DHFS TO YEOVILTON?

[KPax]

Having left 18 months ago I heard a rumour last week that seemed to suggest that Shawbury would close within 5 years and that all RW training would move to Yeovilton, good or bad?

[Yozzer]

Good rumour to start:- provided that the land is returned to the Corbett family and not given over to the pongos. North Shropshire is one of the UKs best kept secrets, and it would be nice if it stayed that way.

On a more serious point:- Why would anyone even consider leaving a dedicated Rotary Wing base that is inclusive of the goodwill of many local landowners who provide training fields and clearings and that has little appeal to the FJ/Multi Eng communities for a 'mixed wing' operating base that would be intolerant of No RT flying operations and frankly has a busy enough job to do supporting Navy assets already?

Forgot:- Shawbury has a new gym.... that's it then - closure it is. But be sure to resurface the runway first, that's the law.

[airborne_artist]

Yozzer - CU managed quite well in the 60s, 70s and 80s with at least as much traffic, and pretty varied too. Simultaneous LH and RH circuits, tyro pilots on 705, etc.

OK, we had Predannack, but VL has Merryfield too.

[teeteringhead]

And of course Shawbs sits in the constituency of a Cabinet Minister ......;)

[Gnd]

Is it not 6 or 7 times smaller than LFA 1 and 2? Might be a factor?

[Pheasant]

Isn't Shawbury the RAF's oldest airfield? I seem to recall the last time this was mentioned CAS went straight to Def Sec to plead no closure. Anyway DFHS to Yeovilton is a silly idea.

[Vendee]

"Forgot:- Shawbury has a new gym.... that's it then - closure it is. But be sure to resurface the runway first, that's the law."

When did they relax the law? You used to have to build a couple of HAS sites before you could close down a base.

[Lima Juliet]

Shawbury started in 1917 - there are plenty older than that. For example RAF Halton celebrated its 'Centenary of Flight' last year with the first flight by 3 Sqn RFC (forerunner of 3(F) Sqn) from Halton Park on 18 Sep 1913 - they've been flying there ever since. Middle Wallop is older but is obviously under control of the 'brown side'.

LJ

[diginagain]

Middle Wallop is older but is obviously under control of the 'brown side'.Wallop is an Expansion-era airfield, although there are other sites in the vicinity that you might be thinking-of, such as Old Sarum, Lopcombe Corner, Netheravon, Upavon, Larkhill...

[Lima Juliet]

Yup, sorry, I was thinking of Larkhill. :\

To add to the list Wittering 1916 and Cranwell 1915.

I'll shut up, now!

LJ :ok:

[4Greens]

Stick with Shawbury. There is a good pub in Uffington called the Corbet Arms check it out.

[GeeRam]

To add to the list Wittering 1916 and Cranwell 1915.

Northolt dates back to early 1915 as well, and is the last active 11 Group BofB RAF base, and the first Hurricane squadron.....

[diginagain]

LOPCOMBE CORNER:51 07 06N/01 38 37W.Site of an RFC airfield 1918/1919.
Situated right on the Hampshire/Wiltshire border and refered to by various publications as being in either county,it is included here
for the sake of completeness.
Used only for a short time.the only known units were 52 Sq,74 Sq,85,Sq.91 Sq,all of which arrived as cadres on the following dates-
28/6/19,10/2/19,19/2/19 and 7/3/19.All were then disbanded on the following dates 23/10/19(52 Sq),and 3/7/19(all others).
Equipment at the time was RE8(52 Sq),SE5A(74 and 85 Sq),Dolphin(91 Sq) .The aerodrome was listed in "Flight" Sept 4th 1919 as available for emergency civilian use.(or a location in the immediate vicinity)
was used by US Army L-4 Liason aircraft.
From:
Hampshire Aviation Locations H to M (http://www.hampshireairfields.co.uk/ah1900/hm.html)

[xenolith]

Is it true that the Coronary Care Unit at Shrewsbury hospital went onto high alert when this topic was posted?;)

[Martin the Martian]

There's going to be a lot of spare capacity at Culdrose once the mighty King departs...

Just saying.

[airborne_artist]

MtM - CU would be a lousy place to site DHFS. The Culdrose clag sets in for weeks at a time and while it's a great place from June to September, the Western tip of Cornwall really isn't much of a billet for the winter months.

I expect to see the announcement of DHFS moving to Helston International very soon therefore ;)

[NickB]

It would appear there is a fair bit of capacity at CU at the moment anyway, irrespective of the handful of SK ops that occur... very little flying a lot of the time.

Weather not great for flying training at CU - or should I say there are airfields with spare capacity with better weather conditions than CU...

