RAF Waddington
NearWaddington,Lincolnshire in England
The RAF's firstBoeing RC-135W Rivet Joint arrives at RAF Waddington in November 2013
For Faith and Freedom[1]
Site information
Type	Main operating base
Owner	Ministry of Defence
Operator	Royal Air Force
Controlled by	No. 1 Group (Air Combat)
Condition	Operational
Website	Official website
Location
RAF Waddington Shown within Lincolnshire
Coordinates	53°10′21″N0°31′51″W / 53.17250°N 0.53083°W /53.17250; -0.53083
Grid reference	SK985645[2]
Area	391 hectares (970 acres)[3]
Site history
Built	1916; 110 years ago (1916)
In use	1916–1920 1937 – present
Garrison information
Current commander	Group Captain Dominic Holland[4]
Occupants	No. 13 Squadron No. 14 Squadron No. 51 Squadron No. 54 Squadron No. 56 Squadron No. 92 Squadron SeeBased units section for full list.
Airfield information
Identifiers	IATA: WTN,ICAO: EGXW,WMO: 03377
Elevation	70.1 metres (230 ft)AMSL
Runways Direction Length and surface 02/20 2,939 metres (9,642 ft) blacktop asphalt
Source: RAF Waddington Defence Aerodrome Manual[5]

Royal Air Force Waddington (IATA:WTN,ICAO:EGXW), commonly known asRAF Waddington, and informally known by its nickname 'Waddo'^[6] is aRoyal Air Force station located beside the village ofWaddington, 4.2 miles (6.8 kilometres) south ofLincoln,Lincolnshire, in England.

The station is the RAF'sIntelligence Surveillance Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) hub. It is home to a fleet of aircraft composed of theBeechcraft Shadow R1,Boeing RC-135W Rivet Joint, andGeneral Atomics MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft. Since October 2022, it has also been home to the RAF's Aerobatic Teamthe Red Arrows.

Waddington station opened as aRoyal Flying Corps flying trainingaerodrome in1916. Student pilots, including members of theUS Army, were taught to fly a variety of aircraft. The station came under the control of theRoyal Air Force (RAF) when it was created on 1 April 1918. It operated until 1920, when the station went into care and maintenance.^[7]

During and after theFirst World War, the following squadrons operated from Waddington.

• No. 82 Squadron RFC between 30 March 1917 and 17 November 1917, using theArmstrong Whitworth F.K.8, before moving toSaint-Omer in France.^[8]
• No. 97 Squadron RFC between 1 December 1917 and 21 January 1918, with no aircraft, before moving toStonehenge Aerodrome, in Wiltshire.^[9]
• No. 105 Squadron RFC formed at the airfield on 23 September 1917, flying various aircraft and stayed until 3 October 1917 when it moved toAndover in Hampshire.^[10]
• No. 117 Squadron RFC formed at Waddington on 1 January 1918, flying various aircraft and stayed until 3 April 1918 when the squadron moved toHucknall in Nottinghamshire.^[11]
• No. 123 Squadron RFC formed at the airfield on 1 February 1918 and flew various aircraft before moving toDuxford in Cambridgeshire on 1 March 1918.^[12]
• No. 23 Squadron RAF between 15 March 1919 and 31 December 1919 with no aircraft before being disbanded.^[13]
• No. 203 Squadron RAF between 27 March 1919 and December 1919 with no aircraft as a cadre before moving toRAF Scopwick, also in Lincolnshire.^[14]
• No. 204 Squadron RAF from 11 February 1919 as a cadre with no aircraft until 31 December 1919 when the squadron disbanded.^[14]

As part of the pre-war expansion programme, the Waddington site was earmarked for development into a fully equippedheavy bomber station. It reopened as a bomber base on 12 March 1937,^[7] withNo. 50 Squadron arriving on the same day with theirHawker Hinds and then adding theHandley Page Hampden.^[15]No. 110 Squadron arrived 15 days later, initially with the Hind before switching to theBristol Blenheim.^[16] On 7 June 1937,No. 88 Squadron reformed at Waddington with the Hind before moving toRAF Boscombe Down in Wiltshire on 17 July 1937.^[17] On 16 June 1937,No. 44 Squadron moved in fromRAF Andover, flying the Blenheim, before switching to theAvro Anson and the Hampden in February 1939.^[18] In May 1939, No. 110 Squadron left forRAF Wattisham in Suffolk. No. 50 Squadron left the following year, being moved toRAF Lindholme in South Yorkshire.^[15][16]

