Jackonicko,

"core infrastructure" in England! What on earth is "core" about England? How is Scotland or Wales any less "core" than England? There are in fact more remaining RAF stations in England than in Scotland and Wales combined!

The stations remaining in "Jockistan," as you dismissively and insultingly refer to the place, are large well equipped airfields with substantial infrastructure. Take Lossiemouth as a for instance, so dismissevely treated after it's selection as the future JCA base, where else could you fit the 5 planned F-35 squadrons on the same airfield? It is a large place with numerous large hangars and dispersals, HAS farms and is located in excellent airspace adjacent to weapons ranges and low fly areas. All that makes it an excllent choice as the future home of the F-35 fleet.

Gericault,

Move on, the RAF has been closing stations and airfields from a few months after it formed. In 1918 it had 675 airfields, nearly all of these were gone by 1920 because they were no longer needed.

Likewise 1945, BEagles 120 military aerodromes in East Anglia is a wonderful statistic but that was when we were a fully mobilised nation at war, by the end of 1946 most of these were gone, by far the majority were temporary anyway.

Still it is a fact that they DO seem to close all the NICE places.......................

Think I lived in that one, too...

What is 'core' about England, Proone, is that there is not a growing and accelerating movement towards devolution and, perhaps, eventual independence.

Retaining bases in Jockistan while losing bases in England is like deliberately moving to one of thse villages being eroded by the sea, in preference to a safer, less risky, inland location.

Three bases in Scotland are three potential bases for the Republic of Scotland Air Force at some point in the future. We might usefully retain Lossie for temporary deployments to take advantage of the LFAs and ranges, but retaining Leuchars and Kinloss while ditching St Mawgan, Lyneham, Coltishall, Odiham, Benson et al is insanity.

Which means they were at least 2 years old. You too have missed my point, it's a chunk of people's history and their development into what they are now that we've closed, seemingly without a rearward glance. I'll move on, but it doesn't stop me from looking back fondly. Perhaps you've never had the privilige of working at place like Colt? Or perhaps you are CAS?:eek:

Totally agree with you on that one 'Gericault' only had 2 1/2 years there, great place, good bunch of poeple and the camaraderie much the same as being in a close knit regiment! Would go back tommorow if I could, but just know it isn't possible.

Anyone got any good pics of the last jet leaving?

Some good ones on warplane.co.uk mil forum. The pilot did a superb job!

TP

But then you're biased!

Try this link,a few more on UKAR too,seems that the Boss was determined that a Jag would be the last aircraft to leave Coltishall!!

http://www.ukar.co.uk/cgi-bin/ukarbo...ST;f=9;t=13477

Nice pics

Apart from When did this happen? What happened to Northolt and Wittering (or even Middle Wallop and Boscombe Down) - all Battle of Britain Stations - are they closed as well?;)

Wittering's place must be looking a bit doubtful. Just one OCU? In a big expensive airfield? I heard theer was room for the lot at Cottesmore.

Navaleye,

Wittering is in the middle of a large scale build up to be the RAF deployable logistics hub, quite a lot of folk moving in.

Cottesmore has 4 hangars, 1 of which is the Eng Wng/JUMP facility, so you may have a bit of a difficulty squeezing 5 squadrons in the other 3.

The trouble is that the RAF fought its defining battle largely over the South and East of England, where property values are astronomic. Most of the stations whose names are part of the tapestry of this country's history have been sold off by politicians with scant regard for history but most sensitive to the demands of the construction indistry. Even rural sites like "Tangers" and "the Weald" are presumably "brown land" and ripe for development.

Beags
"El Adem with grass"
Would that be Machrihanish by any chance?
Spent some happy nights in the 'Parahandy' on a Thursday when the trawlermen were at sea!:)

No, El Adem with grass has always been Marham though one summer, round about 71, 72 it was so dry that even the grass died and it was El Adem, but fortunately without the bed bugs.

