Dates: 1938 -
RAF Cosford is a Royal Air Force station in Cosford, Shropshire, Shropshire, just to the northwest of Wolverhampton and next to Albrighton.
RAF Cosford opened in 1938 as a joint aircraft maintenance, storage and technical training unit. It has remained mainly a training unit to this day. Schools currently stationed there include: No. 1 School of Technical Training, No 1 Radio School, the Defence School of Photography and the RAF School of Physical Training. Flying units include the University of Birmingham Air Squadron, No 8 Air Experience Flight and No 633 Volunteer Gliding Squadron. The Wales and West regional headquarters and West Mercian Wing headquarters of the Air Training Corps are based there.
There is also the Aerospace Museum at the site, which is a branch of the RAF Museum. Amongst the large collection of military aircraft is a unique collection of research and development aircraft, including one of two existing examples of the TSR2 a multi-role combat aircraft, conroversially scrapped by the Wilson Government and still a point of discussion within the RAF. There are also collections of missiles and airliners. The Cold War Exhibition , opened in early 2007 by former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and HRH Princess Anne. Exhibitions include the only collection of three V bombers (Valiant, Victor and Vulcan) in the same place in the World. The annual Cosford Air Show takes place here, normally in June.
Cosford became part of the Defence College of Aeronautical Engineering (DCAE), which was formed on 1 April 2004. Other units located at Cosford include DCCIS,(DCCIS - Defence College of Communications and Information Systems.) Formed on 1 April 2004), DSOP (Defence School of Photography) and the RAF School of Physical Training .
