RAF Little Rissington
NearUpper Rissington,Gloucestershire in England
Little Rissington airfield during 2006.
Site information
Type	Royal Air Force satellite flying station
Code	LR
Owner	Ministry of Defence
Operator	Royal Air Force
Controlled by	No. 22 Group (Training)
Condition	Active
Location
RAF Little Rissington Location in Gloucestershire
Coordinates	51°52′N001°42′W / 51.867°N 1.700°W /51.867; -1.700
Site history
Built	1937 (1937)/38
In use	1938–1976 (RAF), 1981-1993 (USAFE), 1993-Present (RAF)
Fate	Retained in military use by the RAF following USAFE withdrawal in 1993, as a site forgliding, as aparachute drop-zone and periodic training by ground units and aircraft.
Garrison information
Occupants	621 Volunteer Gliding Squadron 637 Volunteer Gliding Squadron
Airfield information
Identifiers	ICAO: EGVL
Elevation	223 metres (732 ft)[1]AMSL
Runways Direction Length and surface 04/22 1,494 metres (4,902 ft) Asphalt 09/27 1,085 metres (3,560 ft) Asphalt 13/31 985 metres (3,232 ft) Asphalt

Royal Air Force Little Rissington or more simplyRAF Little Rissington (ICAO:EGVL) is aRoyal Air Force satellite station inGloucestershire,England. It was once home to theCentral Flying School, the Vintage Pair and theRed Arrows.

Built during the 1930s, the station was opened in 1938 and closed in 1994. The married-quarters and main technical site were sold in 1996 (the former becoming the village ofUpper Rissington). RAF Little Rissington has been retained by theMinistry of Defence and is known asLittle Rissington Airfield. It remains active along with the southern technical sites, under the operational control of HQNo. 2 Flying Training School RAF atRAF Syerston. It is now home to 612Volunteer Gliding SquadronRAF as the primary military unit, providing elementary flying training forCombined Cadet Force andAir Training Corps cadets. The airfield is also used by the forces as a relief landing ground, training area and parachute dropping area.

In March 2015, construction began on a new hangar.

In 2017, investment was made in upgrading facilities for the RAF Air Cadets. The old fire station was upgraded to provide modern teaching facilities and an accommodation block with a canteen was built next door. The new hangar is now operational for the storage and maintenance of the gliders. The airfield has had major groundworks on the grassed area creating a grassed runway.

During the build-up to theSecond World War, theAir Ministry began constructing major airfields across theUnited Kingdom under what was known as the Expansion Period. RAF Little Rissington was one of these airfields.

RAF Little Rissington officially opened in 1938, comprising the domestic site and a grass airfield.^[2] During 1942, threeasphalt runways were laid.^[3] Extra land was added to accommodate Sites A to E. Later in the war, the main runway 05/23 was extended northerly (later to become the main runway for instrument landings), 09/27 and 14/32 were extended easterly and south-easterly respectively.^[4]

Up to 1945 the station accommodatedNo. 6 Service Flying Training School RAF andNo. 8 Maintenance Unit RAF.No. 8 Maintenance Unit was originally designated No. 8 Aircraft Storage Unit (ASU), however as the Second World War increased its momentum, so did the number of aircraft being stored. During the mid-1940s dispersal areas began openly storing aircraft, that had arrived straight from the manufacture. Due to security concerns, the level of security protection stepped up during the war, including the Station's own fighter force of severalSupermarine Spitfires. Later in the war, various satellite airfields were used to spread out the increased number of aircraft.

In 1946 theRoyal Air ForceCentral Flying School (CFS) moved to Little Rissington. The airfield also became the home to the RAF's aerobatics teams which included theRed Pelicans and later theRed Arrows.^[5] The airfield was expanded during this period, and a new fire station and control tower were built.^[4] The airfield closed on 23 April 1976.^[1]

TheLittle Rissington UFO incident took place in October 1952.^[6]

After CFS's departure, the airfield was used by theArmy, and with the arrival of theRoyal Irish Rangers, Little Rissington became "Imjin Barracks".^[7]

With the arrival of theUnited States Air Forces in Europe, Little Rissington became the largest military contingency hospital in Europe.^[8] The aerodrome was cleared forLockheed C-130 Hercules andLockheed C-5 Galaxies. During theGulf War, Little Rissington was held on its highest readiness state for several decades as it prepared for casualties. TheUSAF left Little Rissington in 1994 and it was handed back to theRoyal Air Force.^[9]

