All About That Base, No Treble Quiz

Answer: Largest Royal Air Force station

RAF Brize Norton initially opened in August 1937, with its first resident unit being No. 2 Flying Training School, and its first operational unit being No. 110 Squadron, operating the Bristol Blenheim from June 1939. The station was initially used primarily as a training base until 1942, when it was used as a base for heavy gliders used during the invasion of France in June 1944. After the end of the Second World War, Brize Norton became a hub for transport development operations until 1950, when it was transferred to the control of the US Strategic Air Command, operating as a base for temporary deployments of US strategic bombers until 1964. At this point, it was returned to the Royal Air Force. In the early 1960s, RAF Lyneham, the RAF's major transport hub, was operating at capacity, with a need for additional space for new types of aircraft to be introduced. Brize Norton, with its recently extended and refurbished runway, was selected as the new major air transport station.

In 1965, the station was formally returned to the RAF, with No. 10 Squadron, flying the Vickers VC10, and No. 53 Squadron operating the Short Belfast, arriving in 1967. Two further units, No. 99 Squadron and No. 511 Squadron, both operating the Bristol Britannia, arrived in 1970. While these were disbanded in 1976, the station assumed an even more important role during the early 1980s, when it became not just a major transport hub, but also the RAF's primary air to air refuelling base, with No. 101 Squadron flying VC10s, and No. 216 Squadron flying Lockheed TriStars, both formed in 1984. By 2011, with the closure of RAF Lyneham, Brize Norton became the RAF's principal transport hub. As of 2023, five transport and tanker squadrons (No. 10, No. 30, No. 70, No. 99 and No. 101) are based at Brize Norton, operating the Airbus Voyager, Airbus Atlas and Lockheed Globemaster aircraft, with the station serving as the sole point of embarkation for British service personnel deployed overseas.

Answer: Largest British Army garrison

Catterick is a major military town and army garrison located approximately 5km south of the town of Richmond in North Yorkshire. As of 2017, the garrison served a population of around 13,000, including service personnel and civilians, making it the largest British Army garrison, and with growth expected to reach as many as 25,000. The garrison was initially established on the recommendation of Robert Baden-Powell, in his role as the Inspector-General of Cavalry in the British Army, who, at the time, was stationed in the local garrison in Richmond Castle. Construction began on the site in August 1914, with the intention that it serve as a temporary camp to accommodate two divisions, numbering around 40,000 men. Having served both as a residential camp for the British Army, and as a prisoner of war camp, at the end of the First World War, a decision was taken to make the site permanent, with construction of the facilities largely complete by the mid-1930s.

As of 2023, Catterick has become one of the major operational locations in the British Army, following the withdrawal from permanent basing in Germany. The garrison serves as the headquarters of 4th Light Brigade, as well as Headquarters North-East, the overall command element for the British Army in the north-east of England. It also serves as the home base of a number of individual units, including two armoured regiments, three infantry battalions, artillery, engineers and other support units. Additionally, Catterick is the home of the Infantry Training Centre, where all new recruits to the infantry undertake the Combat Infantryman's Course, the course that covers the first and second phase of training for infantry recruits.

Answer: Home base of the Parachute Regiment

Although Colchester in Essex has been an important garrison for the British Army since the Napoleonic Wars, it was used as a military base as far back as the Roman occupation, when a garrison was established in the area of what was then called Camulodunum in around AD43. The first permanent British garrison was established when new infantry barracks were constructed in 1794. More facilities had been built by 1800, with 7,000 officers and men based there by 1805. Following the end of the Napoleonic Wars, some of the land was sold off, which went on to be redeveloped as part of the town of Colchester itself. The Crimean War of 1854-56 led to the garrison's size increasing again, with 10,000 men of the British German Legion billeted there until 1857. During the First World War, a number of local Territorial Force units were based in the garrison, which also saw the new 12th (Eastern) Division formed there in August 1914.

By September 1939, Colchester had become the garrison of the 4th Infantry Division, plus its attached 11 Infantry Brigade, and divisional artillery. By the end of the war, it remained as a major garrison for the post-war British Army, serving as the home of 54th (East Anglian) Division, the formation responsible for all units stationed in East Anglia, which transitioned into the Eastern District in 1972. In 2001, Colchester was named as the new headquarters of 16 Air Assault Brigade, the UK's rapid response airborne formation, alongside which the Parachute Regiment, the British Army's parachute trained infantry regiment, transferred its regimental headquarters from Aldershot, where it had been based since 1949, to Colchester. As of 2023, two battalions of the Parachute Regiment, alongside the majority of 16 Air Assault Brigade, are based in Colchester.

