100-565: The Defence Explosive Ordnance Disposal, Munitions and Search Training Regiment ( DEMS Training Regiment ) is an element of the Royal School of Military Engineering responsible for the provision of training to British Army Ammunition Technicians , Ammunition Technical Officers and Search Operators. The Regiment provides training from two locations: Marlborough Barracks, MoD Kineton near Kineton , Warwickshire and St George's Barracks, MoD Bicester , near Bicester , Oxfordshire . In 2009
200-628: A MSc degree and be well placed to apply for Chartered Engineer (CEng) status. In August 2008 Holdfast Training Services Ltd signed a 30-year public-private partnership contract, worth in the region of £3 billion, with the Ministry of Defence. The contract commenced on 5 January 2009 to provide the RSME at Chatham and Minley with training, training support services and hard and soft FM services. These are provided by Babcock and three central secondary contractors: MKC Training Services, Pearson TQ and ESS. There
300-670: A Private Finance Initiative with newly purchased Sikorsky S-92 and AgustaWestland AW189 aircraft. The new contract means that all UK SAR coverage is now provided by Bristow aircraft. In 2018, the RAF's vision of a future constellation of imagery satellites was initiated through the launch of the Carbonite-2 technology demonstrator. The 100 kg Carbonite-2 uses commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components to deliver high-quality imagery and 3D video footage from space. The Royal Air Force celebrated its 100th anniversary on 1 April 2018. It marked
400-629: A wing commander and, for a fast-jet squadron, have an complement of around twelve aircraft. Independent flights are so designated because they are explicitly smaller in size than a squadron. Many independent flights are, or have been, front-line flying units. For example, No. 1435 Flight carries out air defence duties for the Falkland Islands , with four Eurofighter Typhoon fighters based at RAF Mount Pleasant . Support capabilities are provided by several specialist wings and other units. Command, control, and support for overseas operations
500-531: A combat engineer. In the 12-week long course, soldiers will learn combat engineering skills such as how to clear mines, construct bridges and cross water obstacles. On successful completion soldiers will be awarded their Royal Engineer Stable Belt and officially become a Sapper. On completion of Phase 2a training, Sappers commence their Phase 2b training. For most trades, this will mean artisan trade training at Chatham in Kent. Course lengths vary and can last up 53 weeks at
600-626: A minor role in the Korean War , with flying boats taking part. From 1953 to 1956 the RAF Avro Lincoln squadrons carried out anti- Mau Mau operations in Kenya using its base at RAF Eastleigh . The Suez Crisis in 1956 saw a large RAF role, with aircraft operating from RAF Akrotiri and RAF Nicosia on Cyprus and RAF Luqa and RAF Hal Far on Malta as part of Operation Musketeer . The RAF suffered its most recent loss to an enemy aircraft during
700-524: A new site for SME. In September 1940 the decision was taken to move to Ripon. In 1940 an Experimental Tunnelling Section was formed and in 1941 Assault Engineer and Bomb Disposal Schools were formed. The bomb disposal school was initially formed at Donnington but moved to Ripon in January 1942. After the war SME remained at Ripon while a decision was made about the future location of the school. Several sites with better training facilities were considered but
800-565: A private visit to the Corps, 12,001 all ranks were on parade in uniform on the Great Lines. In 1939 SME mobilised again and the Training Battalion left Chatham forming two training battalions at Harper Barracks Ripon and Shorncliffe Army Camp . Specialist, instructor and higher trade continued at Chatham but from June 1940 training was seriously interrupted by German efforts to destroy
900-600: A quarter of Bomber Command's personnel were Canadian. Additionally, the Royal Australian Air Force represented around nine per cent of all RAF personnel who served in the European and Mediterranean theatres. During the Battle of Britain in 1940, the RAF defended the skies over Britain against the numerically superior German Luftwaffe . In what is perhaps the most prolonged and complicated air campaign in history,
1000-525: A single Hawker Tempest F.6 in January 1949. Before Britain developed its own nuclear weapons , the RAF was provided with American nuclear weapons under Project E . However, following the development of its own arsenal, the British Government elected on 16 February 1960 to share the country's nuclear deterrent between the RAF and submarines of the Royal Navy, first deciding to concentrate solely on
1100-445: A strongly fortified naval town. The town was surrounded by batteries, bastions and ditches designed to be defended by 7,000 men and so provided excellent areas for training in siege operations. (Records show that there had been a military base on the high ground above Chatham built to defend Chatham Dockyard since at least 1708.) But that was not achieved until 1850 when the training Depot was moved to Brompton Barracks, Chatham. The move
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#17328513422031200-612: A support enabler role. A Control and Reporting Centre (CRC) at RAF Boulmer is tasked with compiling a Recognised Air Picture of UK air space and providing tactical control of the Quick Reaction Alert Force . In order to achieve this Boulmer is supported by a network of eight Remote Radar Heads (RRHs) spread the length of the UK. The UK operates permanent military airfields (known as Permanent Joint Operating Bases) in four British Overseas Territories . These bases contribute to
