RAF Waddington

Royal Air Force Waddington otherwise known as RAF Waddington is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located beside the village of Waddington, south of Lincoln, Lincolnshire, in England. The station is the RAF's Intelligence Surveillance Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) hub and is home to a fleet of aircraft composed of the Shadow R1, RC-135W Rivet Joint and operating base for the RAF's MQ-9 Reaper. Since October 2022, it has also been home to the RAF's Aerobatic Team the Red Arrows. RAF Waddington opened as a Royal Flying Corps flying training station in 1916. Student pilots, including members of the US Army, were taught to fly a variety of aircraft. The station came under the control of the Royal Air Force when it was created on 1 April 1918. It operated until 1920, when the station went into care and maintenance. During and after the First World War, the following squadrons operated from Waddington. No. 82 Squadron RFC between 30 March 1917 and 17 November 1917, using the Armstrong Whitworth F.K.8, before moving to Saint-Omer in France. No. 97 Squadron RFC between 1 December 1917 and 21 January 1918, with no aircraft before moving to Stonehenge, in Wiltshire. No. 105 Squadron RFC formed at the airfield on 23 September 1917, flying various aircraft and stayed until 3 October 1917 when it moved to Andover in Hampshire. No. 117 Squadron RFC formed at Waddington on 1 January 1918, flying various aircraft and stayed until 3 April 1918 when the squadron moved to Hucknall in Nottinghamshire. No. 123 Squadron RFC formed at the airfield on 1 February 1918 and flew various aircraft before moving to Duxford in Cambridgeshire on 1 March 1918. No. 23 Squadron RAF between 15 March 1919 and 31 December 1919 with no aircraft before being disbanded. No. 203 Squadron RAF between 27 March 1919 and December 1919 with no aircraft as a cadre before moving to RAF Scopwick, also in Lincolnshire. No. 204 Squadron RAF from 11 February 1919 as a cadre with no aircraft until 31 December 1919 when the squadron disbanded.