Answer: Royal Air Force officer training

RAF Cranwell was originally established in November 1915, when the Admiralty purchased 2,500 acres of land from the Marquess of Bristol to establish a dedicated aviation training centre for the Royal Naval Air Service. The Royal Naval Air Service Training Establishment remained under the control of the Royal Navy until April 1918, when the RNAS was amalgamated with the Army's Royal Flying Corps to form the Royal Air Force, the world's first independent air arm. Following the end of the First World War, the fledgling RAF, determined to retain its independence, decided to use the site at Cranwell to establish its own training academy, with the RAF (Cadet) College founded in November 1919. Initially using the old facilities installed by the Royal Navy, in 1929 construction began on College Hall, a new permanent building on the site to serve as the primary location for the RAF's initial officer training courses.

As of 2023, Cranwell is the home of the Royal Air Force College, the initial officer training establishment for the Royal Air Force, where cadets undertake the 24-week RAF Officer Training Academy course, where they undergo training in basic military skills and leadership. As well as general training for he RAF's new officer cadets, the RAF College also provides officer training for specialists, such as medical, nursing and legal officers, as well as chaplains. Some of the newly qualified officers selected to become aircrew will then remain at Cranwell to undergo their initial flying training, as the site is also the home of both the Central Flying School, and No. 3 Flying Training School.

Answer: Royal Navy officer training

The Britannia Royal Naval College at Dartmouth traces its origins to 1863, when the training hulk HMS Britannia was moved to the River Dart in Devon, to be joined the following year by a second wooden hulk, HMS Hindostan. These two ships served as the training establishment for new officers entering the Royal Navy until the start of the 20th century, when construction began on a permanent building on the site, which opened in 1905. At around the same time, the training of officers became split - upon entering at the age of 13, new cadets started their tuition at the Royal Naval College Osborne on the Isle of Wight, remaining there for two years before transferring to complete their course at Dartmouth. This remained the case until Osborne closed in 1921, and Dartmouth became the sole establishment for the initial training of new officers. Dartmouth became the sole naval college in 1998 following the closures of the Royal Naval Engineering College and the Royal Naval College Greenwich, which served as the staff college for the Royal Navy.

The Royal Naval College at Dartmouth is the site of initial officer training for new officers entering the Royal Navy, which consists of a 30-week course split into two distinct phases - the first half of the course is dedicated to basic military training and seamanship, while the second half covers the professional training for officers, including leadership, operations and critical thinking. Following commissioning, new officers that have elected to either join the warfare branch, or train as aircrew, will undertake their specialist training at Dartmouth. Additionally, officer cadets of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary are sent for a 10-week initial officer training course at Dartmouth prior to their professional training at a civilian maritime college.

Answer: Largest Royal Navy base

HMNB Devonport is one of the major operating bases of the Royal Navy, and one of two located on the south coast of England. The base is located in Devonport, an area in the west of Plymouth in Devon. The base sits on the eastern side of the River Tamar, with ships needing to navigate their way along this waterway to reach the site. Initially established as a Royal Navy Dockyard in 1691, when it was designed and built (including the construction of a pioneering dry dock made of stone) under the supervision of Edmund Drummer, it was used as a facility for the construction, repair and maintenance of warships. Known initially as HM Dockyard, Plymouth, it was renamed HM Dockyard, Devonport in 1843. By the 20th century, the base had reached its present size, approximately 650 acres, making it the largest such facility in the Royal Navy, and the largest naval base in Western Europe.

Devonport today contains twenty-five tidal berths, fourteen dry docks and five basins for the berthing and repair of ships of the Royal Navy. Approximately half of the surface fleet is home ported at there, forming what is known as the 'Devonport Flotilla'. Devonport also includes a major refit facility, with Type 23 frigates undergoing life extension work there, while it is also where the Royal Navy's nuclear powered ballistic missile and attack submarines receive their mid-life refuelling and overhauls. Additionally, the majority of the Royal Navy's decommissioned nuclear submarines are stored at Devonport awaiting eventual disposal. Parts of the South Yard at Devonport, which was primarily used for shipbuilding, have since been leased to Plymouth City Council for regeneration, with the site becoming part of Plymouth's Freeport in 2022.

Answer: Royal Marines Commando training

The Commando Training Centre Royal Marines is located near to the villages of Lympstone and Exton in Devon. and serves as the principal training centre for the Royal Marines. With the exception of the Royal Marines Band Service, all members of the Corps of Royal Marines will undergo commando training at Lympstone. The site was first established in 1940 as Royal Marines Depot Exton, before being renamed as Royal Marines Depot Lympstone later in the Second World War. At the time, it served as a holding camp for marines, continuing to do so until 1960. Following the Second World War, the Royal Marines assumed the role of the UK's commando trained force, with the Commando School established at Bickleigh near Dartmoor. In 1960, the Commando School was transferred to the Lympstone site, and assumed its current name in 1972.

All new recruits to the Royal Marines will undergo training at Lympstone. The Young Officer Training course for new officers lasts a total of 15 months, some of which is spent undergoing leadership training at the Britannia Royal Naval College at Dartmouth. A total of 34 weeks of the training period is spent at Lympstone on the Commando Course. New other ranks first go through a four week Recruit Orientation Phase before starting the 32 week Commando Course. New officers and other ranks will undergo the same training and have to complete the same series of tests in order to receive the green beret that indicates someone who has completed commando training.

