RAF Henlow - A brief history

At the end of 1916, with the First World War showing few signs of ending, the then Commanding Officer of the Royal Flying Corps in France, Major-General Trenchard, convinced the Air Board of a need to train more men in the rapid repair of aircraft and aero engines. In order to satisfy this need, the War Office created the post of Inspector of Repair Depots and instructions were issued for additional depots to be created where required. The depots, solely for the RFC, were to be raised within the existing Army Command structure and Henlow was selected as the site of the 'Eastern Area Depot'. The Army authorities made an initial purchase of 226 acres of farmland in the summer of 1917. The area was probably chosen because it was flat, free from watercourses, and relatively uninhabited. Good communications were available, a railway line ran along the camp's west boundary, and Luton was a near and convenient source for the supply of industrial goods. Much of the station was still under construction when the Royal Flying Corps formally became the Royal Air Force on 1st April 1918. In the original and first list of RAF stations for April 1918, Henlow counts among only 7 other stations that remain open as Royal Air Force stations today.

In October 1918, about 100 American servicemen of various trades arrived to work at the Depot. Their stay was short and they were drafted away soon after the Armistice. Buildings and workshops had gradually grown and more people were posted in, until by this time, even without the Americans, there were 3,000 working here, including 300 WAAF employed on fabric work and clerical duties. Output had reached 15 aircraft per month; however, with the end of the war the works dwindled. RAF Henlow, like many stations, suddenly faced massive demobilisation of the Armed Forces. The Station was only a few months old and, with its construction barely complete, it seemed an obvious candidate for closure. Despite this Henlow survived. Time has shown that Henlow was only at the beginning of a period of continuous service, which has lasted, so far, for 90 years.

During the 1920s and 1930s RAF Henlow was producing aircraft and engines each month for the RAF. Many types of aircraft passed though the workshops and hangers such as: -

Avro 504K & Ns

Armstrong Whitworth Siskin

Bristol Fighter, Bulldog

Blackburn Dart, Shark

Fairey Fawn, Flycatcher, IIIF, Firefly, Gordon

Gloster Gamecock, Gauntlet, Gladiator, Grebe

De Havilland DH9

Hawker Hart, Tomtit, Gamecock, Woodcock, Horsley

Sopwith Snipe

Vickers Vimy, Virginia

Westland Wapiti

Supermarine Walrus

By the 1930s, Henlow was one of the RAF's four largest stations. Accommodation standards were not generally high, without any hot water, except that fetched from the cookhouse in tin bowls. In addition, the outside washrooms and toilets were regularly frozen up in winter and good sanitation was almost impossible. The weekly pay parade for an airman was around 5 shillings (25p) per day plus a small family allowance. The ration allowance was 5s 3d. (26p) per week, or alternatively, meat and bread twice a week, and 2 bags of sugar and tea once every week. A Community Ration Allowance of 12 shillings (60p) a month was also available.

On 20th September 1925 the Parachute Test Unit (PTU) was established at Henlow. The Parachute Training Section from RAF Northolt joined PTU on 20th October 1926 to form the Parachutist Flight, this name however does not appear to have been adopted and the unit was still known as the PTU. The PTU operated its own Vickers Vimy aircraft and was responsible for packing, testing and repairing parachutes and equipping squadrons with them. The unit earned distinction for outstanding work in connection with flight safety. However, in the pursuit of flight safety, live drops had to be carried out from the Vimys involving a parachutist clinging to a wing strut during takeoffs. The parachutist would then stream his parachute and allow himself to be pulled off the wing by the partly deployed ’chute. Stories tell of one 'volunteer' whom, having streamed his parachute, was not quick enough in letting go of the strut. He arrived sometime later on the ground still clutching it! All parachutists were volunteers who received no extra pay. Parachute testing is still undertaken at Henlow, not by the RAF, but by Irvin Aerospace of Letchworth who undertake tests in direct support of the Armed Forces. Irvins established themselves at Letchworth due to the proximity of RAF Henlow.

In August 1932 one Flying Officer Frank Whittle arrived to attend the Officers’ Engineering Course. On promotion to Flight Lieutenant, and while in charge of the engine test bays, he continued his experimental work on a jet engine, which had first occurred to him in 1928. He left Henlow in 1934 for Cambridge University and, in April 1937 he test ran the engine which was to power the Gloster-Whittle E28/39 – the first British jet-engined aircraft. The “Father of the Jet Engine”, Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle remembered his days at Henlow fondly and praised the Officers’ Engineering Course as being the foundation of his engineering experience.