RAF Waddington began theSecond World War housing theHampdens of No. 44 Squadron and No. 50 Squadron. Both squadrons were in action on the same day asBritain's war declaration, attackingGerman naval targets atKiel.^[7][19] Waddington squadrons were also involved during the critical stages of the late summer and early autumn of 1940, attacking barges in the channel ports which were being assembled as part of the invasion fleet.^[7]

In November 1940, it was the first station to receive theAvro Manchester heavy bomber.^[20]

No. 44 Squadron RAF was the first inRAF Bomber Command to fly operationally with theAvro Lancaster on 2 March 1942 from Waddington.^[20] BT308, the first prototype Lancaster (or Mk.III Manchester), arrived at Waddington in September 1941 for flight tests. LikeRAF Scampton, the station was part of5 Group.^[21]

On 17 April 1942, seven Lancasters of No. 44 Squadron took off from Waddington as part ofOperation Margin, a bombing raid on theMANU-boat engine plant inAugsburg in Germany.^[22] The squadron subsequently left Waddington on 31 May 1943, moving toRAF Dunholme Lodge, also in Lincolnshire.^[18]

During the Second World War the following squadrons are known to have operated from Waddington.

• No. 97 Squadron reformed on 25 February 1941, with theAvro Manchester before moving to nearbyRAF Coningsby on 10 March 1941.^[9]
• No. 9 Squadron arrived on 7 August 1942, initially with theVickers Wellington III, before switching to the Lancaster I and III during September 1942. The squadron moved toRAF Bardney, also in Lincolnshire, on 14 April 1943.^[23]

• No. 142 Squadronn was present between 15 June 1940 and 3 July 1940 with theFairey Battle before moving toRAF Binbrook, also in Lincolnshire.^[24]
• No. 207 Squadron reformed at Waddington on 1 November 1940 with the Manchester, adding the Hampden for a month in July 41. The squadron moved toRAF Bottesford on 17 November 1941^[25]
• No. 420 Squadron of theRoyal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) formed on 19 December 1941 with the Hampden before moving toRAF Skipton-on-Swale in North Yorkshire on 7 August 1942.^[26]
• No. 463 Squadron of theRoyal Australian Air Force (RAAF) formed at the airfield on 25 November 1943 with the Lancaster I and III before moving toRAF Skellingthorpe in Lincoln on 3 July 1945.^[27]
• No. 467 Sqn RAAF was present between 13 November 1943 and 15 June 1945 with the Lancaster Mks I and III. The squadron then moved to nearbyRAF Metheringham.^[27]
• No. 617 Squadron was present between 17 June 1945 and 19 January 1946 with the Lancaster VII-FE before moving toRAF Digri in Pakistan.^[28]

In May 1975, some of the former Australian aircrew returned to the base.^[29]

During theCold War, RAF Waddington became anAvro VulcanV-bomber station, withNo. 83 Squadron being the first in the RAF to receive the Vulcan in May 1957. It continued in this role until 1984, when the last Vulcan squadron, No. 50 Squadron, disbanded. From 1968, theUK nuclear deterrent was transferred toPolarissubmarines, beginning withHMS Resolution (S22).^[30]

In August 1960, the station developed the 'sudsmobile' technique to lay a 1,000 by 30 yards (914 by 27 metres) carpet of foam in around a half-hour for awheels-up landing. Previously it had taken around three hours to lay a foam carpet on the runway. AnEnglish Electric Canberra fromRAF Wyton landed wheels-up on 23 August 1960, with aHandley Page Victor managing the same on 5 December 1960.^[31]

The fiftieth anniversary of the Royal Air Force was celebrated at the base on 1 April 1968, mainly because the RAF'slast flying Lancaster was based at the airfield from the mid-1960s.^[32]

During the Cold War the following squadrons are known to have operated from Waddington.