1300-483: A war that remained under low profile. The Konfrontasi against Indonesia in the early 1960s did see use of RAF aircraft, but due to a combination of deft diplomacy and selective ignoring of certain events by both sides, it never developed into a full-scale war. The RAF played a large role in the Aden Emergency between 1963 and 1967. Hawker Hunter FGA.9s based at RAF Khormaksar , Aden , were regularly called in by
1400-948: Is also responsible for the RAF Medical Services, RAF Support Force, consisting of the RAF's engineering, logistics, intelligence, signals, musical and mountain rescue assets, RAF's Combat and Readiness Force, comprising the RAF Regiment , and the Air Security Force, comprising RAF Police . It oversees stations at RAF Benson and RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, RAF Henlow in Bedfordshire, RAF Honington in Suffolk, RAF Odiham in Hampshire and RAF Northolt in West London. No. 11 Group
1500-494: Is at RAF High Wycombe co-located with Air Command. Groups are the subdivisions of operational commands and are responsible for certain types of capabilities or for operations in limited geographical areas. There are five groups subordinate to Air Command, of which four are functional and one is geographically focused: No. 1 Group is responsible for combat aircraft (comprising the Lightning Force and Typhoon Force) and
1600-658: Is based at Bicester, with two training squadrons at Bicester and two at Kineton. The four training squadrons are: Royal School of Military Engineering The Royal School of Military Engineering ( RSME ) Group provides a wide range of training for the British Army and Defence. This includes; Combat Engineers, Carpenters, Chartered Engineers, Musicians, Band Masters, Sniffer Dogs, Veterinary Technicians, Ammunition Experts, Bomb Disposal Operators, and Counter Chemical Warfare experts, as well as Command and Leadership. The Peninsular War (1808–14) revealed deficiencies in
1700-718: Is defined as "the ability to project power from the air and space to influence the behaviour of people or the course of events". Today, the Royal Air Force maintains an operational fleet of various types of aircraft, described by the RAF as being "leading-edge" in terms of technology. This largely consists of fixed-wing aircraft, including those in the following roles: fighter and strike , airborne early warning and control , intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR), signals intelligence (SIGINT), maritime patrol, air-to-air refueling (AAR) and strategic & tactical transport . The majority of
1800-425: Is known as Phase 3. Phase 3 training can be split into 3 main categories: trade training, command and leadership training, and professional engineering. Although more than 80% of officer cadets are university graduates, some are accepted with A-Levels or equivalent qualifications, or are serving soldiers who have been selected for officer training. Age on entry must be between 17 years 9 months and 28 years. Following
1900-776: Is part of the Ministry of Defence and body legally responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom and its overseas territories . The Chief of the Air Staff chairs the Air Force Board Standing Committee (AFBSC) which decides on the policy and actions required for the RAF to meet the requirements of the Defence Council and His Majesty's Government . The Chief of the Air Staff is supported by several other senior commanders: Administrative and operational command of
2000-629: Is responsible for integrating operations across the air , cyber and space domains whilst responding to new and evolving threats. It includes the RAF's Battlespace Management Force which controls the UK Air Surveillance and Control System (ASACS). The group oversees stations at RAF Boulmer in Northumberland, RAF Fylingdales in North Yorkshire and RAF Spadeadam in Cumbria. No. 22 Group
2100-698: Is responsible for the supply of qualified and skilled personnel to the RAF and provides flying and non-flying training to all three British armed services. It is the end-user of the UK Military Flying Training System which is provided by civilian contractor Ascent Flight Training . The group oversees stations at RAF College Cranwell in Lincolnshire, RAF Cosford and RAF Shawbury in Shropshire, RAF Halton in Buckinghamshire, MOD St Athan in
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#17328513422032200-517: Is typically provided through Expeditionary Air Wings (EAWs). Each wing is brought together as and when required and comprises the deployable elements of its home station as well as other support elements from throughout the RAF. Several Expeditionary Air Wings are based overseas: The RAF Schools consist of the squadrons and support apparatus that train new aircrew to join front-line squadrons. The schools separate individual streams, but group together units with similar responsibility or that operate
2300-623: The 1948 Arab–Israeli War : during the withdrawal of the former Mandatory Palestine in May 1948 where British Supermarine Spitfire FR.18s shot down four Royal Egyptian Air Force Spitfire LF.9s after the REAF mistakenly attacked RAF Ramat David airbase; and during encounters with the Israeli Air Force which saw the loss of a single de Havilland Mosquito PR.34 in November 1948 and four Spitfire FR.18s and
2400-579: The British Army as close air support to carry out strikes on rebel positions. The Radfan Campaign (Operation Nutcracker) in early 1964 was successful in suppressing the revolt in Radfa, however it did nothing to end the insurgency with the British withdrawing from Aden in November 1967. One of the largest actions undertaken by the RAF during the Cold War was the air campaign during the 1982 Falklands War , in which
