Monument record 0660601000 - RAF Westcott

World War 2 airfield used by Bomber Command for Operational Training Unit No 11 (No 11 OTU) from Sept. 1942 and Electronic Countermeasures Development Unit 92 Group. Involved in Operation Exodus (repatriation of Allied prisoners of war from Europe in 1945). No 11 OTU disbanded 03/Aug/1945. Airfield placed under Care and Maintenance until April 1946 (B1-2).
The main role of the airfield during WWII was for Operational Training Units (principally 11 Operational Training Unit) under the control of Royal Air Force Bomber Command. Westcott was the first airfield to have flight simulators installed, in the form of sections of fuselage for crewmen and a Link Trainer for the pilot. Towards the end of the war the airfield was also used to land repatriated Allied Prisoners of War. Post war the airfield became a testing facility for the Guided Projectile Establishment, the Royal Aircraft Establishment and more recently Royal Ordnance PLC (B38).
Government Research Establishment set up in 1946 on the site of the wartime airfield to study rocket propulsion. The research establishment continued to be served by air in the post-war period and the NW-SE runway was kept clear of buildings (B5).