• No. 9 Squadron operating theAvro Vulcan B.2 between 1975 and April 1982 when they were disbanded, later reforming atRAF Honington in Suffolk as the first operationalPanavia Tornado GR1 squadron.^[33]
• No. 12 Squadron between 26 July 1946 and 18 September 1946, initially with the Lancaster I and III before swapping to theAvro Lincoln B.2 and moving toRAF Binbrook.^[34]
• No. 21 Squadron andNo. 27 Squadron, which were both present from 26 May 1955 until 31 December 1957 with theEnglish Electric Canberra B.2 before being disbanded.^[35][36]
• No. 44 Squadron between 10 August 1960 and 21 December 1982 when they were disbanded; the squadron operated theAvro Vulcan B.1 and B.2.^[18]
• No. 50 Squadron were based at Waddington from 26 January 1946 with the Lincoln B.2 before being disbanded on 31 January 1951.^[15] It reformed at the airfield on 1 August 1962 and operated the Vulcan B.1, B.2 and B.2K before being disbanded on 31 March 1984.^[15]
• No. 57 Squadron between 7 October 1946 and 4 April 1951 with the Lincoln B.2 before moving toRAF Marham inNorfolk, the squadron returned on 4 June 1951 with theWashington B.1 before leaving again on 2 April 1952 toRAF Coningsby.^[37]
• No. 61 Squadron starting from 25 January 1946 with the Lancaster I and III before being replaced by the Lincoln B.2. The squadron left on 6 August 1953 moving toRAF Wittering inCambridgeshire.^[38]
• No. 83 Squadron from 21 March 1957 with the Vulcan B.1 before being reduced to a cadre with no aircraft and moving toRAF Scampton on 10 August 1960.^[8]
• No. 101 Squadron from 26 June 1961 with the Vulcan B.1 and B.2 before being disbanded on 4 August 1982.^[10]

RAF Waddington was home to severalUSAF Coronet deployments throughout the Cold War:

• Coronet Stallion from 21 August to 12 September 1979 saw the deployment of eighteenLTV A-7D Corsair II from the124th TFS (Iowa ANG),174th TFS (South Dakota ANG), and175th TFS (Iowa ANG).^[39]
• Coronet Buffalo from 11 May to 8 June 1985 saw the deployment of thirty-three A-7D Corsair IIs and 3 A-7Ks from the 124th TFS (Iowa ANG), 174th TFS (South Dakota ANG), and 175th TFS (Iowa ANG).^[40][41]
• Coronet East 97 from 3 to 15 June 1991 saw the deployment of twelve A-7D Corsair IIs from the125th Tactical Fighter Squadron (Ohio ANG).^[42]

During theFalklands War,Operation Black Buck saw three aircraft and crews from Waddington take part in a long-range bombing raid onPort Stanley airfield in theFalkland Islands. The three Vulcan B2s, ofNo. 44 Squadron,No. 50 Squadron, andNo. 101 Squadron, were twenty-two years old, and were selected because they had the more powerfulRolls-Royce Olympus 301 engines.^[43] A complicatedair-to-air refuelling plan, involving fourteenHandley Page Victor K.2 tankers, was developed,^[44] which was only contemplated due to the belief of SirMike Beetham, thenChief of the Air Staff, who had developed the RAF's in-flight refuelling capability withVickers Valiants with214 Squadron atRAF Marham in 1959. Spare parts for the operation were requisitioned from scrapyards inNewark-on-Trent and military museums. The K2 Victor tanker aircraft came from55 Squadron and57 Squadron at RAF Marham. Navigation came from theDelco Carouselinertial navigation system.^[45]

Later during 1982, there was a femalepeace camp outside the base for five months.^[46]

In July 1991,No. 8 Squadron moved to RAF Waddington and re-equipped withBoeing E-3 Sentrys.^[47] In 1993, the only RAF Avro Vulcan bomber maintained by RAF Waddington for flying displays,XH558, was retired due to budget restraints toBruntingthorpe Aerodrome, Leicestershire.^[48]

The Electronic Warfare Operational Support Element (EWOSE – now known as theAir Warfare Centre) moved fromRAF Wyton to Waddington in March 1995.^[49]

In 1998, 26 Squadron RAF Regiment moved to RAF Waddington fromRAF Laarbruch in Germany. The squadron was equipped with theRapier Field standard C short range air defence missile system, and remained at Waddington until its temporary disbandment in 2008.^[50]

