RAF Odiham

Next on the list of new places on the grand aviation adventure is RAF Odiham, courtesy of the Centre of Aviation Photography.

RAF Odiham is home to Britain’s heavy lift helicopters, chiefly the Chinook Fleet. But let’s take a step back and look at the history first. Odiham became operational in 1925 but it wasn’t until 1937 that the airfield became a permeant fixture. The station’s first commanding officer was non-other than Group Captain (at the time) Freddie West, VC, CBE, MC who earned his Victoria Cross during the First World War. If you haven’t already I’d highly recommend reading into his story, the man was the definition of British courage.

In the build-up to and into the Second World War the station was a busy spot to be in, the chronology is as follows;

Dates	Squadron	Aircraft Type
16th February 1936 – 24th September 1939	4 Sqn	Hawker Hector & Westland Lysander I
8th April 1938 – 20th September 1939	53 Sqn	Hawker Hector & Bristol Blenheim IV
August 1939 – 21st March 1942	82 Sqn	Bristol Blenheim IV
6th June 1940 – 3rd July 1940	59 Sqn	Bristol Blenheim IV
17th July 1941 – 1st August 1942 10th August 1942 – 15th November 1942	13 Sqn	Westland Lysander III & Bristol Blenheim IV
21st November 1942 – 27th July 1943	63 Sqn	Mustang I
7th August 1943 – 15th September 1943	4 Sqn	Mustang I
7th August 1943 – 22nd September 1943	2 Sqn	Mustang I
6th October 1943 – 14th November 1943	4 Sqn	Mustang I
6th October 1943 – 14th November 1943	2 Sqn	Mustang I
27th June 1944 – 29th July 1944	2 Sqn	Mustang II
27th June 1944 – 16th August 1944	4 Sqn	Supermarine Spitfire Mk XI
24th September 1944 – 12th December 1944	96 Sqn	De Havilland Mosquito Mk XIII

As you can see Odiham was quite the hive of activity during the Second World War with its locality to the south coast of England. On the conclusion of the war, the Royal Air Force’s Fighter Command took control of the station, equipping it with de Havilland Vampires under 247 Squadron in June 1946. Following 247 Squadron with Vampires were also 54 Squadron and 72 Squadron in July 1946 however in 1951 both those units converted to Meteor F.8s charged with night fighter operations.  On the 15th August 1954 46 Squadron reformed, also as a night fighter unit, operating the Meteor NF12s and 14 variants. After 1956 247 Squadron started receiving Hawker Hunters and 46 squadron the Gloster Javelins. In 1959 the station closed as an operational fighter base until 1960 when it whirled into action under Transport Command. And so begins Odiham’s affiliation with those rotary machines.

The very first operational rotary squadron to operate at RAF Odiham was 72 Squadron with the Bristol Belvedere  in 1961 and in due course the Westland Whirlwind in 1964. In 1971 they were joined by Pumas who would operate with 33 Squadron and 230 Squadron. In 1981 Odiham set its course for the arrival of, let’s face it the best of them all, the Chinook with the HC.1 variant. in 1993 these were replaced by the HC.2 and later the HC.3 which would serve as a special forces variant. However the HC.3 were plagued by avionic issues and were subsequently reverted back to HC.2 configuration. In 2013 the RAF took delivery of the HC.6 which provides a Digital Automatic Flight Control System.

In December 2015 the Chinook OCU, with its strength of 6 aircraft, transferred to RAF Benson to join forces with the Pumas enabling the Conversion Unit to operate under one roof. They would reform as 28 Squadron. At the start of 2021 Odiham’s runway was resurfaced and lighting systems upgraded to ensure the stations continued operational status.

RAF Odiham provides its role currently as front line helicopter support under the Joint Aviation Command, the station is now under the command of Group Captain Sarah Moorehead, OBE, BSC (Hons), MA who took command in September 2024, with the Chinook Force commander now being Group Captain Hannah Bishop.