[MPN11]

If one dare mention it, there's a lot of high-tech infrastructure associated with the Central Air Traffic Control School that won't fit on the back of a 4-tonner.

Numerous Simulators for Local, Airfield and Area Radar that cost many, many, millions. Not as simple as some might think, IMO.

[airborne_artist]

All the more reason to close Shawbs then MPN11 - think of the recently-retired SOs whose new employers will make a bundle from the contracts awarded :E

[scarecrow450]

CATCS is nothing to do with DHFS, drivers and techies are employed by FBH, er FRA, er Cobham but thats the only link to DHFS parent company.

[MPN11]

All the more reason to close Shawbs then MPN11 - think of the recently-retired SOs whose new employers will make a bundle from the contracts awarded

A true PPRuNe cynic, Sir!! :ok:

However, is there anywhere left with such a huge 3-storey Officers Mess? I know the RAF has shrunk to a pinpoint, but there's another bit of infrastructure in the equation as well ;)

I do, honestly, speak not from emotion for my alma mater but simply from the viewpoint that Shawbury has a lot more going for it than just a bunch of buzzing flies :p

[KPax]

Much as I hate to say it, CATCS could easily be moved to Boulmer to become an 'ABM' school however, AMSU (aircraft storage) still seems to be utilised and the Fields and Clearings around Shawbury would take some time to build elsewhere although I know they have them around Salisbury Plain and Yeovilton. One other reason Shawbury has no other military airfield nearby and has been heavily utilised by Valley and others.

[Mick Strigg]

This is going to happen. It's all part of the preparations for the disbandment of the RAF on 31 Mar 2018 when the 100 year experiment completes!

[teeteringhead]

However, is there anywhere left with such a huge 3-storey Officers Mess? Which actually gets a brief mention in Pevsner.

[Matoman]

Perhaps we should all cast our minds back to when the original proposal to create DHFS was staffed. I seem to remember that all three services were invited to submit their proposals for the location on the understanding that the two units not selected would close. Shawbury was selected as the most suitable base for DHFS and yet unsurprisingly neither Culdrose nor Middle Wallop have actually closed. Given the considerable investment in infrastructure, equipment and personnel necessary for a DHFS operation to take place elsewhere, along with a dedicated LFA, I very much doubt a new DHFS contractor would consider moving the operation elsewhere, as currently there is no compelling reason to do so.

I suppose it was only a matter of time before someone from Boulmer tried to turn the discussion over to where a combined CATCS / SABM should be located and rather predictably try to make a case for Boulmer.

I seem to recall that it wasn’t that long ago that Boulmer was scheduled to close and now that the SAR element will be closing down completely in the near future, the argument for closure or some form of draw down at Boulmer becomes even more compelling.

Moving SABM away from Boulmer and finally bringing their Phase Two training within the Training Group by locating a combined school at Shawbury, would make a lot of sense and is certainly a better argument than for locating a combined school at Boulmer. In the interim, whilst no money for a combined school is available, both CATCS and SABM currently have the appropriate facilities at the present locations and so are unlikely to move any time soon. Nevertheless, given the future size of the RAF and the planned amalgamation of the specialisations, a combined school makes sound economic sense and in the long-term I suspect Shawbury will end up being the preferred location.

MATOman

[TorqueOfTheDevil]

now that the SAR element will be closing down completely in the near future, the argument for closure or some form of draw down at Boulmer becomes even more compelling.


The closure of A Flight should and will make little difference to the viability of Boulmer as an ABM base. The SAR Flt has about 20 mil personnel and a slightly larger number of civ engineers/squippers - a small fraction of the hundreds who work at Boulmer. Most of the SARBoys (and girls - due respect to OC A inter alia!) live out, therefore little impact on Mess occupancy/usage etc, and the footprint of the Flt is tiny - all the base will gain when the flt closes is better premises for the firemen and space for a new sports pitch if desired.

Whether Boulmer survives a master plan to combine ABM/ATC trg is another matter...

[MPN11]

Thank you, unknown former colleague :cool:

Moving SABM away from Boulmer and finally bringing their Phase Two training within the Training Group by locating a combined school at Shawbury, would make a lot of sense and is certainly a better argument than for locating a combined school at Boulmer. In the interim, whilst no money for a combined school is available, both CATCS and SABM currently have the appropriate facilities at the present locations and so are unlikely to move any time soon. Nevertheless, given the future size of the RAF and the planned amalgamation of the specialisations, a combined school makes sound economic sense and in the long-term I suspect Shawbury will end up being the preferred location.

MATOman