Red Arrows to take flight for a new home near to historic base
THE RAF’s Red Arrows have announced they are moving to a new home 11 miles down the road when their current base shuts in 2022.
The display team is to relocate from RAF Scampton to RAF Waddington – the base for remote-controlled drone operations around the world.
The Ministry of Defence announced the move two days after the 77th anniversary of the most famous operation ever launched from RAF Scampton – the Dambusters Raid of May 1943.
Defence chiefs are pressing ahead with the sell-off despite the Lincolnshire base having a heritage museum overlooking the runway.
The museum includes the office of the leader of the Dambusters Raid, Wing Commander Guy Gibson.
He won the Victoria Cross for his heroics with 617 Squadron in breaching dams above the Ruhr to flood the Nazi industrial heartland.
Eight of the 19 Lancasters that took off were lost in the RAF’s most famous raid, with 53 crew killed and three captured.
The base is also home to the grave of his beloved dog which was run over and killed just before the
John Ingham
raid.Visitors routinely leave dog biscuits on the grave of the black Labrador.
The base also has a memorial to two Red Arrows pilots, Flight Lieutenants Jon Egging and Sean Cunningham, who died in separate incidents in 2011.
The MoD said the move will allow the Red Arrows to remain in Lincolnshire and to continue training over RAF Scampton. The move removes fears for the future of the Red Arrows.
Defence Minister Jeremy Quin said: “As we saw during the recent VE Day celebrations, the Red Arrows have a proud and prominent place in British culture and have long demonstrated the best of what the UK Armed Forces offer with their world-renowned skills, discipline and teamwork.
Inspiring
“It is good news that we have an excellent base for them at RAF Waddington, and I am delighted that they will be able to continue to practise their extraordinary aerobatic talents above RAF Scampton in their home county of Lincolnshire.”
Air Vice-Marshal Warren James said: “I am delighted that we now have confirmation that the Royal Air Force Aerobatics Team – The Red Arrows – will remain in the heart of Lincolnshire.
“The Red Arrows are a highly skilled and professional team showcasing the very best of the British precision and leadership for industry on a global scale, and inspiring next generation interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics through an air and space power lens. The announcement of this move will provide much needed stability for their future endeavours.”