The station is home to the following;

7 Squadron, with its ominous motto, ‘By day and by night’, are charged with Special Forces support and fall under JSFAW (Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing). Owing to the nature of their role this squadron has had involvements in Sierra Leone, Iraq (both Operation Granby and 2003> operations) and Afghanistan. 7 Squadron also had the very unfortunate case of Chinook HC.2 ZD576 that crashed in the Mull of Kintyre killing 25 Senior members of the security forces and the 3 crew members. By the very nature of their tasking little else is known about operational commitments over the years. The Squadron now operates the Chinook HC5, HC6 and HC6A.   

18 Squadron are a tactical support squadron, working both with the Army on active operations but also humanitarian work such as Operation Ruman which delivered support during Hurricane Irma in the Caribbean in 2017. With the Chinook, 18 Squadron, has been involved in Operations in both Iraq conflicts, Afghanistan, Mali and the Falklands. The Squadron currently operates the Chinook HC5, HC6 and HC6A.

27 Squadron provide tactical air transport and have seen combat during Operation Granby in the first Gulf War, Iraq between 2003 – 2011 and Afghanistan between 2001 and 2014. The squadron also joined 18 Squadron in 2017 in the Caribbean offering humanitarian support. The Squadron currently operates the Chinook HC5, HC6 and HC6A variants. 

To top off Odiham’s residents we also have the fantastic guys of the Chinook Display Team who have been displaying to the Public for many years and are a firm favourite for many. They offer the public the chance to see the capabilities of the aircraft that has played such a pivotal and in many cases lifesaving role for members of our Armed Forces.

Odiham is also the home, all-be-it under a civilian registration, the King’s Helicopter Flight. The flight has two Sikorsky S-76C helicopters ( G-XXEB & G-XXED) and is charged with transporting not only the King to official functions but also his family.

Back to the interesting stuff, the Chinook fleet is vital to the UK’s Forces and its commitments overseas, I have heard first-hand the work they have done and the role they have played in saving lives from those who have relied upon them. For me they truly represent the ethos of the Royal Air Force and deserve every bit of commendation they get for their unwavering and continued support for the boots on the ground.

The Chinook has been the workhorse for many pilots who have gone above and beyond the call of duty, I think probably the most famous is ZA718 known as Bravo November, this airframe has carried 4 pilots who have been awarded the DFC. Squadron Leader Dick Langworthy was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross during the Falklands War, Squadron Leader Steve Carr during the Iraq war of 2003-2011, Flight Lieutenant Craig Wilson in Afghanistan and Flight Lieutenant Ian Fortune again in Afghanistan. Owing to that legacy this airframe is now of permanent display at the RAF Museum Cosford.

Whilst BN carried those aforementioned names there has been many other Chinook pilots that have gone above and beyond and it speaks volumes to the level of work these crews engage in when they are operational that they be decorated so highly.  

Air Vice Marshal Philip Robinson, CBE, DFC**

Squadron Leader Alex Duncan, DFC, AFC

Flight Lieutenant Gerald Wyatt, DFC     

Flight Lieutenant (Major) Laura Nicholson, DFC

Flight Lieutenant Jonathan Singh, DFC

Flight Lieutenant Christopher Gordon, DFC

Flight Lieutenant Charlie Lockyear, DFC

Flight Lieutenant Marc Heal, DFC

Flight Lieutenant Chris Gordon, DFC

Flight Lieutenant Tim Pollard, DFC

Flight Lieutenant Christopher Hasler (RCAF), DFC

Lieutenant Nichol Benzie, DFC

I apologise if I have missed anyone off that list! If there is anyone please do contact me and I will add their names in.

The Shoot

This shoot with the Centre of Aviation Photography consists of two parts, an evening shoot and the following day an operational shoot during the day light hours. Both shoots are helping to raise money for the station charities.

