RAF Cottesmore
RAF Cottesmore
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Station crest
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Military | ||||||||||
| Owner | Ministry of Defence | ||||||||||
| Operator |
Royal Air Force 1938-1942/1945-2012 United States Army Air Forces 1943-1945 |
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| Location | Rutland | ||||||||||
| Built | 1936 | ||||||||||
| In use | 1938-2012 | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 463 ft / 141 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 52°43′46″N 000°39′05″W / 52.72944°N 0.65139°WCoordinates: 52°43′46″N 000°39′05″W / 52.72944°N 0.65139°W | ||||||||||
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 RAF Cottesmore
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Source: World Aero Data
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Royal Air Force Station Cottesmore or more simply RAF Cottesmore is a former Royal Air Force station in Rutland, England, situated between Cottesmore and Market Overton. The station housed all the operational Harrier GR9 squadrons in the Royal Air Force, and No. 122 Expeditionary Air Wing. On 15 December 2009 it was announced that the station would close in 2013 as part of defence spending cuts, along with the retirement of the Harrier GR9 and the disbandment of Joint Force Harrier. However the formal closing ceremony took place on 31 March 2011 with the airfield becoming a satellite to RAF Wittering until March 2012.
In July 2011 Defence Secretary Liam Fox announced plans for it to be the airfield for one of five of the Army's Multi-Role Brigades. In April 2012 it was renamed Kendrew Barracks after Major General Sir Douglas Kendrew.
The badge of RAF Cottesmore consisted of a hunting horn, a five-pointed star and a horseshoe. The description is "in front of a horseshoe a mullet overall a hunting horn in bend". The hunting horn symbolises the location in foxhunting country and the link with the Cottesmore Hunt; the American Star recalls the time the Station was a United States Army Air Force base; the inverted horseshoe is a traditional emblem of Oakham and the County of Rutland.
The motto "We rise to our obstacles" is both a reference to the Cottesmore Hunt and was intended to convey the spirit with which the Royal Air Force confronts difficulties. The badge was granted in 1948.
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