More information : RAF Cottesmore opened in 1938, and is still in use by the Royal Air Force. Construction of the base begun in 1935 as part of the expansion of the Royal Air Force in response to increased tension in Europe. The initial squadrons based at Cottesmore were 207 and 35 Squadron who flew Fairey Battle aircraft. At the beginnning of the war they were depoloyed to RAF Cranfield and to France. From 1940 to 1942 Cottesmore was used by Bomber Command (principally 14 Operation Unit, formerly 106 and 185 Squadrons), including participation in the so called "thousand bomber raids" on Cologne, Esen, Bremen and Dusseldorf. In September 1943 the airfield passed to the 9th United States Army Air Force US HQ Troop Carrier Command as Station 489. The Americans remodelled the airfield for use by C-47 and C-53 glider towing aircraft and Waco gliders of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment. By March 1944 there were 3700 servicemen stationed at the base. Cottesmore was used as a launch airfield for the airborne element of the "D-Day" Normandy landings, and also for Operation Market Garden (Arnhem). In the early post-war period the base alternated between use by training and bomber units. In 1957 the base was altered one more to accomodate "V" bomber (Victor) and later Vulcan jet aircraft: principally a new 9000 foot runway was built. From 1979 to 1998 it was also used for training British, German and Italian pilots under the Tri-National Tornado Training Establishment Scheme. It is currently used for Harrier jet Squadrons of the RAF and Royal Navy. (1)
Cottesmore airfield, Rutland, SK 910 158. By December 1944 the base was equipped with three tarmac landing surfaces and 51 hard standings of different types. There were 4 type C and one type T1 aircraft hangars. As of 1st December 1944 there were 2765 men stationed at the base. The source includes a small basic sketch map of the airfield layout as it appeared in 1944. (2)
Cottesmore Airfield, centered at SK 962 161 (NAT). The 1983 depiction on OS sheet SK 91 NW shows the airfield greatly extended to the north east in comparison to the 1944 layout noted in source 2 above. (3)
RAF Cottesmore Airfeld, Rutland, SK 905 155 The Defence of Britain Database record describes the condition of the monument as "unknown". (4)
RAF Cottesmore is an Expansion period airfield, built 1935- 1938, whose buildings have been modified in the late C20 to suit operational requirements.
The buildings and structures at RAF Cottesmore, Rutland, are not designated for the following principal reasons:
Architectural Interest: The expansion period buildings are of a standard design, considerably altered in the 1950s and later, diminishing their interest by attrition. The architectural significance of the complex as a whole has been denuded by the demolition or alteration of key operational buildings and structures such as the ATC Tower, the avionics building, hangars and 'V' Force runways.
Historic Interest: The historic significance of RAF Cottesmore in the military operations of Bomber Command during the Second World War, in the Cold War and more recent conflicts, is readily acknowledged, but unfortunately it does not outweigh the impact of alterations on the architectural quality of the buildings.
The construction of RAF Cottesmore commenced in 1935 as part of the RAF expansion scheme. Built on a compact site north of the village of the same name, the station opened in 1938 with Squadrons flying Wellesleys and the Fairey Battle until June 1940, when Bomber Command took control and the squadrons were merged to form 14 Operational Training Unit (OTU). In 1942,Cottesmore crews flying Handley Page Hampden aircrafts participated in the ‘1000 bomber raids’ over Cologne, Essen, Bremen and Dusseldorf. 14 OTU was moved to Market Harborough in late 1942 and Cottesmore was chosen as a storage centre for Horsa gliders being prepared for the Allied airborne assault across the Channel. In late spring 1943, the airfield was placed on a Care and Maintenance programme when new concrete runways were laid. From September 1943, Cottesmore became USAAF Station 489 and by March 1944 a 2000ft runway had been laid. Nearly 4000 American servicemen occupied the site, flying C-47 Skytrains and C-53 Skytroopers. By June 1944, the 50th Parachute Infantry Regiment was housed at the station; servicemen were transported from Cottesmore to France and Germany in operations Overlord (D-Day) and Market Garden.
The Americans left Cottesmore in mid-May 1945. Thereafter the station assumed a training role, particularly for naval pilots, until, in 1954, it was passed back to Bomber Command and prepared to become a V-Force base. Both the domestic and technical sites were modernised and enlarged including the construction of a new runway, nuclear stores, ‘H’-shaped dispersal platforms and an avionics maintenance building. The base reopened in 1958 and Victors and Canberras were deployed there. Further modifications continued to be made to the airfield including the extension of the nuclear weapons stores and in 1960, an Operational Readiness Platform was added at the eastern end of the main runway to allow bombers to scramble quickly. Vulcans operated from Cottesmore between 1964 and 1969. The base was host to a variety of units in the 1970s and was on Care and Maintenance between 1976 and 1978 when work began to prepare the base to accept the Tornado Training Establishment in 1980. New buildings, accommodation blocks and hardstandings were constructed. From 1999, RAF Cottesmore became associated with the Harrier force and since 2000 was part of Joint Force Harrier. The last Harrier flew from RAF Cottesmore in December 2010 and RAF operations are due to cease in 2013, when it is proposed that the site is transferred to the Army.
Materials:
Generally brick and concrete with some metal components and tile roof coverings.
Plan:
The flying field lies to the north of the main buildings and has, at its southern boundary, hangars and the Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower. To the south and east are the ancillary buildings and accommodation. The complex is approached by a road leading northwards from the village of Cottesmore.
Exterior:
The remaining 1930s station buildings include the Mess and Headquarters buildings which are by the Air Ministry architect, Bulloch, in the standard, expansion period, simplified Georgian style. Some have the original tiled, gabled and hipped roofs, others have replacement flat-roofs. All have replacement uPVC fenestration and many have been modified in the later C20. Additional technical buildings were added in the 1950s and later; the Avionics Building, a characteristic component of the V-Force airfields, is no longer extant.
At the south-east of the flying field are 4, C-type hangars of c.1938 arranged in an arc, constructed of concrete with external cladding, largely with their original metal windows. Most have single-storey extensions, replacement doors and have been re-clad.
The Air Traffic Control Tower (ATC), centrally placed to the east of the flying field, is a Type 2548c and dates to the 1950s. An additional two-storey block was added to the south-west in the late C20.
The flying field is in a late-C20 configuration; one of the long runways associated with the V-Force has been removed. The concrete bases of the loop hardstandings, dispersal platforms and operational readiness platforms of the V-Force era remain, but all hutting, lighting and electrical fittings have been removed.
To the west of the airfield, within a separate, guarded enclosure, are second phase, nuclear bomb stores of the late 1950s designed to accommodate the fissile cores of Blue Danube, Britain’s first operational nuclear bomb. The stores are arranged as single hutches beneath a shared earth bund and were supplemented by a Supplementary Storage Area to the north. All of the administrative and maintenance buildings have been modified and have replacement UPVC windows.
The domestic accommodation to the south of the technical complex includes 1930s ‘H’ barracks for airmen and housing for officers and families in standard designs and of varying dates.
Adjacent to the main gate at the entrance to the camp is a 1971 Harrier aircraft, erected as a permanent gate guard, mounted on a steel column. The engine has been removed and all the openings have been sealed.
Interior:
The interiors of the inspected buildings generally have late-C20 fixtures and fittings. The hangars have late-C20 internal modifications accommodating the changing needs of the service. The ATC’s 1950s phase retains the contemporary lantern, metal-framed windows, stairs and some fixtures and fittings. (5)
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