2500-625: The British Empire , including establishing bases to protect Singapore and Malaya. The RAF's naval aviation branch, the Fleet Air Arm , was founded in 1924 but handed over to Admiralty control on 24 May 1939. The RAF adopted the doctrine of strategic bombing , which led to the construction of long-range bombers and became its main bombing strategy in the Second World War . The Royal Air Force underwent rapid expansion prior to and during
2600-950: The Defence Explosive Ordnance Disposal, Munitions and Search School (DEMSS) was formed, bringing together the School of Ammunition, the Defence Explosive Ordnance Disposal School and the National Search Centre, initially as DEMSS (North), at Kineton, and DEMSS (South), at Chattenden, Kent . DEMSS was renamed DEMS Training Regiment in December 2012 when the Chattenden facility was closed and relocated to new premises at Bicester, only 30 miles from Kineton, in order to 'enable closer and more integrated training across all disciplines taught at DEMSS'. Each of
2700-537: The Institution of Royal Engineers in 1865, as a memorial prize for young officers who demonstrated outstanding architectural ability at the School of Military Engineering. With the demise of great architectural works the prize has been transferred and today it is reproduced in bronze and is awarded to the top student in each of the Clerk of Works (Construction), (Electrical), (Mechanical) and Military Plant Foreman's courses at
2800-661: The London Eye , the RAF Memorial and (at 13.00) the Ministry of Defence building . Four major defence reviews have been conducted since the end of the Cold War: the 1990 Options for Change , the 1998 Strategic Defence Review , the 2003 Delivering Security in a Changing World and the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR). All four defence reviews have resulted in steady reductions in manpower and numbers of aircraft, especially combat aircraft such as fast-jets. As part of
2900-951: The Royal Albert Hall and parts of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London , the Royal Museum in Edinburgh , and the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin. He was also responsible for planning the 1862 International Exhibition in London. Working on the International Exhibition building, described as 'a wretched shed' by The Art Journal . The presentation of the Fowke Medal was instigated by
3000-638: The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). This was done as recommended in a report prepared by the South African statesman and general Jan Smuts . At that time it was the largest air force in the world. Its headquarters was located in the former Hotel Cecil . After the war, the RAF was drastically cut and its inter-war years were relatively quiet. The RAF was put in charge of British military activity in Iraq , and carried out minor activities in other parts of
3100-704: The Royal Navy 's Fleet Air Arm and the British Army 's Army Air Corps also operate armed aircraft. The Royal Air Force was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the third independent air force in the world after the Mexican Air Force (established 5 February 1915) and the Finnish Air Force (established 6 March 1918), by merging the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and
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3200-546: The Second World War , the RAF established air superiority over Nazi Germany 's Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain , and led the Allied strategic bombing effort. The RAF's mission is to support the objectives of the British Ministry of Defence (MOD), which are to "provide the capabilities needed to ensure the security and defence of the United Kingdom and overseas territories, including against terrorism; to support
3300-417: The UK Military Flying Training System which is dedicated to training aircrew for all three UK armed services. Specialist ground crew training is focused at RAF Cosford , RAF St Mawgan and MOD St. Athan . Operations are supported by numerous other flying and non-flying stations, with activity focussed at RAF Honington which coordinates Force Protection and RAF Leeming & RAF Wittering which have
3400-609: The United States Air Force , the RAF formed its own RPAS squadron in 2007 when No. 39 Squadron was stood up as a General Atomics MQ-9A Reaper unit at Creech AFB , Nevada. The RAF's 90th anniversary was commemorated on 1 April 2008 by a flypast of the RAF's Aerobatic Display Team the Red Arrows and four Eurofighter Typhoons along the River Thames , in a straight line from just south of London City Airport Tower Bridge,
3500-721: The Westland Puma HC2 for search and rescue. No. 230 Squadron , based at Medicina Lines , Brunei, also operate the Puma HC2. A flying squadron is an aircraft unit which carries out the primary tasks of the RAF. RAF squadrons are somewhat analogous to the regiments of the British Army in that they have histories and traditions going back to their formation, regardless of where they are based or which aircraft they are operating. They can be awarded standards and battle honours for meritorious service. Most flying squadrons are commanded by
3600-532: The 1830s, covered battery construction, telegraphy, firing of mines, and electric light (search-lights). Photography and Chemistry First introduced in the early 1850s just before the Crimean War (1854–56) because its potential as a method of photo-reconnaissance was seen. Captain (later Sir) William de Wiveleslie Abney RE, whilst acting as department head in the 1870s, invented the photolithographic process called 'Papyrotype'. Lithography First introduced into
3700-411: The 1830s. Survey First introduced in 1833, covered Technical Surveying and Military Topography. This led to officers and soldiers conducting surveys (e.g. India 1820–1947, Palestine 1865–83, and Uganda railway 1890s) and boundary commissions throughout the world (e.g. North American 1843 and 1858, Russo-Afghan 1884, Gambia 1890, Kenya 1892 and Chile-Argentine 1902). Electricity First introduced in
