RAF Abingdon (IATA: ABB, ICAO: EGUD) was a Royal Air Force station near Abingdon, Oxfordshire. An IATA airport code, also known an IATA location identifier or simply a location identifier [1], is a three-letter code designating many airports around the world, defined by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). ... The ICAO (IPA pronunciation: ) airport code or location indicator is a four-letter alphanumeric code designating each airport around the world. ... The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the air force branch of the British Armed Forces. ... Abingdon is a market town in Oxfordshire, England and is one of the towns which claim to be Britains oldest continuously occupied town. ... Oxfordshire (abbreviated Oxon, from the Latinised form Oxonia) is a county in the South East of England, bordering on Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, and Warwickshire. ...

The base was opened in 1932, initially as a training station for RAF Bomber Command. It continued in this role through World War II. Year 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will take you to a full 1932 calendar). ... Bomber Command badge RAF Bomber Command was the organisation that controlled the RAFs bomber forces. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

After World War II RAF Abingdon became part of RAF Transport Command, and also the home of 1 Parachute Training School. On 14 June 1968 a royal review was conducted at RAF Abingdon by Queen Elizabeth II to mark the 50th anniversary of the RAF. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... RAF Transport Command was an RAF Command which controlled all transport aircraft of the air force. ... June 14 is the 165th day of the year (166th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday. ... Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor; born 21 April 1926) is Queen of sixteen sovereign states, holding each crown and title equally. ...

1952 Units at RAF Abingdon

Ferry Unit. Aircraft Mosquito, Hornet, Meteor , Vampire and Spitfires. 15 Sabres were ferried from Canada, only 12 arrived. After checks and servicing the Sabres went to RAF Germany.

30 Squadron.Valetta,some VIP (polished skin)

York Flight Specialist Unit.

Canadian Flight Dakota

VIP Valettas and General Montgomerys Dakota were serviced at RAF Abingdon . I believe one of the Valettas was for Lord Mountbatten.

1953 All flying units dispersed to other units to make way for 24 and 47 Squadrons operating Mark 1. 2 and 4 Hastings. The 3 Mark 4 Hastings (shiny fleet} belonged to 24 Squadron, WD324, 326 and 500.

1953 RAF Abingdon received the freedom of Abingdon

1955 47 Squadron changed its Hastings for the Blackburn Beverley. Later 24 Squadron moved to RAF Colerne. Replaced by 53 Squadron operating the Beverley.

The NAFFI was named The 101 Club 47Sqn +53 Sqn +1PTS =101

Sometime in the mid 60s 46 Squadron moved in with the Andover.

Besides London University Air Squadron, the Oxford University Air Squadron was based at RAF Abingdon. Abingdon was also the home of no 6 AEF (Air Experience Flight) operating between 6-8 DHC Chipmunks for ATC/CCF Air Cadet flight experience training. 6 AEF was one of a very few locations that offered air cadets the "Air Cadet Navigator" training course, leading to the award of Cadet Navigator Wings.

In the 1980s and 1990s Abingdon became a maintenance field, servicing BAE Hawk and SEPECAT Jaguar aircraft. From 1981 many ex-airline Vickers VC10s were stored at the base following their purhcase by the MoD. By the early 1990s the aircraft were either converted to tanker configuration or scrapped. The BAE Systems (BAE) Hawk is an advanced jet trainer which first flew in 1974 as the Hawker-Siddeley Hawk. ... The SEPECAT Jaguar is an Anglo-French ground attack aircraft in service with the Royal Air Force and several export customers, notably the Indian Air Force. ... The VC-10 airliner was designed and built by Vickers in the 1960s. ... The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and the headquarters of the British Armed Forces. ...

From 1986 to 1988 RAF Abingdon became home to the Thames Valley Police Air Support Unit, flying a helicopter in support of police operations. It was also the home of the London University Air Squadron in the seventies. An annual airshow took place at RAF Abingdon until the late eighties. On 23 September 1988 a Phantom FGR2 crashed at the airfield while practicing for the airshow, and on 14 September 1989 a Panavia Tornado crashed near the field. 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... University Air Squadrons are training units of the Royal Air Force which provide basic flying training to students at British universities. ... September 23 is the 266th day of the year (267th in leap years). ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... September 14 is the 257th day of the year (258th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Panavia Tornado is a family of twin-engine fighters, which was jointly developed by the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy. ...

The station was closed in December 1992. It was taken over by the British Army and renamed Dalton Barracks. RAF Benson continues to use Abingdon as a diversion airfield and for helicopter training. 612 Volunteer Glider School continues to fly Grob motorgliders at Abingdon. It lets members of the Air Cadets take part in flying, such as basic Gliding Induction Course (which normally lasts 3 flights), then for cadets over 16 to progress onto a Gliding Scholarship, which over a number of weeks lets cadets learn to fly the aircraft and this culminates in them undertaking in a solo circuit at the controls of the aircraft. 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. ... RAF Benson (IATA: BEX, ICAO: EGUB) is a Royal Air Force station near Benson in Oxfordshire, England. ...

Aircrashes

On 6 July 1965 an RAF Handley Page Hastings departing on a skydiving flight crashed at Little Baldon, with the loss of 41 lives. July 6 is the 187th day of the year (188th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 178 days remaining. ... 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ... The Handley Page HP 67 Hastings was a troop-carrier and freight transport of the Royal Air Force. ...

External links

• Website of 612 vgs who operate from Abingdon
• aviation-safety.net aircrash report