UK

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RAF Cottesmore was a major Tornado base for many years, being the home of the Tri-National Tornado Training Establishment (TTTE) with aircraft from all three original operators (UK, Germany and Italy) being based here. With the disbandment of that unit in 1999, Cottesmore changed its role to become the second of the RAF's two Harrier bases (the first being at nearby RAF Wittering). It was also chosen to host the RIAT in 2000 and 2001 while the show's usual home at RAF Fairford was undergoing major work.

I've only visited once for one of the RIAT shows, so I can't comment on possibilities for photography on a 'normal' day, although judging from other available information there would seem to be a few spots around the perimeter where this can be done.

Wrecks and Relics

RAF Cottesmore is somewhat unusual amongst RAF airfields nowadays in being home to no less than four preserved aircraft. Presumably it has got round the unpopular 'one base, one gateguard' ruling by virtue of the fact that only one of the aircraft is an official gateguard, with the others being preserved by the individual squadrons concerned. All are located inside the base, and are presumably impossible to photograph (or even see) unless you have permission to visit. So basically, unless you went to one of the two RIAT displays held here, you've probably lost your chance!

LA255 Spitfire F21	XE606 Hunter F6A	XW924 Harrier GR3

The second of the two RIATs to be held at Cottesmore while Fairford was being repaired and upgraded, somehow the 2001 show didn't seem to be quite as spectacular as previous RIATs that I've been to. On the plus side, however, for some reason I thought the photo opportunities here were much better than at Fairford, both for the static aircraft and the flying display. Whether this was due to the different layout, the fact that there were fewer people (?), or just my imagination, I couldn't say, though. As always there was more than enough of interest to keep everyone happy, anyway.

Static

46+44 German AF Tornado ECR ('Tiger' markings)	MM7126 Italian AF AMX (special markings)	AS9516 Malta Armed Forces Islander	34610 USAF/ANG C-22	B-77 R Netherlands AF Bö105 (special markings)

Flying

9526 Romanian AF MiG-21UM (special markings)	FA-116 Belgian AF F-16 (special markings)	XX320 RAF Hawk T1 (special markings)	22 Hungarian AF MiG-29	188724 CAF CF-188 (special markings)

Last visited on 29 July 2001	Top of page

Maps

Click on the icons below to see maps relating to RAF Cottesmore. Note that these are all external links to other sites, and will open in a new window.

OS street map of the RAF Cottesmore area Courtesy of: Streetmap.co.uk		General map of the Cottesmore area Courtesy of: maps.expedia.com

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