RAF Silverstone

RAF Silverstone
File:RAF Silverstone 1945.png RAF Silverstone in 1945.
IATA: none – ICAO: none
Summary
Airport type	Military
Owner	Air Ministry
Operator	Royal Air Force
Location	Silverstone, Northamptonshire
Built	1942 (1942)
In use	1943-1947 (1947)
Elevation AMSL	512 ft / 156 m
Coordinates
Map
File:Northamptonshire UK location map.svg RAF Silverstone Location on the Bucks/Northants border
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 00/00 0 0 Asphalt 00/00 0 0 Asphalt 00/00 0 0 Asphalt

Royal Air Force Station Silverstone or more simply RAF Silverstone is a former Royal Air Force (RAF) station, the site is now used as Silverstone Circuit. It straddles the Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire border and is named after the nearby village of Silverstone. It is 10 miles (16 km) south west of Northampton, 11.1 miles (17.9 km) west of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire and 13.9 miles (22.4 km) east of Banbury, Oxfordshire, England and was opened in 1943 during the Second World War.

History

The station was the base for No. 17 Operational Training Unit RAF operating the Vickers Wellington bomber.

Current use

Today the airfield is a major racing circuit known as Silverstone Circuit. The circuit hosted the first ever Formula One World Championship race, the 1950 British Grand Prix, held on 13 May 1950. Since 1987 the track has hosted the British Grand Prix every year. The airfield's three runways, in a standard World War II era triangle, lie within the outline of the classic racetrack; after recent development of a new section of track, the main runway is transected by the circuit. Sections of two runways are used for the smaller south circuit.

The circuit is home to the Silverstone Heliport.

See also

• List of former Royal Air Force stations