Duxford Aerodrome
aerodrome on the site of the former RAF Duxford, now includes the Imperial War Museum Duxford
Duxford Aerodrome (ICAO: EGSU) is located 8 miles (13 km) south of Cambridge, within the civil parish of Duxford, Cambridgeshire, England and nearly 1 mile (1.6 km) west of the village. The airfield is owned by the Imperial War Museum (IWM) and is the site of the Imperial War Museum Duxford and the American Air Museum.
Duxford Aerodrome has a Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Ordinary Licence (No. P897) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction as authorised by the licensee (Imperial War Museum Trustees, CB22 4QR). The aerodrome is not licensed for night use.
History
Early Use
The area around Duxford was first used for military purposes as part of the Army Manoeuvres of 1912. It was not until October 1917 that construction was started on a more formal airfield. The new aerodrome was built as part of a pair with a sister station at Fowlmere.
The hangars built in the period correspond to a Directorate of Fortifications and Works drawing number 332/17. The drawing was signed by Lieutenant-Colonel BHO Armstrong of the Royal Engineers.
“Duxford Aerodrome” enters the record as aerodrome on the site of the former RAF Duxford, now includes the Imperial War Museum Duxford. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Duxford, Aerodrome and aerodrome can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Duxford Aerodrome” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Duxford, Aerodrome and aerodrome provides the most credible route into that argument.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2317425. The first chronological checks are 1912 and 1917.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Duxford Aerodrome”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Duxford Aerodrome primary sources, Duxford Aerodrome archive and Duxford research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
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Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Duxford Aerodrome” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.