Royal Air Force Benson or RAF Benson (IATA: BEX, ICAO: EGUB) is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located at Benson, near Wallingford, in South Oxfordshire, England. It is a front-line station and home to the RAF's fleet of Westland Puma HC2 support helicopters, used primarily for the transportation of troops & equipment. Flying squadrons comprise No. 33 Squadron flying the Puma, No. 22 Squadron which provides operational evaluation and training for all aircraft in Joint Helicopter Command and No. 28 Squadron, which is the combined Puma and Boeing Chinook HC6A training unit. Other units include the Oxford University Air Squadron and No. 6 Air Experience Flight, both flying the Grob Tutor T1 light training aircraft used for student and cadet flying training. The National Police Air Service and the Thames Valley Air Ambulance are also based at the station, both operating Airbus H135 helicopters.
RAF Benson opened in 1939 and during the Second World War it was tasked with training aircrews on the Fairey Battle light bomber and Avro Anson training aircraft. It was later home to squadrons flying the Supermarine Spitfire and de Havilland Mosquito which operated in the photographic reconnaissance role. Benson operated under RAF Transport Command throughout the 1950s and 1960s. During the 1970s, various communications and administrative units were present and in the early 1990s the station began its association with the support helicopter force.
^Pine, L.G. (1983). A dictionary of mottoes (1 ed.). London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. p. 218. ISBN 0-7100-9339-X.
^"RAF Benson Defence Aerodrome Manual". Royal Air Force. Military Aviation Authority. 19 November 2018. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
Royal Air Force Benson or RAFBenson (IATA: BEX, ICAO: EGUB) is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located at Benson, near Wallingford, in South Oxfordshire...
1992. RAF Abingdon closed on 31 July 1992, with the Oxford and London University Air Squadron and No. 6 Air Experience Flight moving to RAFBenson. The...
Surveillance Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance RAF Brize Norton — Air Transport RAFBenson and RAF Odiham — Support Helicopter Force, operating under...
Royal Naval Reserve, and in 2002, he was made Honorary Air Commodore of RAFBenson (promoted to Honorary Air Marshal in 2012). From 2009 to 2012, he was...
Netheravon in Wiltshire, HQ Land Command at Erskine Barracks in Wiltshire and RAFBenson in Oxfordshire, being considered for the role. Joint Helicopter Command...
The RAF ordered 22 Merlin HC3 for transport missions, the first of which entered service in January 2001 with No. 28 Squadron RAF based at RAFBenson. The...
comprising six Chinooks and 150 personnel would transfer from Odiham to RAFBenson to form a joint Puma and Chinook Operational Conversion Unit. The move...
RAF to become No. 32 (The Royal) Squadron. Its BAe 146s and two Westland Wessex HCC.4 helicopters moved from RAFBenson to 32 Squadron's base at RAF Northolt...
Benson (Amtrak station) in Benson, Arizona Benson, Illinois Benson, Louisiana Benson, Harford County, Maryland Benson, Howard County, Maryland Benson...
Group RAF; No. 44 Group RAF; No. 45 Group RAF; No. 46 Group RAF; No. 216 Group RAF; No. 229 Group RAF; No. 114 Wing RAF, and No. 116 Wing RAF at RAF Hendon...
former Royal Air Force squadron which operated between 1956 and 1958 at RAFBenson, the squadron was formed by the replacements, disbandments and mergers...
the RAF to the Royal Navy; with the first Royal Navy Merlin squadron, 846 Naval Air Squadron, standing up concurrently and relocating from RAFBenson to...
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