RAF Westcott

Second World War RAF Westcott opened in September 1942 along with its satellite station RAF Oakley. The airfield was equipped with 3 concrete runways. Shortly after its opening, No. 11 Operational Training Unit (OTU) moved in from RAF Bassingbourn operating the Vickers Wellington bomber. The OTU played a major part in the training of bomber crews during the Second World War, as part of this training, trainees would be sent on air navigation and leaflet dropping exercises. • No. 1 Engine Control and Demonstration Unit • No. 2 Squadron RAF • No. 92 Group Servicing Section • No. 453 Squadron RAAF • No. 4307 Anti-Aircraft Flight RAF Regiment • Rocket Propulsion Establishment Gliding Centre 1946-1990s After World War II, rocket research and development took on new urgency after Germany's success with the V-1 and V-2 rocket, the Rocket Propulsion Establishment was set up at Westcott in 1946 and German scientists relocated to the site to continue their research into liquid rocket propellant. The site developed liquid propellant motors for various rockets and missiles, including the Blue Streak ballistic missile and the Europa-1 space rocket launch vehicle. This site was regarded as so secret that it was not marked on Ordnance Survey maps. ==Present day==

The site, which extends to 650 acres, is now the location of Westcott Venture Park, a business park for light industry. Being the largest business park in Buckinghamshire, it is currently the registered address for 37 companies. The business park is still home to a division of the Norwegian company Nammo, which continues the design and manufacture of the LEROS rocket engines. Now defunct Reaction Engines Limited began construction on a rocket test facility in 2017 to develop their SABRE rocket engine with the goal of having the new building ready for use in 2020. In 2016, the UK Government announced plans to invest £4.12 million to develop a National Propulsion Test Facility at the site, allowing cost-effective testing and development of propulsion engines. The plan involves building a new vacuum facility which will allow the simulation of high altitude testing of thrusters up to 2 kN, upgrade an existing testing chamber and open a smaller 1N thruster test chamber for the community to use. The European Space Agency will advise and oversee the initial design phase. Westcott Venture Park has also unveiled plans for a new solar photovoltaic power station in 2018 with a planned capacity of more than 15 megawatts (MW) and will cover 76 acres. This will make the business park carbon-negative since the park will generate more power than the business will use in a year. == See also ==