3800-668: The 1870s; this gave rise to the interest in railways, which led to the formation of the Royal Engineers Transport Section responsible for railways, waterways and ports. Francis Fowke (7 July 1823 – 4 December 1865) was a British Engineer , Architect and a captain in the Royal Engineers , who was educated at the School of Military Engineering. Among his projects were the Prince Consort's Library in Aldershot ,
3900-679: The 1991 Gulf War , the 1999 Kosovo War , the 2001 War in Afghanistan , the 2003 invasion and war in Iraq , the 2011 intervention in Libya and from 2014 onwards has been involved in the war against the Islamic State . The RAF began conducting Remotely-piloted Air System (RPAS) operations in 2004, with No. 1115 Flight carrying out missions in Afghanistan and Iraq with the General Atomics MQ-1 Predator . Initially embedded with
4000-495: The 48 weeks of officer training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Royal Engineer Officers proceed to Command Wing at the RSME, where they complete a 6-month-long Troop Commanders' Course. The course, which is split between the Minley and Chatham sites, aims to provide the Corps of Royal Engineers with trained and motivated commanders and leaders through operationally focused command and leadership training. With particular emphasis on engineering principles, doctrine and tactics,
4100-443: The Battle of Britain contributed significantly to the delay and subsequent indefinite postponement of Operation Sea Lion , Hitler's plans for an invasion of the UK. In the House of Commons on 20 August, prompted by the ongoing efforts of the RAF, Prime Minister Winston Churchill made a speech to the nation, where he said " Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few" . The largest RAF effort during
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4200-504: The Berlin Blockade take place. As part of Operation Pitting , the RAF helped evacuate over 15,000 people in two weeks. Between April and May 2023, the RAF helped evacuate over 2,300 people from Sudan due to the 2023 Sudan conflict as part of Operation Polarbear . In April 2024, Typhoon FGR4s operating from RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus, engaged and destroyed Iranian drones over Iraqi and Syrian airspace during Iran's strikes against Israel . The professional head and highest-ranking officer of
4300-409: The Establishment. Public demonstrations of siege operations took place at Chatham from 1833. In 1869 the title of the Royal Engineers Establishment was changed to "The School of Military Engineering" (SME) as evidence of its status, not only as the font of engineer doctrine and training for the British Army , but also as the leading scientific military school in Europe. At the start of World War I
4400-454: The Government's foreign policy objectives particularly in promoting international peace and security". The RAF describes its mission statement as "... [to provide] an agile, adaptable and capable Air Force that, person for person, is second to none, and that makes a decisive air power contribution in support of the UK Defence Mission". The mission statement is supported by the RAF's definition of air power , which guides its strategy. Air power
4500-507: The Houses of Parliament, Conservative MP and Minister of State for the Armed Forces , Andrew Robathan , announced that the RAF's QRA force had been scrambled almost thirty times in the last three years: eleven times during 2010, ten times during 2011 and eight times during 2012. RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire and RAF Lossiemouth in Moray both provide QRA aircraft, and scramble their Typhoons within minutes to meet or intercept aircraft which give cause for concern. Lossiemouth generally covers
4600-462: The Institute building, was laid by the Duke of Cambridge on 22 May 1872. It was designed by Sir Frederick Ommanney in the Italianate style and was completed in 1874. The memorial to Major-General Charles Gordon was completed in 1890, while the South Africa Arch, a memorial designed by Ingress Bell to commemorate the Corps' dead and wounded of the Second Boer War was unveiled by King Edward VII on 26 July 1905. The Ravelin Building, which
4700-442: The Lodge Hill site was put up for sale in 2016. DEMS Training Regiment delivers a number of courses to students from the Royal Navy , British Army, Royal Air Force , civilian bodies in government and to international partners. Four training squadrons deliver courses with munitions, search and conventional munitions or Explosive Ordnance Disposal at DEMSS South and Improvised Explosive Device Disposal at DEMSS North. Regimental HQ
4800-508: The RAF is delegated by the Air Force Board to Headquarters Air Command , based at RAF High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire . Air Command was formed on 1 April 2007 by combining RAF Strike Command and RAF Personnel and Training Command , resulting in a single command covering the whole RAF, led by the Chief of the Air Staff. Through its subordinate groups , Air Command oversees the whole spectrum of RAF aircraft and operations. United Kingdom Space Command (UKSC), established 1 April 2021 under
4900-408: The RAF operated alongside the Fleet Air Arm . During the war, RAF aircraft were deployed in the mid-Atlantic at RAF Ascension Island and a detachment from No. 1 Squadron was deployed with the Royal Navy, operating from the aircraft carrier HMS Hermes . RAF pilots also flew missions using the Royal Navy's Sea Harriers in the air-to-air combat role, in particular Flight Lieutenant Dave Morgan
