RAF Bramcote / HMS Gamecock

Military Conversion and Consolidation

The site is an active and important British Army installation known as **Gamecock Barracks**. After the Royal Navy's flying operations ceased in 1959, the site was transferred to the Army. Today, it is the home of the **30th Signal Regiment**, a major unit of the Royal Corps of Signals responsible for providing advanced battlefield communications and information systems for the armed forces. The barracks also houses other units, including a Gurkha Signal Squadron. While the main runways have been removed or built over, the general airfield layout is still discernible, and several original WWII-era hangars remain in use as workshops, storage, and training facilities.

The airfield has a rich dual history, serving both the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm (FAA).

**RAF Bramcote (1939-1946):** Opened just before the outbreak of World War II in 1939, RAF Bramcote was initially established as a training station. Its most significant role during the war was as the home of No. 18 (Polish) Operational Training Unit (OTU). From 1940 to 1943, this unit trained thousands of Polish airmen to serve in RAF Bomber Command, primarily flying Vickers Wellington bombers. The station was a vital part of the UK's contribution to the Polish war effort and a symbol of Polish-British cooperation. After the Polish OTU relocated, Bramcote continued as a training base for bomber crews for the remainder of the war.

**HMS Gamecock (1946-1959):** After the war, the station was transferred to the Admiralty and commissioned into the Royal Navy as RNAS Bramcote (HMS Gamecock) in 1946. It became a primary 'Part II' training establishment for the Fleet Air Arm, meaning it focused on the ground-based technical training of naval aviation personnel rather than flying training. It housed the Naval Airman School, the Air Electrical School, and later the Air Ordnance School. Thousands of ratings were trained here in vital support roles for naval aviation. While it was an active naval air station with a station flight and visiting aircraft, its main purpose was technical training. Flying operations ceased in 1959 as part of a military-wide consolidation of training establishments.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening the site as an airport. It is a fully operational and strategically important Army barracks, and its current military function is firmly established. Any conversion back to an airfield is considered highly improbable.