RAF Weston-on-the-Green

RAF Weston-on-the-Green
Part of RAF Brize Norton
Near Bicester, Oxfordshire in England
Airfield at RAF Weston-on-the-Green
RAF Weston-on-the-Green Shown within Oxfordshire
Coordinates	51°52′45″N 001°13′35″W
Type	Military Parachute Drop Zone
Area	132 hectares
Site information
Owner	Ministry of Defence
Operator	Royal Air Force
Controlled by	No. 2 Group (Air Combat Support)
Site history
Built	1916 (1916)
In use	1916–present
Airfield information
Elevation	86 metres (282 ft) AMSL
Runways Direction Length and surface 05/23 1,060 metres (3,478 ft) Grass 09/27 1,140 metres (3,740 ft) Grass
Helipads Number Length and surface 01 30 metres (98 ft) Concrete

RAF Weston-on-the-Green is a Royal Air Force station that was redeveloped after the Great War period. Much demolition took place (including the original 1916/1917 hangars). The former RFC Officers and Sergeant's messes are located on the opposite side of the road, and are now in commercial use. It is one of the few remaining active RAF bases with some original pre-RAF buildings. The station is located near the village of Weston-on-the-Green in Oxfordshire, England.

The grass airfield at Weston is used as a drop zone (DZ) for static line and free-fall parachute training by the Airborne Delivery Wing at nearby RAF Brize Norton and the wider British Armed Forces.

History

The airfield was used for the launch of the first modern hot air balloon in the UK in 1967, called the Bristol Belle. The airfield is the 3rd largest grass airfield still in operational use in the UK. It was previously used for the Hotspur gliders and Bristol Aircraft.

Current use

The station comes under the control of the nearby RAF Brize Norton, home of the Airborne Delivery Wing, formerly known as the No.1 Parachute Training School RAF. The grass airfield at Weston is used regularly as a drop zone for military static line and freefall parachute training for the UK military, using Skyvan and A400M Atlas aircraft based at RAF Brize Norton.[1] No military aircraft are based at RAF Weston-on-the-Green and the airfield is manned only part-time by RAF personnel.

Sport skydiving also takes place at RAF Weston-on-the-Green under the auspices of the Royal Air Force Sports Parachute Association using civilian aircraft based on the airfield.[2]

There was, until 2011, a commercial parachute club, Skydive Weston, based at the field. However that was forced to move its base of operations away from Weston by MoD cuts.[3] Some of the original buildings still stand, and the Skyvan aircraft originally used is now used during weekdays.

Oxford Gliding Club

Among the various organisations that use the airfield, Oxford Gliding Club use it now. They operate on the weekends with various club gliders, and about 30 private gliders. The club owns one Schleicher ASK 13, two Schleicher ASK 21, 1 K 8s, 3 Grob Astir, one DG-505 a Slingsby T.21 and a Glaser-Dirks DG-500. The club uses the hangar in the northern side of the airfield, however the launch point varies according to the wind. The club celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2012. It is one of the oldest gliding clubs in the country.

Current aircraft based at WOTG

Aircraft type	Use/organization	Registration
DG-505	Oxford Gliding Club	G-CJSX
Schleicher ASK 21	Oxford Gliding Club	G-DEGZ, G-DESB
Grob Astir	Oxford Gliding Club	G-DDMH, 544, G-DHTD
Schleicher ASK 13	Oxford Gliding Club	G-DCGO
Schleicher K 8	Oxford Gliding Club	G-DEED on loan from Bicester GC
Slingsby T.21	Oxford Gliding Club	WJ306

RAF units and aircraft

[4]

Unit	Dates	Aircraft	Variant	Notes
No. 2 Squadron RAF	1919–1920	Armstrong Whitworth FK.8		[5]
No. 18 Squadron RAF	1919	None		Cadre only.[6]
No. 90 Squadron RAF	1939	Bristol Blenheim	I	[7]
No. 20 (Pilots) Advanced Flying Unit RAF	1943–1945			Based at RAF Kidlington used Weston-on-the-Green as a Relief Landing Ground
No. 15 Flying Training School RAF	1940–1941			Based at RAF Kidlington used Weston-on-the-Green as a Relief Landing Ground
No. 130 Gliding School RAF	1951–1955	Slingsby Cadet	I, II and TX3
No. 13 Operational Training Unit RAF	1940	Bristol Blenheim		Based at RAF Bicester used Weston-on-the-Green as a Relief Landing Ground
No. 28 Training Depot Station RAF	1918–1919

See also

• List of Royal Air Force stations

References

Citations

1. "RAF parachutist plunges to death". The Guardian. 19 April 2003. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
2. "Finding a Drop Zone". RAF.
3. "Skydiving club is left high and dry". Oxford Mail.
4. Sturtivant 2007, p. 00.
5. Jefford 1988, p. 23.
6. Jefford 1988, p. 30.
7. Jefford 1988, p. 51.

Bibliography

• 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.
• Smith, David (February 1983). "Airfield Archaeology: No. 6: Weston on-the-Green". FlyPast. pp. 48–49. ISSN 0262-6950.
• Sturtivant, R. RAF Flying Training and Support Units since 1912. Air Britain, 2007. ISBN 0-85130-365-X.

External links

• Oxford Gliding Club
• UK Military Aeronautical Information Publication – Weston on the-Green
• Weston on the Green Drop Zone – Scheduled Para Training Sorties