Cranfield : introduction
Cranfield Airport is open to business air traffic, private flights, and for research and development activities.
Located 2.7km from the centre of Cranfield, Bedfordshire (Bedford), it can accommodate medium and light jets but cannot handle commercial aircraft.
AEROAFFAIRES tells you everything you need to know about organising your flight from Cranfield Airport.
History of Cranfield Airport
- 1935 : RAF Cranfield is built on 400 metres of farmland owned by the Air Ministry.
- 1 June 1937 : the airport is officially opened and becomes the base for two squadrons: 62 and 82 Royal Air Force Group 1.
- 1939 : 62 Squadron moved to Singapore and was destroyed by the Japanese Army. In the same year the grass runway is replaced by three hardened runways.
- 1940 : the runways fall prey to enemy attacks and are covered with mines and bombs. The George Cross is awarded to aviator Vivian Hollowday, for attempting to save two crews who crashed there.
- 1941 : the steeply rising station became a night fighter training centre. This was later disbanded at the end of the war and the airfield became the site of a new aeronautical university, Cranfield College.