5000-546: The RAF's intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR) capabilities. It oversees stations at RAF Coningsby and RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire, RAF Lossiemouth in Moray and RAF Marham in Norfolk. The group's Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 aircraft protect UK and NATO airspace by providing a continuous Quick Reaction Alert capability. No. 2 Group controls the Air Mobility Force which provides strategic and tactical airlift , air-to-air refuelling and command support air transport (CSAT). The group
5100-427: The RAF's rotary-wing aircraft form part of the tri-service Joint Aviation Command in support of ground forces. Most of the RAF's aircraft and personnel are based in the UK, with many others serving on global operations (principally over Iraq and Syria ) or at long-established overseas bases ( Ascension Island , Cyprus , Gibraltar , and the Falkland Islands ). Although the RAF is the principal British air power arm,
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#17328513422035200-405: The RSME Group. The Royal Corps of Army Music moved to Minley as part of the RSME Group in 2021. On 24 July 2024 an officer in uniform was attacked by a solo knifeman outside the Brompton Barracks. It was reported in Medway Magistrates’ Court documents the next day that Lieutenant Colonel Mark Teeton was the victim of an attack by Anthony Esan. On 26 July a Nigerian news outlet claimed Esan
5300-401: The Royal Air Force is the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS). He reports to the Chief of the Defence Staff , who is the professional head of the British Armed Forces . The incumbent Chief of the Air Staff is Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton who was appointed in 2023. The management of the RAF is the responsibility of the Air Force Board , a sub-committee of the Defence Council which
5400-413: The Royal Engineer battalions based at Chatham were deployed to defend the local area. Immediately recruits started to arrive - in the first six weeks of the war 15,000 men arrived. A hundred recruits per day had been expected to arrive but they arrived at a rate of two hundred rising to a peak of nine hundred per day. The Depot coped so well with this influx that on 3 October 1914, the King and Queen paid
5500-467: The Royal School of Military Engineering (RSME). Records show that there has been a military base on the high ground above Chatham since at least 1708, built to defend Chatham Dockyard . Brompton Barracks forms the centrepiece of the Brompton Lines Conservation Area, an area designated in 1982 acknowledging the importance of the Chatham Dockyard as having particularly well-preserved dockyard defences. The Brompton Lines were built in 1755–1757, during
5600-478: The Second World War. Under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan of December 1939, the air forces of British Commonwealth countries trained and formed " Article XV squadrons " for service with RAF formations. Many individual personnel from these countries, and exiles from occupied Europe , also served with RAF squadrons. By the end of the war the Royal Canadian Air Force had contributed more than 30 squadrons to serve in RAF formations, similarly, approximately
5700-434: The Seven Years' War, to protect Chatham Dockyard from the landward side. The Lines were improved in the 1780s, during the American War of Independence, when a further French threat was recognised. This work included the defensive ditches with brick retaining walls that still survive today. The defences were extended to the north-east from 1803–1809, with the construction of the Lower Lines. The lines extend from Fort Amherst in
5800-423: The Suez Crisis, when an English Electric Canberra PR7 was shot down over Syria . In 1957, the RAF participated heavily during the Jebel Akhdar War in Oman, operating both de Havilland Venom and Avro Shackleton aircraft. The RAF made 1,635 raids, dropping 1,094 tons and firing 900 rockets at the interior of Oman between July and December 1958, targeting insurgents, mountain top villages and water channels in
5900-484: The Training Establishment, Royal Army Ordnance Corps was established in 1922 at Bramley Central Ammunition Depot , a site established during the First World War to manufacture and store ammunition. Known for a time as 'B wing', it was placed under direct specialist control in 1950 and renamed the Army School of Ammunition. A Base Ammunition Depot was built at Temple Herdewyke , near Kineton , in 1942. The Army School of Ammunition moved from Bramley to Kineton in 1974, as
6000-520: The Treasury could not afford the cost of providing new quarters and SME returned to Chatham. The move back was completed in March 1950. The close relationship the SME had with the civilian population led to the Corps being granted the Freedom of Ripon before the departure of the SME in July 1949. The SME was also involved in the parades granting the Freedom of Gillingham in September 1953 and of Rochester in May 1954. In 1950 trade training courses were six months long, and these were put to good use around
6100-421: The United States and works in close cooperation with the U.S. Air Force in the development of the Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning . No. 80 Squadron is part of the Australia, Canada and United Kingdom Reprogramming Laboratory (ACURL) at Eglin Air Force Base , Florida, and is tasked with compiling and testing the Mission Data File Sets (MDFS) for the F-35. No. 84 Squadron is located at RAF Akrotiri, operating
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#17328513422036200-578: The Vale of Glamorgan, RAF St Mawgan in Cornwall and RAF Valley on Anglesey. The No. 22 Group also manages the Royal Air Force Air Cadets . An RAF station is ordinarily subordinate to a group and is commanded by a group captain . Each station typically hosts several flying and non-flying squadrons or units which are supported by administrative and support wings. Front-line flying operations are focused at eight stations: Flying training takes places at RAF Barkston Heath , RAF College Cranwell , RAF Shawbury and RAF Valley , each forming part of
