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RAF Coningsby is a Royal Air Force Main Operating Base in Lincolnshire, home to Eurofighter Typhoon squadrons and the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, and one of the RAF's two Quick Reaction Alert stations protecting UK airspace. For the simulator pilot it offers a single very long runway, full instrument approach facilities, and the chance to fly alongside historic Lancaster, Spitfire and Hurricane traffic sharing the circuit with front-line fast jets.
RAF Coningsby sits on the southern edge of Coningsby village in Lincolnshire and is a Main Operating Base of the Royal Air Force under No. 1 Group (Air Combat). It is home to three front-line Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 squadrons, the Typhoon Operational Conversion Unit and Test and Evaluation Squadron, and the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, which operates a Lancaster, Spitfires, Hurricanes, Chipmunks and a Dakota. The station is also one of the RAF's two Quick Reaction Alert bases, keeping Typhoons on constant readiness to respond to airborne incidents, making it an active and distinctive destination for anyone flying in the region.
The airfield lies about 8.5 miles (14 km) south-west of Horncastle and 10 miles (16 km) north-west of Boston, in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, on the southern edge of Coningsby village near the A153/A155 junction. It is within half an hour's drive of RAF Waddington and RAF Cranwell, placing it among a cluster of active military airfields in the county. As an active RAF fast-jet and QRA station, it sits within its own protected airspace and pilots should expect a busy military environment.
Coningsby has a single physical runway, 07/25, with a hard surface and lit in both directions. Runway 07 is 8,977 ft long and Runway 25 is 8,976 ft long, and Runway 25 is equipped with an ILS. Field elevation is 20 ft.
Published frequencies for RAF Coningsby include APP on 120.8 MHz and 282.72 MHz, ATIS on 280.3 MHz, TWR on 124.675 MHz, GND on 122.1 MHz, DEP on 376.35 MHz, an OPS frequency on 23.467 MHz, and further channels at 27.777 MHz (CAC) and 279.7 MHz (marked 'grn'). Runway 25 is served by an ILS.
Approaching from the A153 (Sleaford direction), the route to the airfield passes through Tattershall before entering Coningsby village, with a minor road signposted south from the junction leading to both RAF Coningsby and the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. Aircraft can safely be viewed from a public viewing area with a free car park on Dogdyke Road, Coningsby, which serves as a useful ground reference point when orientating towards the airfield.
Plans for an airfield at Coningsby date from 1937 as part of the RAF's pre-war expansion scheme, though delays in the compulsory purchase of land pushed the start of construction back two years. The station opened on 4 November 1940 under No. 5 Group, Bomber Command, with No. 106 Squadron arriving in February 1941 flying Handley Page Hampdens, and its first operational sortie coming in March 1941 against Cologne. No. 97 Squadron joined in April 1941 with Avro Manchesters, and aircraft from Coningsby took part in the 'Thousand Bomber' raid on Cologne in May 1942. The original grass runways proved unsuitable for heavy bombers, closing the station for nearly a year from September 1942 while paved runways and further hangars were built. The famous No. 617 'Dambusters' Squadron returned first in August 1943 flying Avro Lancasters, carrying out limited operations including the failed Operation Garlic raid on the Dortmund-Ems canal, before moving to nearby RAF Woodhall Spa in January 1944 in a swap with No. 619 Squadron. Further Lancaster units, including Nos. 61, 83 and 97 Squadrons, were based at Coningsby in the war's final months. After the war the station housed Mosquito squadrons and later Boeing Washington aircraft from 1950. The airfield received its first jet aircraft, the English Electric Canberra, in 1953, and the runway was extended in 1956. Avro Vulcans arrived in 1962 before moving on in 1964, and Coningsby was at one stage earmarked to receive the cancelled BAC TSR-2 and later the American F-111K, neither of which materialised, paving the way instead for later fast-jet types.
RAF Coningsby is today the RAF's primary Typhoon station, hosting No. 3, No. 11 and No. 12 Squadrons on front-line duties, No. 29 Squadron as the Typhoon Operational Conversion Unit, and No. 41 (Test and Evaluation) Squadron. It also serves as the Southern Quick Reaction Alert station, keeping a pair of Typhoons on constant readiness, and is the home of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, whose historic aircraft often appear in the circuit during the airshow season. As an active military airfield, prior permission is required for any visiting flight, and public access on the ground is limited to the BBMF visitor centre and hangar tour.