Throughout the 1930s as European tension rose, plans called for Henlow to revert to being a repair depot, and consequently, No 2 and 3 Wings moved to RAF St Athan in late 1938. At the same time the Home Aircraft Depot became No 13 Maintenance Unit. No 1 Wing moved to RAF Halton in April 1939 and No 2 Mobilisation Pool was formed at Henlow to allow an increased repair role. No 13 MU was responsible for repairing, modifying and assembling front line aircraft throughout the war. During the war years, Henlow became one of the largest RAF Maintenance Units in the country and made an invaluable contribution to the war effort. Station strength in October 1939 was 4,232 made up from:

Officers 131

Substation Officers 31

Sisters 15

WO 43

F/Sgt. & Sgt. 232

Cpls & ACs 3056

Naval 187

Civilian 539

By June 1944 this had almost doubled. No.13 MU alone employed over 5,000 personnel, and the Training School had nearly 3,000 students. To cope with these numbers, three satellite camps were in use: one erected on the north-west side of the Station in 1939, a second 2 miles north-west of the Station close to Meppershall Water Works, and a third by Clifton village on the North boundary of the Station. The Station's strength continued to rise to including a number of Poles, Belgians, Greeks as well as Army and 815 WAAF personnel. A large hospital was established which served units as far away as Honington, Mildenhall and Wyton.

After the war, emphasis on aircraft production declined and a new role was developed for Henlow. In September 1946 it was decided to set up a radio equipment calibration centre at Henlow and, despite orders in August 1947 to disband No. 13 MU, it was not long before crates of equipment were being despatched all over the world again, as the Signals Development Unit (SDU) moved to Henlow in stages from West Drayton between 1947 and 1948. It was mainly concerned with the servicing, modification, manufacture and installation of communications equipment. In addition the Radio Calibration Centre was formed. Many of the old 13 MU facilities were used to manufacture and pack the new equipment and teams were sent out world-wide to help install new equipment. In 1948/49 the emphasis of the unit moved away from development work and on 1st January 1950 it was renamed the Radio Engineering Unit (REU). Responsible for installing ground radio and telecommunications equipment throughout the RAF, it supplied, repaired and calibrated a vast range of radio equipment at home and overseas.

On 16th June 1980 a detachment from the Royal Air Force Support Command Signals Headquarters (RAFSCSHQ), which was then at Benson, was formed at Henlow, consisting of 11 civilians and technical personnel. The detachment steadily increased in strength during 1981, and in 1982 split to form two new units: RAF Support Command Signals Staff (RAFSCSS), and the RAF Signals Engineering Establishment (RAFSEE). This brought together signals engineering design, programme management elements of RAFSCSHQ, manufacturing, supply, and installation facilities of the REU.

The Joint Arms Control Implementation Group (JACIG), the UK's military Arms Control and Verification Centre, has been based at RAF Henlow since May 1996. The Group’s role is to implement a variety of international arms control treaties and related agreements which the UK has signed since the end of the Cold War. All these agreements seek to enhance security and promote confidence and openness in military matters amongst nations. Some of the treaties aim to remove or lower holdings of major war fighting equipments. The effect of all the agreements is to reduce the risk of major conflict in Europe.

The Headquarters RAF Provost & Security Services (HQ RAF P&SS) moved to RAF Henlow in November 1998 from RAF Rudloe Manor where it had been located since 1975. On 1 April 2005 the unit was reconfigured as HQ Provost Marshal (RAF) (HQ PM(RAF)) and No 1 (Specialist) Police Wing (SPW). HQ PM(RAF) is responsible for all RAF policing policy and standards. SPW is a high readiness unit, established to conduct high and intermediate level provost and security activities in support of wider Force Protection and Defensive Information Operations.

The RAF Centre of Aviation Medicine (RAF CAM) was founded on 1st December 1998 with the amalgamation of the School of Aviation Medicine from Farnborough and the Aviation Medicine Training Centre from RAF North Luffenham. RAF CAM expanded when the RAF Medical Board came under it’s command and control and remains located in the Medical Centre at RAF Henlow. The RAF Medical Board is responsible for approving and effecting both temporary and permanent changes to all RAF patients’ medical employment standards. In addition, on 1st June 2000, the RAF Institute of Health moved from RAF Halton to RAF CAM, increasing the size of RAF CAM once again and forming Occupation and Environmental Medicine Wg (OEM Wg).