6300-439: The air force's V bomber fleet. These were initially armed with nuclear gravity bombs , later being equipped with the Blue Steel missile . Following the development of the Royal Navy's Polaris submarines , the strategic nuclear deterrent passed to the navy's submarines on 30 June 1969. With the introduction of Polaris, the RAF's strategic nuclear role was reduced to a tactical one, using WE.177 gravity bombs. This tactical role
6400-494: The arrival of jet fighters and bombers. During the early stages of the Cold War, one of the first major operations undertaken by the RAF was the Berlin Airlift , codenamed Operation Plainfire. Between 26 June 1948 and the lifting of the Russian blockade of the city on 12 May 1949, the RAF provided 17% of the total supplies delivered, using Avro Yorks , Douglas Dakotas flying to Gatow Airport and Short Sunderlands flying to Lake Havel. The RAF saw its first post-war engagements in
6500-415: The barracks. By 1953 they had built Burgoyne House for the Mess Secretary and Napier House for the Institution Secretary. In 1962 the School of Military Engineering celebrated its 150th birthday, and as a birthday present The Queen bestowed the Royal title on the School, becoming The Royal School of Military Engineering (RSME). This was announced by The Duke of Edinburgh when he visited Chatham to lay
6600-414: The command of Air Vice-Marshal Paul Godfrey is a joint command, but sits "under the Royal Air Force." Godfrey is of equal rank to the commanders of 1, 2, 11, and 22 Groups. The new command has "responsibility for not just operations, but also generating, training and growing the force, and also owning the money and putting all the programmatic rigour into delivering new ..capabilities." UKSC headquarters
6700-491: The curriculum in the 1850s. It was invented in 1798 as a method of printing using stones. Diving and Submarine mining This subject was of a personal interest to Pasley , who introduced it in 1838. To trained divers in coast defence, underwater demolition and guided torpedoes. Estimating and Building Construction First introduced in the 1830s and included: building materials, sewerage, drainage, ventilation, gas and water supply, building design and architecture. Architecture
6800-463: The decline of the British Empire, global operations were scaled back, and RAF Far East Air Force was disbanded on 31 October 1971. Despite this, the RAF fought in many battles in the Cold War period. In June 1948, the RAF commenced Operation Firedog against Malayan pro-independence fighters during the Malayan Emergency . Operations continued for the next 12 years until 1960 with aircraft flying out of RAF Tengah and RAF Butterworth . The RAF played
6900-416: The dockyard. Approximately 100 bombs, and one Spitfire, fell on the SME damaging buildings including the Commandant's residence. One caused heavy casualties when it burst in the basement of a barrack block. Staff and students were also required to direct the building of defences in the dockyard and the surrounding area. It was difficult to continue training under these circumstances so it was decided to look for
7000-432: The end of which Sappers will be posted their first Regiment. For some this will include further training as a paratrooper, commando or EOD specialist. All successful graduates of their Phase 2b courses are awarded a Military Engineer Class 2 qualification for their particular trade. At some stage during their careers, most Sappers will return to Chatham to continue their professional development. This phase of their training
7100-569: The first hint of something abnormal, a controller has the option to put them on a higher level of alert, 'a call to cockpit'. In this scenario the pilot races to the hardened aircraft shelter and does everything short of starting his engines". On 4 October 2015, a final stand-down saw the end of more than 70 years of RAF Search and Rescue provision in the UK. The RAF and Royal Navy's Westland Sea King fleets, after over 30 years of service, were retired. A civilian contractor, Bristow Helicopters , took over responsibility for UK Search and Rescue, under
7200-536: The former site became too small for the munitions natures being developed at the time. The Royal School of Military Engineering was based in Chatham, Kent , but during the Second World War was split into two training Battalions, one of which was located at Harper Barracks (later Claro Barracks) , Ripon, North Yorkshire. This site was identified as a home for the School of Bomb Disposal, formed in 1941, and reflecting
7300-664: The foundation stone for a new barracks for the RSME at Chattenden Camp , to house Fieldworks, Signal and Tactics Schools and to provide accommodation for Plant, Roads and Airfields School. In 2006 the Defence Animal Centre came under the command of the RSME Group. Since then the Defence Explosive Ordnance Disposal, Munitions and Search Training Regiment , and the Defence Counter Chemical Biological Radiological and Nuclear Centre have all joined
7400-451: The great bulk of the RAF's bombing campaign, mainly due to Harris, but it also developed precision bombing techniques for specific operations, such as the infamous "Dambusters" raid by No. 617 Squadron , or the Amiens prison raid known as Operation Jericho . Following victory in the Second World War, the RAF underwent significant re-organisation, as technological advances in air warfare saw
7500-704: The highest scoring pilot of the war. Following a British victory, the RAF remained in the South Atlantic to provide air defence to the Falkland Islands, with the McDonnell Douglas Phantom FGR2 based at RAF Mount Pleasant which was built in 1984. With the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union, the RAF's focus returned to expeditionary air power . Since 1990, the RAF has been involved in several large-scale operations, including