All of the aircraft-operating squadrons based at RAF Waddington were dispersed to other airfields in July 2014 when the runway was closed for rebuilding.^[51] The project, valued at £35 million and due to take 12 months, actually took 26 months, and re-opened to aircraft officially in November 2016. The work was expected to increase the operational capability of the runway and airfield by 25 years.^[52]

No. 216 Squadron reformed at Waddington on 1 April 2020 as an experimental unit testing futuredrone swarm technology.^[53]

In September 2020, work to convert an existing aircraft hangar into a jointflight simulator training facility was completed. The facility, operated by the Air Battlespace Training Centre, allows simulators at different locations to be linked together, enabling UK and US crews to train with one another in scenarios which would be difficult to recreate in real life.^[54][55]

No. 5 (Army Co-operation) Squadron was disbanded in March 2021 when theSentinel R1 was withdrawn from service.^[56] The E-3D Sentry was also retired in 2021, with No. 8 Squadron subsequently relocating toRAF Lossiemouth to re-equip with theWedgetail AEW1.^[57]

In August 2022, No. 39 Squadron disbanded, with aMQ-9A Reaper ground control system returning fromCreech Air Force Base in Nevada to Waddington for use byNo. 13 Squadron, which continued to operate the Reaper.^[58]

During early October 2022, the RAF Aerobatic Team; theRed Arrows and its 146 personnel relocated to Waddington from its previous home atRAF Scampton which was scheduled to close.^[59]

No. 31 Squadron was re-formed at Waddington in October 2023, equipped with theGeneral Atomics MQ-9B, aremotely piloted air system which is known as the Protector RG1 in RAF service.^[60] A new hangar, support facilities and crew accommodation were constructed at Waddington; in 2018 it was said that the cost of this project would be £93 million.^[61]

RAF Waddington is the RAF'sIntelligence Surveillance Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) hub, and is home to a fleet of aircraft composed ofShadow R1 andRC-135W Rivet Joint, and is an operating base for the RAF'sMQ-9 Reaper.^[62]

No. 1 Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance Wing formed on 1 April 2016. It is a mix of the staff and capabilities of theTactical Imagery Intelligence Wing (TIW) atRAF Marham, No. 54 Signals Unit atRAF Digby, andNo. 5 (AC) Squadron. Waddington is home to the wing headquarters.^[63]

Various units and squadrons were combined to form a new deployable air force structure,No. 34 Expeditionary Air Wing (34 EAW), at RAF Waddington on 1 April 2006.^[64]

RAF Waddington Voluntary Band is one of seven voluntary bands within the Royal Air Force.^[65]

Amateur radio licensees are not allowed to operate unattended radiobeacon transmitters on 28.000–29.700 MHz, 10.000–10.125 GHz, 24.000–24.050 GHz, or 47.000–47.200 GHz within 50 kilometres (31 miles) of the Waddington airfield, centred onOrdnance Survey Grid Reference SK 985640.^[66]

The following notable flying and non-flying units are based at RAF Waddington:^[67][68]

The stationbadge depictsLincoln Cathedral rising through the clouds, with the motto 'For Faith and Freedom' emblazoned below.^[7]

Thegate guardian at RAF Waddington isAvro Vulcan XM607, one of three Vulcan bombers (XM597, XM598, XM607) which took part inOperation Black Buck raids between April and June 1982 during theFalklands War. XM607 was stationed at Waddington and took part in the raids, captained by pilotsFlight Lieutenant Martin Withers (on mission 1 and 7) and bySquadron Leader John Reeve (on mission 2).^[71] In 1984, along with all other remaining Vulcans, XM607 was retired from active service, and was preserved as the gate guardian at Waddington.^[71]

AHawker Hunter F.6A acts as gate guardian outside the No. 8 Squadron facilities at Waddington. Styled as XE620 in No. 8 Squadron markings, the aircraft was originally XE606.^[72]