Answer: Home base of the Royal Air Force's F-35 Lighting force

RAF Marham was originally opened in August 1916 to serve as a night landing field for the nearby RNAS Narborough. Handed to the Royal Flying Corps the following month, the station's initial purpose was as an interceptor base to defend Norfolk from bombing raids by German zeppelins, with No. 51 Squadron becoming the first RFC unit stationed there. Marham was also used as a training centre for night flying, with the first unit, No. 191 Squadron, moved there in November 1917. Marham eventually closed in May 1919. However, two decades later, the site was reactivated for use as a bomber station, returning to service after two years of construction work in April 1937. Used from the outset as a base for the RAF's heavy bombers, by 1941, it formed part of the elite Pathfinder force. Marham retained its place as one of the RAF's major bomber stations during the Cold War, hosting a number of Vickers Valiant squadrons as part of the nuclear deterrent. Marham switched roles to serve as a tanker base from the late 1950s, with the Valiant, and then the Handley Page Victor being used before, in the late 1970s, it became one of the primary bases for the RAF's new Panavia Tornado strike aircraft.

In 2016, a massive programme of work began at Marham to upgrade the station ready for the entry into service of the F-35 Lightning, which involved new maintenance facilities, rebuilding of the station's runways and refurbishment of the Hardened Aircraft Shelters. The first unit to take up residence was No. 617 Squadron, whose first four aircraft were delivered in June 2018, with the squadron declared operational the following January. As the home of the Lightning Force, Marham will host units of both the RAF and the Royal Navy operating the Lightning, which is designed to operate both on land and from the Royal Navy's aircraft carriers.

Answer: Home base of the Royal Navy's aircraft carriers

HMNB Portsmouth is one of two major naval bases located on the south coast of England. Built around a large natural harbour, a naval base has existed in the area since 1194, when King Richard I ordered the construction of the first dock there. In 1495, Henry VII ordered the construction of the first recorded dry dock at Portsmouth, with the site becoming a major one for the construction of warships from that point on. In addition to shipbuilding, the harbour became a major one for repairs, while, as relations with France deteriorated, it assumed an increasing strategic importance leading to more and more of the Royal Navy to be stationed there from the 17th century onwards. Portsmouth saw major expansion in the 18th century with the construction of stone dry docks and basins, and in the 19th century following the increasing use of steam over sail. By the 20th century, Portsmouth had become the Royal Navy's principal base with, by its end, two-thirds of the surface fleet stationed there.

In 2013, a major upgrade to Portsmouth was announced, as the base was to be the home port of the Royal Navy's two Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers. The two ships, the largest warships ever built for the Royal Navy, were under construction in Scotland, with the first due for delivery in 2017. The two major elements of work required was first to dredge the harbour to provide the ships, which draw 36 feet, with a safe route of entry and exit, and second to upgrade and strengthen a pair of jetties to allow both ships to berth at the same time. The first ship, HMS Queen Elizabeth, arrived in Portsmouth for the first time in August 2017, with HMS Prince of Wales making her first entry in November 2019.

Answer: British Army officer training

The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, in its current form, was founded in 1947, when the Royal Military College, which was located on the Sandhurst site, and was responsible for the training of the majority of new officers in the British Army, was amalgamated with the Royal Military Academy, based in Woolwich, and with responsibility for training new officers for the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. The Royal Military College was originally formed in 1801 from an idea of Colonel John Le Marchant, who sought to create a scheme for the instruction of new officers in dedicated schools. Opened in 1802, the new college was intended to train cadets who were to join the infantry and cavalry regiments of the Army, as well as those joining the armies run by the East India Company. Initially, the college was located across different sites, with its Senior Department (used for the education of staff officers) located in High Wycombe, and the Junior Department (for the training of new officers) at Great Marlow. In 1812, the two moved into a new single site at Sandhurst in Berkshire, although the Senior Department, renamed the Staff College in 1858, moved to Camberley in 1870. Upon the formation of the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst in 1947, all training for new officers was provided in a single location.

The Royal Military Academy today provides all officer training for the British Army, with three major types of course run. The Regular Commissioning Course lasts for 44 weeks, and is for new officers entering the regular army, during which the cadets undergo basic training in soldiering, as well as courses in leadership and decision making, before a series of exercises to test what they have learned. It is during the second phase of the course that cadets decide on the regiment or corps they wish to join, with their specialist training to fit their choice taking place at the end of the course. The Short Commissioning Course for Army Reserve officers, and professionally qualified officers (medicine, law, chaplaincy etc) lasts eight weeks, and is intended to focus on leadership and soldiering skills. The Late Entry Officers' Course lasts for four weeks, and is for already serving soldiers that have received a commission, and focuses on the leadership aspects of the role.