Royal Air Force College Cranwell The Royal Air Force College ( RAFC ) is the Royal Air Force training and education academy which provides initial training to all RAF personnel who are preparing to be commissioned officers . The College also provides initial training to aircrew cadets and is responsible for all RAF recruiting along with officer and aircrew selection . Originally established as a naval aviation training centre during World War I , the College was established as the world ' s first air academy in 1919 . During World War II , the College was closed and its facilities were used as a flying training school . Reopening after the War , the College absorbed the Royal Air Force Technical College in 1966 . In recent years it has incorporated the Air Power Studies Division of King ' s College London . The Royal Air Force College is based at RAF Cranwell near Sleaford in Lincolnshire , and is sometimes titled as the Royal Air Force College Cranwell . History . Cranwell was first established in 1916 as the Navy air training centre and airships were operational there until the end of World War I . In December 1915 , after the Royal Naval Air Service had broken away from the Royal Flying Corps , Commodore Godfrey Paine was sent to Cranwell to start a naval flying training school in order that the navy would no longer need to make use of the Central Flying School . The Royal Navy ' s Central Depot and Training Establishment opened on 1 April 1916 at Cranwell under Paine ' s leadership . In 1917 Paine was succeeded by Commodore Luce and in 1918 following the foundation of the RAF in April , Brigadier - General Briggs took over and Cranwell became the headquarters of No . 12 Group . After the cessation of hostilities in November 1918 , the Chief of the Air Staff , Sir Hugh Trenchard felt determined to maintain the Air Force as an independent service rather than let the Army and Royal Navy control air operations again . The establishment of an air academy , which would provide basic flying training , provide intellectual education and give a sense of purpose to the future leaders of the Service was therefore a priority . Trenchard chose Cranwell as the College ' s location because , as he told his biographer : " Marooned in the wilderness , cut off from pastimes they could not organise for themselves , the cadets would find life cheaper , healthier and more wholesome . " In practice this meant that ( unlike RMC Sandhurst cadets ) Cranwell cadets could not reach the temptations of London in their free time . When first occupied , the site was largely empty fields : it is now ornamented by several avenues of mature trees , many commemoratively marked with plaques naming the distinguished guests who planted them 1920 - 1970 . The Royal Air Force College was formed on 1 November 1919 as the RAF ( Cadet ) College under the authority of its first commandant Air Commodore Charles Alexander Holcombe Longcroft . On 5 February 1920 the College was raised to command status . It is the oldest military air academy in the world . On 20 June 1929 , an aeroplane piloted by Flight Cadet C J Giles crashed on landing at the College and burst into flames . A fellow flight cadet , William McKechnie pulled Giles , who was incapable of moving himself , from the burning wreckage . McKechnie was awarded the Empire Gallantry Medal for his actions . In 1936 the College was reduced from command to group status within Training Command and the commandant ceased to hold the title of Air Officer Commanding RAF Cranwell . Just before the outbreak of World War II , the Air Ministry closed the College as an initial officer training establishment . With the need to generate aircrew in large numbers , it was redesignated the RAF College Flying Training School and it did not return to its former function until 1947 . It was also in 1947 the Equipment and Secretarial Branch cadets were admitted to the College alongside the traditional flight cadets . In 1966 the Royal Air Force Technical College at RAF Henlow , a similar cadet college for engineering officers , was merged with the College at Cranwell . The College functioned 1919 - 71 as a cadet college ( like RMC Sandhurst ) graduates receiving permanent RAF commissions after a residential course of two to three years . These trainees now include women , and the Royal Air Force College Cranwell is today the RAF ' s only initial officer training establishment . College Hall . Prior to the construction of the neo - classical College Hall , training took place in old naval huts . In the 1920s Sir Samuel Hoare ( later Lord Templewood ) battled for a substantial College building . Architect ' s plans were drawn up in 1929 for the present - day College . After some disagreement between Hoare and architect James West , the building plans incorporated design aspects of Christopher Wren ' s Royal Hospital at Chelsea . In September 1933 the building was completed ; it was built of rustic and moulded brick . Its frontage was . In front of the Hall , orange gravel paths lead around a roughly circular grass area ( " The Orange " ) toward the parade ground . The building has been used for RAF officer training since HRH the Prince of Wales ( later Edward VIII ) officially opened it in October 1934 . In 1987 the building was given Grade II listed status . Current training and organisation . The College is the RAF equivalent of the Royal Navy ' s Britannia Royal Naval College and the British Army ' s Royal Military Academy Sandhurst . At present , most RAF officer cadet s complete a 32 - week course within the College ' s Officer and Aircrew Cadet Training Unit ( OACTU ) , commanded since 2010 by Group Captain Peter Jones , before they are commissioned . Within OACTU the officer cadets undertake transformational leadership tuition , academic air power studies ( including ethics and strategic thinking ) delivered under contract by Kings College London , military skills , essential service knowledge , drill and physical training . In addition to the many British officer cadets which have passed through Cranwell , the College has graduated cadets from Bahrain , Iraq , Oman , Qatar , Sri Lanka and Trinidad and Tobago . OACTU also provides Special Entrant and Re - entrant ( SERE ) courses for medical and dental officers , chaplains , legal officers and nursing officers , and for officers rejoining the Service or transferring from the sister services . There are also a small number of short induction courses for warrant officer s selected for commissioning , university cadets , bursar s and Volunteer Reserve officers . In addition , OACTU delivers a 2 week Reserve Officer Initial Training course for Full Time Reservists , Royal Auxiliary Air Force ( RAuxAF ) , Mobile Meteorological Unit and Aviation Officers . The Band of the Royal Air Force College . Based at RAF Cranwell , the Band of the Royal Air Force College is one of three established Bands in the RAF . Originally formed to support the Royal Air Force College , the band is now administered by RAF Music Services . The Band takes part in major events such as The Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace and the Edinburgh Tattoo as well as a busy schedule of services and charity engagements . Commandants . The Commandant is the air officer in charge of the College . The current incumbent is Air Commodore D Stubbs . Under the present organization of the RAF , the Commandant reports to Air Officer Commanding No . 22 Group who has Service - wide responsibility for training . From 1920 to 1936 the College Commandant was double - hatted as the Air Officer Commanding RAF Cranwell . Graduates . Cranwell has had many famous graduates . As there have been many notable RAF officers who were commissioned from Cranwell , a fair and representative list would be impractical . Therefore , only those who are notable in other ways are listed below :