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How many RAF stations have swimming pools?

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How many RAF stations have swimming pools?

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Old 1st Nov 2022, 18:04
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BV,
And I promise not to flood the forum with stories of how ‘it was so much better in my day’!
BV, your too young to say that. You have to at least be a "Cold War Warrior" to make such inflammatory comments!
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Old 1st Nov 2022, 18:08
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Dominator

Haha. Got it. Although as a former Jaguar pilot surely I’m almost an honorary Cold War Warrior?

BV
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Old 1st Nov 2022, 18:14
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W

Originally Posted by Roland Pulfrew
Brize did have one, assume that is it still has (it's even marked on Google Maps), so maybe one of the few stations pertinent to OPs question.
Well b*gger me, all those years I was there and I never knew, if I had I would have been a frequent user.
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Old 1st Nov 2022, 18:17
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Originally Posted by Roland Pulfrew
Brize did have one, assume that is it still has (it's even marked on Google Maps), so maybe one of the few stations pertinent to OPs question.
Can things on the internet lie? It's on Google Earth too.


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Old 1st Nov 2022, 20:33
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Originally Posted by downsizer
Wittering hasn't had a pool since at least 1994.

Cranwell and Cosford do.
Wittering pool was an open air one on the sports field near to the staish's house. When it was filled in there was a bit of trouble as it had been provided by the Malcolm Clubs I believe.



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Old 1st Nov 2022, 20:37
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Sorry with my facetious hat on, I am unclear what aviation link the original Q has. To get back to present tense though Honington, as the Home of RAF FP, has a superb indoor pool but its opening hours are a little narrow. Much better than the grotty pool it had in the 80s when the roof let more water in over the winter than the small pool could actually hold
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Old 1st Nov 2022, 22:16
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I was at Wyton 1970-75, no swimming pool there.
If there was one it was in officers only country!
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Old 1st Nov 2022, 22:51
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Originally Posted by viz
No you didn't.. completely false as usual.

what?
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Old 1st Nov 2022, 23:32
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Originally Posted by Compass Call
I was at Wyton 1970-75, no swimming pool there.
If there was one it was in officers only country!
There was a well established pool at RAF Wyton in 1976, -turn right (or left if coming from camp) at the guardroom ,across the green from the officers' mess right next to the main road. I swam my RAF swim proficiency ther in Aug 1976. It was still there in 1991-1995.
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Old 2nd Nov 2022, 00:42
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Originally Posted by MENELAUS
Whilst the divers gently punch you in the abdomen if they think that you’re not breathing out on the way up.
Actually once you got over the panic of being flooded whilst trapped in the chamber the escape trainer was quite good fun. The dunker ( initially at Vernon then VL) less so. !!!
No idea why the submarine service stopped it. Seemed like vital training to me.
I think my head still aches from going through the dunker drills there back in 1975.
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Old 2nd Nov 2022, 07:15
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Originally Posted by Teamchief
Wittering pool was an open air one on the sports field near to the staish's house. When it was filled in there was a bit of trouble as it had been provided by the Malcolm Clubs I believe.

yep, all on its own next to the running track. Perfect for skinny dipping late at night in the summer, happy days in the early 70s. ( Comcen girls where are you 😉 )
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Old 2nd Nov 2022, 12:57
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RNZAF Ohakea had one: happy days skinny dipping there in '73!
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Old 2nd Nov 2022, 13:00
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Originally Posted by Avionker
Kinloss had a pool?

Please tell me that was pre ‘92 because I don’t remember one at all.

If it was there between ‘92 and ‘99 then I obviously spent even more time in the Abbey than I thought.
It was still in use by the RAF in 2004/5 when I was there and the building is still standing, although not sure what the Army have done to it now!

Last edited by ej200man; 2nd Nov 2022 at 13:23.
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Old 2nd Nov 2022, 16:03
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Can't see any mention of Lyneham's pool, if memory serves it was near the airmen mess & bowling alley it had a reasonable height diving board too. Scared myself witless having decided to try the high board - only did that once!!
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Old 2nd Nov 2022, 17:27
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Originally Posted by NutLoose
Surprised Brize never had one, though it did have a bowling alley, but you had to be a Civi to get a lane
The pool at BZN was near the Spotlight Club and the then singly accommodation.
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Old 2nd Nov 2022, 17:43
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Originally Posted by brakedwell
More pertinent, how many RAF Stations are there now. Not many I am afraid.
Maybe we should work out how many pools still have an RAF station 😊

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Old 2nd Nov 2022, 17:49
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Littlewoods and Vernons had good pools!
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Old 3rd Nov 2022, 09:39
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Originally Posted by Teamchief
Wittering pool was an open air one on the sports field near to the staish's house. When it was filled in there was a bit of trouble as it had been provided by the Malcolm Clubs I believe.
It was there near the cadet's MQs when I did summer camp in '87; where did it go?
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Old 3rd Nov 2022, 17:54
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Originally Posted by chevvron
I believe Halton's pool is still operating but probably for not much longer; Witterings is probably still open too.
I'm afraid the Old Workshops that housed the Halton pool were declared unsafe around 2016ish. It has been shut ever since. Technically it does still have a pool but you can't use it...
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Old 4th Nov 2022, 00:19
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In the summer of ’67, just a few minutes after leaping into the deep end of RAF Khormaksar’s very nice outdoor pool near the Shackleton pan, the peace was shattered by a terrorist bomb exploding on an empty Aden Airways Vickers Viscount airliner parked further down the pans. An unexpected, shocking and unpleasant event although most of us bathers had become accustomed throughout that year to the many unfriendly actions of the local Arab NLF and FLOSY brigades. As far as I remember, no one in the pool was injured but the poor old Viscount was a total wreck.

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