Little Rissington was identified as surplus to requirements in the Government's "Options for Change" package and the entire site was put up for sale. The domestic and main technical sites of the station were sold to a property developer and became a business park.^[2]

Following a Defence Review, the planned disposal of RAF Little Rissington was stopped, and so the immediate future of the aerodrome was secured. Several buildings received some minor upgrades. At the end of 2006, a civilian aircraft maintenance firm called 'Devonair' moved in under an agreement with the Ministry of Defence until 2012.^[4]

In 2008, RAF Little Rissington was designated a Core Site up to 2030, under theDefence Estates Development Plan 2008. While nothing has yet been confirmed, RAF Little Rissington has been looked at to support various changes:

• Satellite forRAF Brize Norton in supporting the Future Brize Project (formerly Project CATARA) withC130 Hercules training and maintenance.
• Satellite forRAF Benson, to provide a relief landing ground for helicopter training, and potentially relief storage pending the future decision on theLyneham estate.

In 2011 the airfield was identified as a site with "localised radium contaminated soil" from the scrapping of surplus equipment after theSecond World War.^[10] At the end of 2011, the Upper Rissington Business Park owner Reland commenced the demolition of the main technical site. This demolition forms part of their future plans are to turn the technical site and former married quarters into an eco-town. During 2014 to 2015, the four prominentType-C Hangars were demolished and major housing construction carried out.

In 2014, real estate development commenced on the airfield by the Royal Air Force to facilitate a centralised flying training strategy byNo. 2 Flying Training School.^[11] This included a conversion of the fire station into an Operations Centre and the building of a new hangar / maintenance facility on the main dispersal. Planning permission was approved by the Cotswold District Council in July 2015 for the construction of an Aircrew Mess^[12] where the former control tower was originally located. In 2016, the RAF Ceremonial approved a station badge as no formal badge ever existed for RAF Little Rissington. This badge adopted the 22 (Training) Group badge and motto.

The airfield, RAF Little Rissington, remains active and is regularly used for elementary flying training, air drops, aircraft maintenance, and ground training.^[2]

RAF Little Rissington is one of several MoD estates with ascheduled monument. It is aNeolithiclong barrow dating from between 3400 and 2400 BC on the eastern side of the airfield.^[13] It is 157 feet (48 m) long, up to 92 feet (28 m) wide and up to 6 feet (1.8 m) high. It had a stone-lined passage about 66 feet (20 m) long, starting at its northeast end and ending in a small burial chamber. The barrow was partly excavated in 1934.^[14][15] During the Second World War theAir Ministry built a large air-raid shelter into it to protect the service personnel working in the maintenance units. Under the MoD's obligation to preserve and protect the UK's ancient monuments on their estates, this particular monument has in recent years been subject to several inspections byDefence Estates.

• No. 8 Aircraft Storage Unit (1938–1946), renamedNo. 8 Maintenance Unit RAF

• No. 6 Service Flying Training School RAF (1938–1942), renamedNo. 6 (Pilots) Advanced Flying Unit RAF (1942-?)
• No. 23 Blind Approach Training Flight RAF (1941–1942), renamedNo. 1523 (Beam Approach Training) Flight RAF (1942–1945)
• Royal Air ForceCentral Flying School (1946–1976)
• No. 637 Volunteer Gliding School (1976–2005), renamedNo. 637 Volunteer Gliding Squadron RAF (2005 – August 2024)
• No. 621 Volunteer Gliding Squadron RAF (2016 – August 2024), previously based atRAF Hullavington
• No. 612 Volunteer Gliding Squadron (September 2024 - Present)

• Royal Irish Rangers (1977–1978)

• United States Air Force - European Force (1981–1993)
• 20th Tactical Fighter Wing - (Lodging)

^[22]

In previous years, theRoyal Air Force estate has been used as a film set, includingThe Avengers, part of the ice chase inDie Another Day, and theThunderbirds film.

• List of former Royal Air Force stations
• United States Air Force in the United Kingdom

• Bagshaw, Alan; Deacon, Ray; Pollock, Alan; Thomas, Malcolm (2006).RAF Little Rissington.Barnsley, UK: Pen & Sword Aviation.ISBN 978-1-84415-381-7.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toRAF Little Rissington.

• No. 621 Volunteer Gliding Squadron
• No. 637 Volunteer Gliding Squadron
• UK Military Aeronautical Information Publication – Little Rissington (EGVL)

• Gliderports in the United Kingdom
• Royal Air Force stations in Gloucestershire
• Military airbases established in 1938

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