I've probably been to RAF Coningsby on official GAR business more than any other station over the past 20 months or so. BBMF, 29(R) Squadron, Typhoon display, 41(F) Squadron, we've visited them all more than once and it will always be a location that I personally associate with some of our most memorable moments.
An almost deserted line of Eurofighter Typhoons in Lincolnshire's finest fog, the BBMF's hangar with its priceless occupants awaiting the start of the display season, Sqn Ldr Ian Smith's stunning Spitfire display for a group of 41 Squadron veterans, the privilege of standing almost within touching distance of the Lancaster as it prepared to depart for Jersey last year, or simply taking in the sights and sounds of one of the Royal Air Force's busiest bases. Great memories one and all.
I know how much the place means to others on the GAR team as well. For Glenn Beasley, Coningsby is pretty much his local in a military sense and some of the images he has captured there from days outside the fence are themselves truly memorable. I know Karl will probably always think of Coningsby as 6 Squadron and the Jaguar's final home. Indeed, many of the people he met at that time have, one way or another, either stayed at Coningsby or found their way back to Coningsby; familiar faces at a familiar location.
The station began operational flying on the night of 1st March 1941. At fourteen minutes past eight in the evening, Handley Page Hampdens of 106 Squadron began taking off on a mission to Cologne in Germany. Five aircraft flew in the operation, all of which returned safely. Hampdens were the first aircraft to be based on the station, followed by Avro Manchesters, and then Avro Lancasters.
Famous personalities were based on the station during World War Two and among them were Wing Commander Guy Gibson (in 1942 as Officer Commanding 106 Squadron flying Manchesters) and Wing Commander Leonard Cheshire, OC of 617 Squadron, “The Dambusters” in late 1943. Four other squadrons flew from the airfield during this period which, like many others, was a busy one for RAF Coningsby.
In the 1950s the station was first equipped with the Washington, the British version of the American B-29 bomber, then the Canberra and then, until the mid-1960s, was a bomber station. As such, squadrons equipped with the Avro Vulcan were based at Coningsby as part of the “V” Force, the UK's nuclear detterent.
The station then became a fighter base with the advent of the Phantom, followed by the Tornado F.2 and, shortly after, the F.3, and now the Eurofighter Typhoon. The primary role of Typhoon at RAF Coningsby is Quick Reaction Alert with aircraft sitting at readiness, 24/7, 365 days a year to guard against any potential aerial threat to the UK.
But alongside the jets of the most modern aircraft in RAF service, propeller engines can regularly still be heard at Coningsby as, since 1976, the world famous RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight has been based at the station. Seventy years on and RAF Coningsby is still going strong.
There can be few locations that provide such a wonderfully contrasting aviation experience. A day at Coningsby can, in theory at least, provide sightings of aircraft as diverse as Typhoon (29(R) Squadron, XI(F) Squadron, 3(F) Squadron and 17(R) Squadron), Tornado GR.4 (41(R) Squadron), Spitfire, Hurricane, Lancaster, Dakota and Chipmunk (all BBMF).
The station also plays host to regular visitors and has, in fairly recent times, seen the likes of Rafales, F-15 Eagles, Spanish, German and Italian EF2000s (Typhoons to you and I) and many others gracing the skies over the iconic base.
But at the heart of RAF Coningsby is of course QRA and lest we forget the hugely important role it plays as part of an air defence network that protects us day in and day out.
So, it's a happy 70th to RAF Coningbsy and we look forward to the next chapters in an illustrious history.
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