7600-571: The junior officers of the Corps of Royal Engineers and the Corps of Royal Military Artificers, Sappers and Miners. Captain Charles Pasley who had been pressing for such an establishment since 1809 was selected as the first Director with the rank of major and was sent to Woolwich . In 1815 Pasley recommended that the Royal Sappers and Miners Training Depot at Woolwich be closed, to concentrate all training at Chatham which was, at that time,
7700-754: The latest 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review, the BAE Systems Nimrod MRA4 maritime patrol aircraft was cancelled due to over spending and missing deadlines. Other reductions saw total manpower reduced by 5,000 personnel to a trained strength of 33,000 and the early retirement of the Joint Force Harrier aircraft, the BAE Harrier GR7/GR9 . In recent years, fighter aircraft on Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) have been increasingly required to scramble in response to Russian Air Force aircraft approaching British airspace. On 24 January 2014, in
7800-539: The nomination of the Royal Engineers as being responsible for the discipline. The Joint Service Bomb Disposal School at Broadbridge Heath in West Sussex closed in 1966 and training moved to Lodge Hill, Chattenden, Kent. The Royal School of Military Engineering took over the former Royal Naval Armaments Depots at Chattenden and Lodge Hill Military Camps in 1961. Both these adjacent sites became training areas for
7900-431: The northern sector of UK airspace, while Coningsby covers the southern sector. Typhoon pilot Flight Lieutenant Noel Rees describes how QRA duty works. "At the start of the scaled QRA response, civilian air traffic controllers might see on their screens an aircraft behaving erratically, not responding to their radio calls, or note that it's transmitting a distress signal through its transponder. Rather than scramble Typhoons at
8000-473: The occasion on 10 July 2018 with a flypast over London consisting of 103 aircraft. Between March 2020 and 2022, the RAF assisted with the response efforts to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom as part of Operation Rescript . This saw the service provide repatriation flights and aeromedical evacuations of COVID-19 patients, drivers and call-handlers to support ambulance services and medics to assist with
8100-487: The physical defence and maintenance of sovereignty of the British Overseas Territories and enable the UK to conduct expeditionary military operations . Although command and oversight of the bases is provided by Strategic Command , the airfield elements are known as RAF stations. Four RAF squadrons are based overseas. No. 17 Test and Evaluation Squadron is based at Edwards Air Force Base , California, in
8200-610: The relocated Joint Service Bomb Disposal School (renamed the Defence Explosive Ordnance Disposal School), which opened its new premises in Lodge Hill Camp in 1966. It shared its site and facilities with the National Search Centre, a joint Ministry of Defence/Home Office facility which provided specialist search and counter-terrorism training for the police and civil agencies. The combined Defence Explosive Ordnance Disposal, Munitions and Search School (DEMSS)
8300-419: The same aircraft type. Some schools operate with only one squadron, and have an overall training throughput which is relatively small; some, like No. 3 Flying Training School , have responsibility for all Elementary Flying Training (EFT) in the RAF, and all RAF aircrew will pass through its squadrons when they start their flying careers. No. 2 Flying Training School and No. 6 Flying Training School do not have
8400-626: The schools coming together to form the Regiment have a history that encompasses a number of sites in the UK, with ammunition management having been the preserve of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps (later amalgamated into the Royal Logistic Corps ) and Bomb Disposal having been the responsibility of the Royal Engineers since the Second World War. The education and training to support this requirement has been delivered from: An element of
8500-558: The soldiers often while under enemy fire. Several officers were lost and could not be replaced and a better system of training for siege operations was required. The need for a school was highlighted by problems experienced during Wellington 's Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo In January 1812 and the Siege of Badajoz in March 1812. On 23 April 1812 an establishment was authorised, by Royal Warrant, to teach "Sapping, Mining, and other Military Fieldwork's" to
8600-415: The soldiers. If the men could not read or write they were taught to do so and those that could read and write were taught to draw and interpret simple plans. The Royal Engineers Establishment quickly became the centre of excellence for all fieldworks and bridging. Pasley was keen to confirm his teaching and regular exercises were held as demonstrations or as experiments to improve the techniques and teaching of
8700-539: The south to Purser Way in the north. The lines are a scheduled monument. The blocks flanking the Parade Square were designed by James Wyatt and completed in 1806. They comprised Brompton Barracks North, Brompton Barracks South, and Brompton Barracks West. The Crimean War Memorial Arch was designed by Sir Matthew Digby Wyatt and completed in 1856. The foundation stone for the Headquarters building, also known as
