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Overview
Move with Confidence
Depicts a knight’s helmet in front of a castle gateway to symbolize the Gateway to Operations.
RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire is the largest RAF Station with approximately 5,800 Service Personnel, 1,200 contractors and 300 civilian staff.
The Station is home to the RAF's Strategic and Tactical Air Transport (AT) and Air-to-Air Refuelling (AAR) forces, as well as host to many lodger and reserve units.
With its mixed fleet of aircraft, RAF Brize Norton provides rapid global mobility in support of UK overseas operations and exercises, as well as AAR support for fast jet aircraft both on operations and in support of UK Homeland Defence.
RAF Brize Norton environmental information, including public emergency instructions guidance can be found on the Environmental Information page.
Details on flights to and from RAF Brize Norton can be found in Passenger Information
RAF Brize Norton, Carterton, Oxfordshire, OX18 3LX.
The Air Mobility Force Headquarters directs and manages Royal Air Force Air Mobility operations worldwide. Through interaction with a wide spectrum of customers across both Defence and wider Governmental departments, the headquarters oversees the generation, sustainment and development of the Air Mobility Force to ensure it can meet the UK’s needs.
Tactical Medical Wing‘s role is to train, equip and deploy RAF Medical Services (RAFMS) personnel as Force Elements in support of operations and exercises and to provide quality worldwide Aeromedical Evacuation Services for Defence.
It acts as the ‘operational hub’ for all personnel of the RAFMS. Acting primarily in an enabling capacity, it performs the following 5 key operational tasks: provision of immediately deployable high readiness personnel, Worldwide Aeromedical Evacuation, operational medical training, the provision of medical logistics, and provision of medical engineering to the Royal Navy, Army and RAF.
Number 1 Air Mobility Wing is a high readiness Air Combat Service Support Unit, capable of providing early entry air movements support, both in the UK and abroad, to operations and exercises. Representing the deployable arm of the Logistics (Movements) trade, it comprises the Operational Support Squadron (OSS) and Mobile Air Movements Squadron (MAMS); within MAMS the 5 mobile flights provide dedicated manpower to meet exercise and operation tasking, both contingent and enduring. OSS provides all Logistics support to MAMS including an additional flight dedicated to the Permanent Air Movements Detachments at six locations worldwide.
The Squadron is under the command of No 4 Force Protection Wing and is charged with the delivery of efficient, effective and enduring policing and security support to the RAF Stations within the 4 Force Protection Wing AOR; these are: RAF Brize Norton, RAF Benson, RAF Northolt, RAF Odiham, RAF St Mawgan and MOD St Athan.
Under the control of the nearby RAF Brize Norton, home of No.1 Parachute Training School RAF. The grass airfield is used regularly as a drop zone for military static line and freefall parachute training for the UK military.
Under the control of RAF Brize Norton, the airfield is frequently used for fixed wing and rotary aircraft tactical training and also plays host to large scale military exercises.
Air refuelling, Transport
Transport
On Friday 19th October, RAF Brize Norton held a glittering awards ceremony honouring the nominees for the Brize Recognition Awards for Valued and Outstanding Service (BRAVOS).
The RAF’s Voyager Air-to-Air Refuelling (AAR) tanker has completed the first UK refuel of the F-35B Lightning II jets.
Medical Reservists from the UK and US descended onto RAF Brize Norton early October 2018, to take part in Exercise Reserve Steel, a week-long Aeromedical Evacuation (AE) training programme.
Construction of the airfield at the Brize Norton site began in 1935 and the official opening took place on 13 August 1937. Number 2 Flying Training School was the first unit to be stationed here, arriving on 7 September 1937.
In July 1942, the Station became the home of the Heavy Glider Conversion Unit, later renamed No 21 HGCU, which remained at RAF Brize Norton until 31 December 1945.
Between March and October 1944, the Station was used as a base for parachute and glider operations by Nos 296 and 297 Squadrons, both equipped with Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle aircraft; both Squadrons were involved in D-Day operations, and the airborne landings at Arnhem.
Flying Training Command returned to the Station with No 204 AFTS in August 1949, but their stay was only to be a short one and they left in June 1950 when the first Americans began to arrive.
The USAF formally accepted control of RAF Brize Norton on 16 April 1951, eventually basing B-36 Convair Peacemaker bombers then B-47 Stratojets at a later date. Later, on 1 April 1965 the Royal Air Force took back control of the Station.
Various iconic aircraft have been based at RAF Brize Norton, including, Airspeed Oxford, Harvard, Whitley, Albermarle, Horsa Glider, Britannia, VC-10, Belfast, Argosy, Andover, Tri-Star, Globemaster III, Hercules, Voyager and Atlas.
RAF Brize Norton has been involved in many operations including Operations CORPORATE (1982), GRANBY (1990), TELIC (2003-11), HERRICK (2001-14), SHADER (2014) and RUMAN (2017).
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