MoD Boscombe Down

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MoD Boscombe Down
Pasture beside RAF Boscombe Down - geograph.org.uk - 513124.jpg
Characteristics
ICAO code EGDM
Coordinates

51 ° 9 '8 "  N , 1 ° 44' 51"  W Coordinates: 51 ° 9 '8 "  N , 1 ° 44' 51"  W
Height above MSL 124 m (407  ft )
Transport links
Distance from the city center 1 km southeast of Amesbury
Street 1.5 km to the A303
Basic data
opening 1930
operator Qinetiq
Runways
05/23 3212 m × 46 m asphalt / concrete
17/35 1914 m × 46 m asphalt / concrete

i1 i3 i5

i7 i10 i12 i14

MoD Boscombe Down is a joint forces across establishment of the British Defense Ministry , English Ministry of Defense (MoD) in Amesbury in southern England Wiltshire . The military airfield serves as a flight test and test pilot center.

history

Today's MoD Boscombe Down base was established in 1930 as Royal Air Force Station Boscombe Down , or RAF Boscombe Down for short , and housed various RAF bomber squadrons until shortly before the start of World War II .

Boscombe Down has been the British flight test center since August 1939, when the then Airplane and Armament Experimental Establishment (A & AEE) was relocated from RAF Martlesham Heath to Boscombe Down. Between 1940 and 1942 there were initially a few squadrons next to it before today's Empire Test Pilot School was set up here in 1943 , which is still based here, with an interruption from October 1945 to January 1968.

Before today's Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford went from its original biennial rhythm to an annual event, there was a similar large air show at Boscombe Down in the previous even years. The last of three major flight days in these years was the Air Tournament International in 1992 .

Between 1992 and 2001 there were various reorganizations of the British flight test system. Since then, the airfield has been subordinate to the British Ministry of Defense as a facility for all three branches of the armed forces and is operated by the private company QinetiQ .

Todays use

Parts of the Air Warfare Center are stationed here, including the 744th Naval Air Squadron for the evaluation of helicopters, not only for the Royal Navy but also for the Royal Air Force , and the Empire Test Pilots School . Above this are school associations of the 22nd Group and non-flying support units of the 38th Group .

Web links

Commons : RAF Boscombe Down  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Naval squadron re-forms after 60 years to test cutting-edge weaponry, Royal Navy News, November 14, 2018