• July 1955, Group Captain Hugh P Connolly, laterAir Commodore^[73]
• 14 September 1973, Group CaptainSir Richard C F Peirse,^[74] later Air Vice-Marshal
• 6 November 1981, Group Captain John Laycock^[75]
• 20 October 1989, Group Captain Pat N O Plunkett^[76][77]
• January 1992, Group Captain Jim L Uprichard^[78]
• December 1993, Group Captain Geoff Simpson, former Vulcan pilot with 50 Sqn^[79]
• 19 December 1995, Group Captain Mike J Remlinger^[80][81]
• 22 December 1997, Group Captain Ray J Horwood,^[82] later became Air Commodore
• 30 June 2000, Group Captain D L Whittingham^[83]
• 12 August 2004, Group Captain Chris J Coulls^[84]
• January 2012, Group CaptainAlan Gillespie,^[85] later Air Commodore from 1 November 2013 – 16 November 2013
• Group CaptainAllan Marshall 2016 – 2018^[86]
• Group CaptainTom Burke 2017 – 2019^[87]
• Group Captain Steve Kilvington 2020 – 2022^[88]
• Group Captain Mark Lorriman-Hughes January 2022 – December 2023^[89]
• Group Captain Dominic 'Dutch' Holland since December 2023^[4]

The following units were also stationed at Waddington at some point:^[90]

The first RAF Waddington International Airshow was staged at RAF Waddington in 1995, after the event was moved south fromRAF Finningley, a now former Royal Air Force station east ofDoncaster (now knownRobin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield) which was closed in that year. Over the following years the RAF Waddington International Airshow developed into the largest of all Royal Air Force air shows. It took place on the first weekend in July, attracting over 140,000 visitors and representatives of air forces from all round the world. The main purpose of the show was to raise public awareness and understanding of the Royal Air Force and its role today. Eighty five percent of the proceeds from the event were distributed to the two main Service charities, theRAF Benevolent Fund (RAFBF) and theRAF Association (RAFA); the remaining 15% was donated to local causes. Since 1995, the airshow has raised almost £3 million for Service and local charities.^[105]

In 2015, the station was earmarked for development, a significant part of which being concerned with the station's runway, with work scheduled for 59 weeks. This therefore ruled out an airshow during 2015. The timing of the works coincided with a review of the station in general, the continuance of the airshow being also part of the review. The outcome was that having weighed up the content of the report, it was decided that: "significant security risks as well as certain operational risks" resulted from the operation of the RAF Waddington Airshow, and therefore the airshow, for the reasons cited, would not be continued with.^[106] These security risks have generally centred on RAF Waddington being used as a base for the operation ofReaper drones.^[107]

In February 2016, it was announced that following an agreement between theRoyal Air Force and the Royal Air Force Charitable Trust, the venue of the airshow would switch from RAF Waddington toRAF Scampton, with the hope that the airshow would be resurrected in 2017.^[106]

• List of Royal Air Force stations
• List of V Bomber dispersal bases

• Birtles, Philip (2012).UK Airfields of the Cold War. Midland Publishing.ISBN 978-1-85780-346-4.
• Cotter, Jarrod (2008).Royal Air Force celebrating 90 years. Stamford, UK: Key Publishing Ltd.ISBN 978-0-946219-11-7.
• Cotter, Jarrod. "Fifty years of '558."Avro Vulcan (Aviation Classics Issue 7). London: Mortons Media Group Ltd., 2010.ISBN 978-1-906167-38-7.
• Falconer, Jonathan.RAF Airfields of World War 2. Crécy, 2013.ISBN 978-1857803495.
• Halpenny, B.B.Action Stations: Wartime Military Airfields of Lincolnshire and the East Midlands v. 2. Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Patrick Stephens Ltd, 1981.ISBN 0-85059-484-7.
• Hughes, JimAirfield Focus 11: Lossiemouth GMS Enterprises, 1993.ISBN 978-1-870384-24-7.
• Jefford, C.G.RAF Squadrons, a Comprehensive Record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing, 1988.ISBN 1-84037-141-2.
• Napier, MichaelTornado GR1: An Operational History Pen & Sword Aviation, 2017ISBN 1473873029.
• Sturtivant, R.; Hamlin, J.; Halley, J. (1997).Royal Air Force flying training and support units. UK: Air-Britain (Historians).ISBN 0-85130-252-1.
• White, RowlandVulcan 607 Bantam Press, 2012.ISBN 978-0-593-07126-7.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toRAF Waddington.

• Official website
• Insight – RAF Waddington station magazine
• RAF Waddington Defence Aerodrome Manual
• RAF Waddington Pipes and Drums
• UK Military Aeronautical Information Publication – Waddington (EGXW)

• Royal Air Force stations in Lincolnshire
• Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom
• Airports in England
• Military airbases established in 1916
• North Kesteven District
• Y service

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