RAF Cottesmore

RAF Cottesmore
Cottesmore, Rutland in England
A Panavia Tornado GR1 of the Tri-National Tornado Training Establishment (TTTE).
RAF Cottesmore badge
We Rise to Our Obstacles[1]
RAF Cottesmore is located in Rutland
RAF Cottesmore
RAF Cottesmore
Location within Rutland
RAF Cottesmore is located in the United Kingdom
RAF Cottesmore
RAF Cottesmore
RAF Cottesmore (the United Kingdom)
Coordinates52°43′46″N 000°39′05″W / 52.72944°N 0.65139°W / 52.72944; -0.65139
TypeRoyal Air Force station
CodeCT[2]
Area379 hectares[3]
Site information
OwnerMinistry of Defence
OperatorRoyal Air Force (1938–1942 and 1945–2012)
United States Army Air Forces (1943–1945)
Controlled byRAF Bomber Command
* No. 5 Group RAF
* No. 6 (T) Group RAF
* No. 92 (OTU) Group RAF[2]
ConditionClosed
Site history
Built1936 (1936)
Built byGeorge Wimpey & Co Ltd
In use1938–2012 (2012)
FateTransferred to the British Army and became Kendrew Barracks.
Battles/warsEuropean theatre of World War II
Cold War
Airfield information
IdentifiersIATA: OKH, ICAO: EGXJ, WMO: 03453
Elevation140 metres (459 ft)[2] AMSL
Runways
Direction Length and surface
04/22 2,744 metres (9,003 ft) Asphalt
00/00 (WW2)  Concrete
00/00 (WW2)  Concrete
00/00 (WW2)  Concrete
Aerial photograph of RAF Cottesmore looking north east, the technical site with four C-Type hangars is on the right, 3 Jun 1942.

Royal Air Force Cottesmore or more simply RAF Cottesmore is a former Royal Air Force station in Rutland, England, situated between Cottesmore and Market Overton. On 15 December 2009, Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth announced that the station would close in 2013 as part of defence spending cuts, along with the retirement of the Harrier GR9 and the disbandment of Joint Force Harrier.[4] The formal closing ceremony took place on 31 March 2011, and the airfield became a satellite of RAF Wittering until March 2012.[5]

In July 2011 Defence Secretary Liam Fox announced plans for it to be the airfield for one of five of the Army's Multi-Role Brigades. In April 2012 it was renamed Kendrew Barracks after Major General Sir Douglas Kendrew.[6]

  1. ^ Pine, L. G. (1983). A dictionary of mottoes (1 ed.). London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. p. 264. ISBN 0-7100-9339-X.
  2. ^ a b c Falconer 2012, p. 71.
  3. ^ "Defence Estates Development Plan (DEDP) 2009 – Annex A" (PDF). GOV.UK. Ministry of Defence. 3 July 2009. p. 19. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  4. ^ "Harrier jets take off on retirement". London Evening Standard. 16 December 2010. Archived from the original on 18 December 2010. Retrieved 4 July 2011.
  5. ^ "Last parade as RAF base shuts". This is Leicestershire. 1 April 2011. Archived from the original on 2 April 2011. Retrieved 4 July 2011.
  6. ^ "Cottesmore Army base named as Kendrew Barracks" Stamford Mercury, 23 April 2012

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