RAF Cosford

Royal Air Force Station Cosford or RAF Cosford (formerly DCAE Cosford) is a Royal Air Force station in Cosford, Shropshire, just to the northwest of Wolverhampton and next to Albrighton.

History
RAF Cosford opened in 1938 as a joint aircraft maintenance, storage and technical training unit. It has remained mainly a training unit to this day. The Fulton Mess barrack block was constructed just before WW2 as the largest single building barrack block in the UK. It is now used for technical training.

A substantial PMRAFNS hospital was established at RAF Cosford, the most westerly such RAF hospital in the UK. Constructed of wooden spurred hutting the hospital closed on 31 December 1977 and was demolished in 1980. For the three summers between 1978 and 1980 the empty hospital formed the venue for annual training camps for the Royal Observer Corps, with wards and theatres converted into barrack accommodation and training rooms.

The extensive sports facilities at Cosford, based around a banked indoor running track, became well known nationally through televised annual indoor championships that featured top athletes from all over the world.

Cosford today
Schools currently stationed there include: No. 1 School of Technical Training, No 1 Radio School, the Defence School of Photography and the RAF School of Physical Training. Flying units include the University of Birmingham Air Squadron, No 8 Air Experience Flight and No 633 Volunteer Gliding Squadron. The Wales and West regional headquarters and West Mercian Wing headquarters of the Air Training Corps are based there, along with 2497 (Cosford) Squadron of the ATC.

Cosford became part of the Defence College of Aeronautical Engineering (DCAE), which was formed on 1 April 2004. Other units located at Cosford include elements of the Defence College of Communications and Information Systems (DCCIS), the Defence School of Photography (DSOP) and the RAF School of Physical Training.

In early 2009 there was a strong chance that the DCAE would relocate to RAF St Athan and therefore a decision was given to rename the base RAF Cosford.

Operational units

 * Defence College of Aeronautical Engineering Cosford
 * HQ DCAE
 * Aerosystems Training Wing
 * Military Training Wing
 * Lodger Units
 * No 1 Radio School (Part of the Defence College of Communication and Information Systems (DCCIS).
 * Defence School of Photography (Part of the Defence Intelligence and Security Centre (DISC)).
 * RAF School of Physical Training.
 * HQ Wales and Western Region Air Training Corps.
 * Headquarters West Mercia West Wing Air Training Corps.
 * The RAF Museum Cosford.
 * University of Birmingham Air Squadron
 * No 8 Air Experience Flight (Operating the Grob 115 Tutor)
 * No 633 Volunteer Gliding Squadron (Operating the Grob 109B Vigilant T.Mk.1 motor-glider)
 * 2497 Squadron (Air Training Corps)
 * Wrekin Gliding Club
 * Royal Air Force Cosford Flying Club



Aerospace museum
There is also the Aerospace Museum at the site, which is a branch of the Royal Air Force Museum. Amongst the large collection of military aircraft is a unique collection of research and development aircraft, including one of two existing examples of the TSR2, a multi-role combat aircraft, controversially scrapped by the Wilson Government and still a point of discussion within the RAF. There are also collections of missiles and airliners.

The Cold War Exhibition opened on 7 February 2007 by former prime minister Baroness Margaret Thatcher and HRH Princess Anne. Exhibits include the only collection of three V bombers (Valiant, Victor and Vulcan) in the same place in the world.

Plans
Following the UK Government's 2001 Defence Training Review (DTR), the Ministry of Defence proposed handing over armed forces skills training to a private sector bidder for a 25-year term, and it was announced on 17 January 2007 that the Metrix consortium had been awarded Preferred Bidder status for Package 1 of this programme. As a consequence, it is anticipated that all technical training will move from Cosford to Metrix's main campus to be built on the RAF St Athan site over a 5-year period from 2008. This in turn has been deferred with no anticipated move from Cosford to St Athan for DCAE and No1 RS staff and trainees before 2014-15 at the earliest. For those other training schools, headquarters and units at present at Cosford, decisions have yet to be made about their future location.

On 31 January 2008, the Government announced that when 1 Signal Brigade and 102 Logistics Brigade withdraw from Germany they will move to Cosford. It was also noted that Metrix propose to establish a Learning Centre and Design facility at the Cosford site.

In Popular Culture
RAF Cosford was the location for James May's Toy Stories, where the BBC's Top Gear presenter constructed a 1:1 scale Supermarine Spitfire completely out of Airfix with the help of students from the Thomas Telford school and Air Cadets from the ATC.

RAF Cosford also holds a popular airshow every year in June, with aircraft enthusiasts from all over the country coming to witness aircraft such as the Boeing CH-47 Chinook, Panavia Tornado, Hawker Hurricane, Red Arrows and many other military aircraft. Alongside the airshow, is a fun fair, craft fair, military vehicle gatherings and sometimes open cockpit visits.