8800-471: The staffing of hospitals, testing units and vaccination centres. Under Operation Broadshare , the RAF has also been involved with COVID-19 relief operations overseas, repatriating stranded nationals and delivering medical supplies and vaccines to British Overseas Territories and military installations. The UK's 20-year long operations in Afghanistan came to an end in August 2021, seeing the largest airlift since
8900-407: The training and knowledge of officers and men in the conduct of siege operations and bridging. During this war low ranking Royal Engineers officers carried out large scale operations. They had under their command working parties of two or three battalions of infantry, two or three thousand men, who knew nothing in the art of siegeworks. Royal Engineers officers had to demonstrate the simplest tasks to
9000-529: The training provides the necessary technical, supervisory and administrative knowledge to command engineer soldiers in peace and on operations. On passing the Troop Commanders' Course, officers are posted to their unit, where they will become a Troop Commander. The Professional Engineering Wing delivers advanced technical training to foundation degree standard for selected Junior NCOs and post-graduate learning for officers with engineering degrees to be awarded
9100-555: The war was the strategic bombing campaign against Germany by Bomber Command. While RAF bombing of Germany began almost immediately upon the outbreak of war at first it was ineffectual; it was only later, particularly under the leadership of Air Chief Marshal Harris , that these attacks became increasingly devastating, from early 1943 onward, as new technology and greater numbers of superior aircraft became available. The RAF adopted night-time area bombing on German cities such as Hamburg and Dresden . Night time area bombing constituted
9200-412: Was a 24 year old Nigerian, and said he had been charged with attempted murder. Esan's uncle was interviewed and said his nephew had traveled to the UK "to seek better opportunities". Some of the original subjects taught and innovations included: Field fortification This was the original course of instruction and covered: field defence, siege works, bridging, demolition. Railway work was introduced in
9300-637: Was also a seven-year build programme undertaken by Carillion . The design, build and transition phase involved three sites and included 32 new builds, 21 refurbishments and the development of five training areas. The contract also provides limited hard FM services and IT support at Bicester. The core training capabilities delivered at the RSME (Chatham and Minley) are varied, and include: Combat and management of engineer tasks, Combat Engineering, Artisan, Technical and professional Engineering, Communication, Watermanship, and Driving specialist engineer vehicles. Lieutenant-General (as he then was) Sir John Fox Burgoyne
9400-539: Was appointed the Colonel Commandant of the Royal Engineers on 22 November 1854. General Sir Robert Napier, 1st Baron Napier of Magdala was appointed in 1874 colonel-commandant of the Royal Engineers. Commandants of the RSME have included: Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force ( RAF ) is the air and space force of the United Kingdom , British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies . It
9500-641: Was continued by the V bombers into the 1980s and until 1998 by the Panavia Tornado GR1 . For much of the Cold War the primary role of the RAF was the defence of Western Europe against potential attack by the Soviet Union , with many squadrons based in West Germany . The main RAF bases in RAF(G) were RAF Brüggen , RAF Gutersloh , RAF Laarbruch and RAF Wildenrath – the only air defence base in RAF(G). With
9600-671: Was designed by Major E.C.S. Moore, Royal Engineers and now forms the Corps Museum was also completed in 1905. The RSME Group consists of a headquarters at Chatham, Kent and the following units: Sappers are firstly trained as a soldier and then as a combat engineer. Many Royal Engineering trades require minimal qualifications on entry. Most trades require people to possess good practical abilities, mechanical aptitude and appetites for continuous learning. On completion of Phase 1 training, all Royal Engineers proceed to RSME Minley to complete their Phase 2a training in which they will qualify as
9700-560: Was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). Following the Allied victory over the Central Powers in 1918, the RAF emerged as the largest air force in the world at the time. Since its formation, the RAF has played a significant role in British military history . In particular, during
9800-519: Was introduced in 1825. Ballooning First introduced in the 1860s as a means of aerial reconnaissance. After the Anglo-Boer war (1899–1902) developments shifted from air balloons to fixed-wing aircraft, which eventually led to the formation of the Royal Flying Corps in 1912 and the Royal Air Force in 1918. Mechanics Brought about with the adaptation of the steam engine for military purposes in
9900-595: Was made possible by the completion of North Kent Railway, which facilitated a fast transport link into London. The Headquarters of the Royal Engineers, also based in Woolwich, was not moved to Chatham until 1856. The first courses at the Royal Engineers Establishment were done on an all ranks basis with the greatest regard to economy. To reduce staff the NCOs and officers were responsible for instructing and examining
10000-458: Was set up in 2009, bringing activity at Kineton (which became DEMSS (North)) and Lodge Hill (DEMSS (South)) together under the same command. At the time, DEMSS (North) focused on munitions management training and Improvised Explosive Device Disposal (IEDD) training, whilst DEMSS (South) focused on Conventional Munitions Disposal training, search training and Biological and Chemical Munitions Disposal training. DEMSS (South) moved to Bicester in 2013;
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