Night shoot

This shoot took place with the appropriately motto'd 27 Squadron, 'Quam Celerrime Ad Astra', 'With all speed to the stars'. Alas we did not quite have a star studded sky but we did have the sparkle of lights emitting from various airframes. Once on base we went through the standard security and safety briefing that usually occurs on these sort of visits. On conclusion we went over to the 27 Squadron building to begin proceedings. Starting out on the southern edge of the ramp as Chinook ZH901 of 27 Squadron conducted a start-up procedure. With plenty of time to capture a variety of photographs it gave the group a chance to warm up skills before the harder shooting later.

Staying on the southern edge of the ramp we about turned to photograph several helicopters coming in, Chinook HC-6 ZD983 (ZORTEX 500) from 7 Squadron and an AH-64E Apache ZM736 from 7 Regiment Army Air Corps stuck around enabling some very unique photographs of the pair together with the fading light. ZD983 was also used as the Chinook Display Team's aircraft in 2018.

ZH894 came back in for a crew change before departing out for further crew training sorties. For us photographers this was a good one because it was the aircraft lit as it would be operationally, no flood lighting nothing special, standard crew change under the normal conditions they would be used to. which certainly provided quite the challenge and pushed our equipment to the limit.

We then made our way back around to the northern edge of the ramp to photograph ZA670 under the lights native to the ramp. This opportunity allowed for members of the squadron to get involved in our shooting activities and pose for us as the aircraft was running, sporting their NVG kit.

Operational Shoot

This shoot took place at both RAF Odiham and the Bramley Training Area. The day started out with the obligatory safety briefing and plan for the day's shoot. Our first port of call was the Fire Training area where our fire section hosts set on fire their Chinook mock-up and demonstrated very efficiently how to extinguish an onboard fire scenario. Sporting their brand new engine, the fire team did a superb job and a firm favourite with the group.

Next up we went down to the RAF Police's Dog Section, where we had an introduction with one of their working dogs followed with a small agility demonstration and then finally an attack demonstration (from outside the fence might I add!)

Moving on with the schedule we then had our first Helicopter to shoot conducting a landing on a slope, this training is a key exercise to any member of a chinook crew as it take the whole team to make it work safely and not just the pilot. The aircraft for this and subsequent movements was to be Chinook ZH900.

Following immediately after the slope landing was the underslung lifting area. Firstly a small shipping container was lifted followed by a net load and finally an artillery gun. As a group we were then moved up to the 27 end of the runway for a few final photographs on station at RAF Odiham.

We then made our way via coach to Bramley Training Area, a former ammunition depot from the First World War, it lies in the heart of Hampshire. Between 1978 and 1987 Bramley was commandeered by the US Army also for ammunition storage. After 1987 the site became a Training Area sub-divided into three sectors Area A, B and C. The site has also seen the likes of filming for Midsomer Murders and Scrapheap challenge. The site is now regularly used by the British Army and the Royal Air Force for various training scenarios including force protection, recruit training and air lift operations.

We would be operating around the Western area of the site, where we would be photographing confined landing procedures. Firstly we were lucky to have the chance to photograph recruits from RAF Holton on their final Ex during their basic, embarking and disembarking from the Chinook when it came into land in the Exercise Area.

Following this a fairly challenging landing in a second area that must have taken the crew a great deal of effort to maintain stability so it was a great testimony to their skill seeing this take place.

Moving further across the site we then had the opportunity to photograph the chinook landing in the proximity of one of the original buildings on the site next to the railway line which, from a photographic prospective offered a bit of a different dynamic.

Finally we moved to our last landing site where we had original Nissen huts as our backdrop.

As far as shoots go this was a full on experience, you certainly get out what you put in and for me personally I was running around getting as much content as I could achieve. Which leads me on nicely to the below video for you to get a little bit more of a flavour of what I got up to!

I would like to finish off by saying a huge thank-you to RAF Odiham for accommodating us, it must have been huge amount of effort to coordinate such a shoot so thank-you!