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:''This article is about the Royal Air Force station. For the officer training establishment which lodges at RAF Cranwell, see RAF College Cranwell.''
'RAF Cranwell' is a Royal Air Force station in Lincolnshire close to the village of Cranwell, near Sleaford. It is currently commanded by Group Captain S P Townsend, MA.

Contents

Origins

Jet engine history

Current functions

External link

References

Origins

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 the 1 April 1916 the 'Royal Naval Air Service, Training Establishment, Cranwell' was official born. The first commander was Commodore Godfrey M. Paine.
As the naval personnel were held on the books of HMS ''Daedalus'', a hulk that was moored on the River Medway, this gave rise to a misconception that Cranwell was first established as HMS ''Daedalus''.^[1]
With the establishment of the Royal Air Force as an independent service in 1918, the RNAS Training Establishment became RAF Cranwell.
Cranwell became the entry point for all those who wished to become permanent officers in the RAF and the selection process was extremely stringent.
Initially the course took two years but by the fifties this had expanded to three.
Until 81 Entry, arriving in September 1959, all flying training took place at the College; basic training on Piston Provosts and advanced on either Vampires or Meteors.
With the arrival of 81 Entry the Academic syllabus was improved to allow cadets to gain degrees in humanities or AFRAES. To enable this to happen in the three year course only basic training was carried out at Cranwell on the new Jet Provosts Mks 3 and 4.Cadets still received their wings on passing out of Cranwell but went on to advanced flying courses at either Oakington or Valley.
In 1962/3 The Whittle Center was built to support the new syllabus, opened by Sir Frank. This meant that the old East and West Camps which had been used for lectures were put out of commission.

Jet engine history

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 world's first true jet-engine flight took place of the Gloster E.28/39.

Current functions

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.
No.3 Flying Training School (FTS), training navigators and non-commissioned aircrew, is also based there. Cranwell is also home to two of the RAF bands namely the RAF College Band and the RAF Regiment Band.
It is also 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.
Around 1970's RAF introduced the Direct Entry Scheme, where a fresh graduate from any university can be admitted into RAF after a short training at RAFC Cranwell. These entrants emerged with the rank of Flight Lieutenant.
RAF 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) and the students had very close attention from their lecturers and instructors. RAF College also offered Non-MOD courses especially customised for air force officers from the Commonwealth countries.
In 1970 , HRH Prince Charles was at RAFC doing his flight training on the Jet Provost.
Since the mid-1990s, Cranwell has been home to Headquarters, Air Cadets.
The main building of RAF Cranwell is noted for its distinctive dome, visible from most of the surrounding roads.

External link

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References

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