 1982-1990 No 5 Wing RAF Regiment
• 1987-1988 No 2 Sqn RAF Regiment
• 2 & 15 Sqn RAF Regiment(1986 - Station close)

Air Transport Auxiliary

• No 8 Ferry Pilot Pool Nov 1940 - Mar 1941)
• No 1427 (Ferry Training) Flt (18 May - 05 Sep 1942)

Defence Codification Data Centre

The Defence Codification Data Centre (DCDC) lodged in a purpose-built computer suite at RAF Hullavington from its establishment in 1966 until its dispersal to Glasgow in 1986, where it merged with its parent body, the Defence Codification Authority.

Current usage

Today the barracks of the site (east of the airfield) is used as the home of 9 Supply Regiment Royal Logistic Corps and it was renamed in 2003 Buckley Barracks after the VC winner John Buckley.

The airfield, West of the main barracks, is still referred to as "Hullavington" after its RAF origins. In 1992 and 1993, two Volunteer Gliding Schools moved in and to this date they still operate mirror circuits using the 'Viking' - a modified version of the civilian Grob Twin Astir II. These being 625VGS and 621VGS. Although the two VGS fly cadets, they are run by staff from the RAF VR/T, and as such, it still gets referred to as "RAF Hullavington" despite being officially decommissioned when the base was handed over to the Royal Logistic Corps in 2003. Each VGS has a different set of experienced flight staff and instructors, with many being former cadets themselves.

The two VGS operate conventional winch-launched gliders every Saturday and Sunday, and throughout courses which they both run in public holidays. Solo flights are very common with each VGS, and soaring is seen done by the instructors and graded pilots in the summer. Despite the two schools operating gliders solely, the airfield is NOT a public one, and is still considered military, operating two different radio frequencies ("Hullavington Radio" for 625VGS and "Western Radio" for 621VGS). Aircraft in the area should contact Lyneham before operating nearby the area of Hullavington. The aircraft very rarely operate outside of 1500ft, but occasionally on a good day they will soar up to 6000ft.

Throughout the week, the airfield is used by mainly the Army Air Corps and the Royal Air Force for parachute drop training, and by the 9th Supply Regiment of the Royal Logistic Corps as storage space using the airfield's hangars.

References

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/07/a8829507.shtml