MOD Boscombe Down


MOD Boscombe Down is the home of a military aircraft testing site, on the south-eastern outskirts of the town of Amesbury, Wiltshire, England.
The airfield was built in 1930 as Royal Air Force Boscombe Down, and since 1939, has evaluated aircraft for use by the British Armed Forces. Today, the site has a main runway in length, greater than many other UK airfields and useful for aspects of test flying. It is managed by QinetiQ, the private defence company created as part of the change from the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency in 2001 by the UK Ministry of Defence.
The airfield's evaluation centre is currently home to the Fast Jet Test Squadron, Heavy Aircraft Test Squadron, Rotary Wing Test and Evaluation Squadron, Handling Squadron, and the Empire Test Pilots' School which was created in 1943 to train squadron pilots in test-related flying. In 2026 it also became home to an anti-jamming test facility.

History

First World War

An aerodrome opened at the Boscombe Down site in October 1917 and operated as a Royal Flying Corps Training Depot Station. Known as Royal Flying Corps Station Red House Farm, it trained aircrews for operational roles in France during the First World War. Between opening and early 1919 the station accommodated No. 6 Training Depot, No. 11 Training Depot and No. 14 Training Depot. When the United States entered the war in April 1917, the Royal Flying Corps began training groundcrew and aircrew of Aviation Section of the US Army at the airfield. During 1918 the 166th Aero Squadron and 188th Aero Squadron were present. At the end of the war in November 1918, the airfield became an aircraft storage unit until 1920 when it closed and the site returned to agricultural use.

Inter-war period

In 1930 the site reopened as Royal Air Force Boscombe Down, a bomber station in the Air Defence of Great Britain command, the fore-runner of RAF Fighter Command. The first unit to operate from the new airfield was No. 9 Squadron which started operating the Vickers Virginia heavy bomber on 26 February 1930. A second Virginia unit, No. 10 Squadron, arrived on 1 April 1931 and also operated the Handley Page Heyford.
The following RAF squadrons were based at Boscombe Down between 1930 and 1939:
  • No. 9 Squadron RAF; between 1930 and 1935, with the Vickers Virginia;
  • No. 10 Squadron RAF; between 1931 and 1937, with the Virginia
  • No. 51 Squadron RAF; between 1937 and 1938, with the Virginia, Avro Anson, and the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley;
  • No. 58 Squadron RAF; between 1937 and 1938, with the Anson, and the Whitley;
  • No. 78 Squadron RAF; between 1936 and 1937, with the Heyford;
  • No. 88 Squadron RAF; between 1937 and 1939, with the Hawker Hind, and the Fairey Battle;
  • No. 97 Squadron RAF; between 1935 and 1937, with the Heyford;
  • No. 150 Squadron RAF; between 1938 and 1939, with the Battle;
  • No. 166 Squadron RAF; between 1936 and 1937, with the Heyford;
  • No. 214 Squadron RAF; between 1935 and 1935, with the Virginia;
  • No. 217 Squadron RAF; between 1937 and 1937, with the Anson;
  • No. 218 Squadron RAF; between 1938 and 1939, with the Battle;
  • No. 224 Squadron RAF; between 1937 and 1937, with the Anson.

    Second World War

The Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment arrived from RAF Martlesham Heath, Suffolk, on 9 September 1939, shortly after the outbreak of the Second World War. The move marked the beginning of A&AEE Boscombe Down and aircraft research and testing at the station, a role which it has retained into the 21st century. About fifty aircraft and military and civilian personnel had arrived by mid-September 1939. The necessary facilities required for the specialist work carried out by the A&AEE were lacking at Boscombe Down, and its expansion resulted in many temporary buildings being constructed at the station in an unplanned manner.
Throughout the war, the airfield continued to have only grass runways and remained within its pre-war boundaries. The first hard-surface runway opened in October 1945 and was followed by two more runways with parallel taxiways to create the present-day layout. The runways extend into Idmiston and Allington parishes.

Cold War

Boscombe was used to test and evaluate many aircraft flown by the British Armed Forces during the Cold War. First flights of notable aircraft include the English Electric P 1, the Folland Gnat and Midge, Hawker P.1067, Westland Wyvern, and the BAC TSR.2. Part of the base was also used by the RAF School of Aviation Medicine.

Aviation trial and evaluation centre

Responsibility for the site passed from the MoD Procurement Executive to the Defence Test and Evaluation Organisation in 1993, which was amalgamated into the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency in 1995.
On 15 August 1995 the first Dominie T.2 arrived for trials. On 31 October 1997 the first Panavia Tornado GR.4 arrived for evaluation.
During this period, the station may have been involved in assisting the United States with its black projects. On 26 September 1994, after an aircraft crashed on landing due to a nosewheel collapse, a USAF C5 Galaxy was redirected to the station. It is speculated that the crashed plane was an Aurora, a hypersonic spy plane. Whatever it was, it was disassembled and returned to the US by the C5 Galaxy. Both the British and American Governments have refused to comment on the incident.

21st century

Following the creation of QinetiQ in 2001, a 25-year Long Term Partnering Agreement was established with the MoD, covering 16 sites including Boscombe Down. Under the agreement, Boscombe Down remains a government military airfield, but is operated by QinetiQ on behalf of the MoD. The Joint Test and Evaluation Group was established under the control of RAF Air Command, and together with QinetiQ, forms the Air Test and Evaluation Centre.
From 1 May 2007, Boscombe Down became the home of the Joint Aircraft Recovery and Transportation Squadron which was an amalgamation of the two Royal Navy and Royal Air Force elements that were responsible for aircraft moves and post-crash management.
In October 2007, it was announced that MOD Boscombe Down would become a Quick Reaction Alert airfield from early 2008, offering round-the-clock fighter coverage for the South and South West of UK airspace when required.
In April 2022, the RAF Centre of Aviation Medicine retired its two BAE Systems Hawk T.1 which were based at Boscombe Down. The aircraft were used for trials by the centre's Aviation Medicine Flight. The flight moved to RAF Scampton to continue its work using Hawks operated by the Red Arrows.
An anti jamming test facility is to be built at Boscombe Down by 2026. QinetiQ will build one of Europe’s largest anechoic chambers that will be capable of housing large military assets such as Protector drones, Chinook helicopters, and F-35 fighter jets for testing against electronic warfare threats.

Past units

The Heavy Aircraft Test Squadron at Boscombe Down was responsible for the flight testing of heavy aircraft. The department subsequently became known as Fixed Wing Test Squadron ; however, during the late 1980s, the title once more changed to that of the Heavy Aircraft Test Squadron.
The following units were located at the base at some point:
The following flying and non-flying units are based at MOD Boscombe Down.

Royal Air Force

No. 1 Group RAF
No. 2 Group RAF
  • Support Force
  • * No. 42 Wing
  • ** Joint Aircraft Recovery and Transportation Squadron
No. 22 Group RAF