RAF Bicester Travel Guide

RAF Bicester began life during the First World War as a Royal Flying Corps training depot, established in 1916 to prepare aircrew for the Western Front. Initially equipped with canvas hangars and basic facilities, the site expanded steadily, becoming a permanent bomber station by the mid-1920s. This development aligned with the vision of Sir Hugh Trenchard, the RAF’s first Chief of Staff, who emphasized strategic offensive deterrence through bomber force expansion. By the late 1930s, RAF Bicester had grown to accommodate larger and more advanced aircraft, including the Sidestrand and Overstrand bombers, and later the Bristol Blenheim.

During the Second World War, RAF Bicester was a vital training centre for bomber crews from Britain and Commonwealth nations. It served as the home of No. 13 Operational Training Unit and later No. 9 Group RAF Fighter Command, where crews trained on aircraft such as the Blenheim, Spitfire, and Mosquito. The airfield was the assembly and takeoff point for the prototype Handley Page Halifax, the first four-engine heavy bomber to fly and later drop bombs over Germany. Extensive defensive structures, including pillboxes, trenches, and bomb stores, were constructed to protect the airfield during this period. The grass flying field, with its 1939 boundaries largely intact, remains a rare and evocative feature of the site.

After the war, RAF Bicester transitioned through various roles, including aircraft crash investigation, parachute servicing, and gliding operations. The domestic site was sold in 2010, but much of the airfield’s historic fabric has been preserved. Recognized as a Scheduled Monument and listed on the National Heritage List for England, the site retains many original buildings such as hangars, bomb stores, and air-raid shelters. Historic England and Bicester Heritage have worked collaboratively to conserve these structures, including restoring air-raid shelters and gun emplacements, ensuring the site’s survival as a testament to RAF history.

Today, RAF Bicester is known as Bicester Heritage, the UK’s first business campus devoted to historic motoring and aviation specialists. The site fosters a vibrant community of craftsmen and experts dedicated to preserving and maintaining vintage aircraft and motor vehicles. This innovative reuse of the airfield blends heritage conservation with contemporary enterprise, creating a unique destination that celebrates the legacy of British aviation and engineering excellence.

RAF Bicester is notable for its carefully planned layout and architectural coherence, reflecting the RAF’s interwar expansion period. The site includes distinctive C-type hangars built in the late 1930s, a 1938 control tower, and a network of dispersed aircraft parking areas characteristic of wartime bomber stations. The surrounding bomb stores and defensive earthworks contribute to the airfield’s historic military landscape. The grass runway, still in use for occasional historic aircraft landings, offers an authentic atmosphere rarely found at former RAF bases.

As one of the best-preserved RAF bomber stations, RAF Bicester offers invaluable insights into the evolution of air power and training during a critical period of British military history. Ongoing research, conservation projects, and public appeals for information about lesser-known structures demonstrate a commitment to uncovering and sharing the site’s full story. Visitors and enthusiasts alike can experience a remarkable blend of history, heritage, and active preservation at this extraordinary location.