PrOOne, you quote a figure of around 70 military airfields remaining in the UK, I find myself very hard put to come near that figure even including places like Upavon and Syerston.

Ah, but Arters, it was only about 10 years ago that a senior officer asked me whether I could take him to Acklington in a light aeroplane!

I guess he must be one of those who dreamed up Pr00ne's 73 military aerodromes?

Maybe they included places like Boulmer International? Or Portland?

Did 22 years in the RAF, 13 of them at Colt. It was a boyhood dream as a fresh faced 19 year old LAC to be posted to the same station as Stanford-Tuck and Bader.
All those weird and wonderful place names in 'Fly For Your Life' and 'Reach For The Sky' came to life for me, the wartime camouflage paint still visible on the AMQs as you drove past the Families Naafi, the Spitfire on the main gate(Spit Mk XVIe SL542 coded 4M-N of 595 Sqn), the tree lined roads rich with blossom in spring, the flower beds proudly tended throughout the year. A unit to be proud of.

Sadly times move on and Colt will go the same way as the rest of the proud East Anglian Air Force stations.

Gericault,

I fully accept that it is a chunk of folks history, nothing I said inferred that was NOT the case, you can move on AND recognize the place the station holds in peoples hearts and in history, no need to dismiss the joint just because there is no further need for it. IF CAS did that then he did the place a disservice.

No, I never served at Coltishall. In my day it was the Lightning OCU and therefore a place to be avoided, as I had absolutely no desire to spend my flying days on 25 minute sorties with my arse on fire, one eye on the fuel gauge and my head stuck in the radar scope! The only operational stations I served at were Coningsby and Bruggen.

Art Field,

I was quoting directly from a statement by CAS in October 2004 when the Defence Airfield Review team study was announced. He did say that it included places such as Syerston and Halton.

BEagle,

Not me “dreaming” up 73, it was the Chief of the Air Staff, I guess he should know!



I guess Coltishall WAS a small chunk of an Air Force now largely vanished; flight lines, no HAS farms, precious little contractorisation or civilianisation, no centralised servicing.
Add this to the fact that it was a single type station, and for the last few years the only Jag station, I guess it must have become a bit like Binbrook did in the 80’s? Hope it’s future is rather different…………………………….

Some, who like me, have fond memories of Colt (8 years), have eloquently echoed how I feel about the place and how sad I was when I walked away from the mess in the early hours of Sunday morning. It was like a very good funeral.

I heard a quote recently about the man who has one eye looking back and one looking forward being half blind, and yet the man who has no eyes looking back is completely blind.

We seem very adept in the UK at putting a lid on those things about which we should be so proud. This thread is not the place for talking about Typhoon and the future, or that now we should understand what it has been like for the Navy.

It is a time to reflect on a Station which has served this country well; which demonstrated how to have high operational efficiency with high morale, and a sympathetic and rewarding relationship with the local area and city. A station which was home for, amongst other worthies, Bader, Crowley-Milling and Stanford-Tuck. These are things which don't sit well on an accountant's balance sheet, nor do they form a basis for a study on future basing requirements. But they are important. These are things which can stir emotion and pride in the hearts of our future brave men and women who may someday need a noble cause to call upon when they are asked by their leaders to go forward into known danger.

Colt has heard the sigh of the merlin and the roar of the afterburning jet. Young people have laughed, loved, cried and died there.

It was a very fine place indeed.

I was lucky enough to go to Coltishall on a UAS summer camp in the late 90's, (those were the days! Can't see them happening again with the new, all improved UAS system), and had the most amazing month! The station was welcoming, they didn't mind wet behind the ears UAS cadets running around looking at stuff, the squadrons put up with our incessant questions and begging for trips (it paid off in the end though!), ATC helped us around the unfamiliar airspace and the Mess was fantastic! Having grown up reading biographies of the Battle of Britain pilots, it was inspiring to be in the same Mess as Douglas Bader et al.

Thank you Coltishall for creating some of the best memories of my time in the UAS!:)