Duxford 1918

The aerodrome at Duxford was built during the First World War and was one of the earliest Royal Air Force stations. During 1917 the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) expanded and Duxford was one of a number of new stations established to train RFC aircrew. On 1 April 1918 the Royal Naval Air Service and the Royal Flying Corps were merged to become the Royal Air Force, the world's first fully independent air force. In September 1918 Duxford opened as a flying school - No. 35 Training Depot Station - and after the war ended in November 1918 the airfield was used as a base for the disbandment of squadrons from the Continent.

Bristol Bulldog at Duxford 1933

RAF Duxford become No.2 Flying Training School in 1920, equipped with the Avro 504, the DH9A and the Bristol Fighter. 1923 brought limited expansion of the RAF and a training flight of Sopwith Snipes was added to the School. From the pilots and aircraft at Duxford the nuclei of three fighter squadrons were formed - Nos. 19, 29 and III - and in 1924, under reorganised Home Defence arrangements, Duxford became a fighter station, a role it was to carry out with distinction for 37 years.