RAF Carlisle

The maintenance unit was used by the RAF to store and maintain various pieces of equipment ranging from aircraft engine parts to firearms, ammunition to office furniture, aircrew clothing and small hardware items.At night a uniformed RAF Duty Officer dealt with urgent and essential "flash" requests from operational flying stations.The RAF installed concrete runways, hangars, a full range of administrative buildings, and several estates of married quarter housing for officers and other ranks.[1] The new facility came into operation in February 1941, the station designated as RAF Crosby on Eden which, following its wartime service, today serves as Carlisle Lake District Airport.[3] As the war developed and the need for pilots increased, the EFTS expanded its operations onto several local grass fields at nearby Harker, Heathlands, Rockcliffe and Cargo.[10] By the 1980s the headquarters site consisted of the original guard room staffed by civilian MOD Police, a helipad mainly used by the Royal Navy during aerial marine surveys of the Solway Firth, the small non-standard officers' mess with living accommodation for eight officers, the station HQ, the rifle range, a water tower, an MOD Fire Station with a single fire engine appliance and various other minor admin buildings.RAF Carlisle would prove to be an early target for closure in the Strategic Defence Review (SDR) which marked the beginning of a modernisation that moved towards a unified tri-service logistics support.[14] During 1992 radioactive radium was discovered at the RAF Carlisle site by accident when a member of the Royal Observer Corps walked across a patch of ground testing a recently recalibrated PDRM82 geiger counter.After further investigations it was realised that the RAF had incinerated thousands of luminous dials from the old wartime trainer aircraft in accordance with the disposal policy of the 1940s and 1950s known as "bash, bury or burn".During the Second World War the air raid warning organisation No 32 Group Carlisle Royal Observer Corps operated from a city centre building on Norfolk Road, The Laurels,[16] although it was controlled administratively from RAF Kingstown.The foundations of the nuclear bunker can still be partially seen outlined in the concreted yard, which also contains the Air Training Corps hut during recent further development of the site.[20] The Royal Air Force still retains close links with the local area, through RAF Spadeadam, the only electronic warfare range still in the UK and one of two in Europe, which holds an annual thanksgiving service in Carlisle Cathedral on Battle of Britain Sunday.
Miles Magister trainer
Kingstown Industrial Estate, just south of the main RAF Carlisle headquarters site and located on land where the main runway of RAF Kingstown stood until the 1950s
A Royal Observer Corps standard surface nuclear bunker of the type built at RAF Carlisle
CarlisleCumbriaMinistry of DefenceRoyal Air ForceRAF Flying Training CommandRAF Maintenance CommandEnglandSecond World WarCity of CarlisleCarlisle County Borough Councilmetalled runwaysAir MinistryFairey BattleMiles MagisterCrosby-on-EdenRAF Crosby on EdenCarlisle Lake District AirportGretna GreenTiger MothsMiles MagistersNo. 15 Elementary Flying Training School RAFNo. 6 Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit RAFNo. 38 Elementary and Reserve Flying Training School RAFNo. 189 Gliding School RAFHeinz Schnabel and Harry Wappler escape attemptprisoners of warLuftwaffeHeinz SchnabelHarry WapplerNetherlandsGreat YarmouthRAF Horsham St FaithRAF Spadeadamelectronic warfareMOD PolicehelipadRoyal NavySolway Firthfire engine applianceother ranksRAF Support CommandRAF Logistics CommandCapita GroupCumbria County CouncilCarlisle City CouncilPhantom FGR2 No XV406, ex 64 Sqn/228OCU at LeucharsSolway Aviation MuseumGloster Meteor NF14Vampire T11Hawker Hunter F1radioactive radiumPDRM82geiger counterradium-226low-level waste dumpnuclear bunkerRoyal Observer CorpsUnited Kingdom Warning and Monitoring OrganisationCold WarOptions for ChangeEuropeCarlisle CathedralBattle of BritainNo. 1862 (City of Carlisle) Squadron, Air Training CorpsRoyal Air Forces AssociationWayback MachineAirfields of Britain Conservation TrustThe Westmorland GazetteCommandsGroupsSquadronsFlightsConversion unitsOperational Training unitsSchools / Training unitsFerry unitsGlider unitsMisc unitsActiveFormerSatellite Landing GroundsAir Force BoardRAF RegimentRAF Chaplains BranchRAF IntelligenceRAF Legal BranchRAF Medical ServicesPrincess Mary's RAF Nursing ServiceRAF PoliceRAF ground tradesRAF Music ServicesRAF Search and Rescue ForceRAF Mountain Rescue ServiceRAF Marine BranchRAF Air CadetsOperationsRoyal Auxiliary Air ForceRAF Volunteer ReserveList of RAF aircraftcurrentfutureList of RAF missilesList of equipment of the RAF RegimentOfficer ranksList of notable personnelList of serving senior officersPersonnel numbersChief of Air StaffAssistant Chief of the Air StaffAir Member for PersonnelAir SecretaryAir Member for MaterielCommandant-General of the RAF RegimentWarrant Officer of the RAFEnsignRoundelsUniformHeraldic badgesAir Training CorpsCombined Cadet Force (RAF section)RAF AssociationRAF Centre of Aviation MedicineRAF Benevolent FundRAF Football AssociationRAF Museumhistorytimeline