In 1955 The Italian Air Ministry awarded a £145,000 contract to Maycrete Ltd of London to supply prefabricated aluminium buildings to the Italian Air Force. They consisted of: 10 Troop Barracks, 15 Officers' and NCOs' Barracks, 08 Messing Quarters, 04 Club Rooms/Canteens and 20 Shipston type three bedroomed Bungalows. These were airlifted from Bovingdon to Rome by C119 Fairchild Packets of The 46a Aerobrigata who detached personnel to Bovingdon for the duration of the operation.
The first relay in early autumn 1955 consisted of three aircraft carrying all the components required for the erection of just one Barrack Building.
C119 of 46a Aerobrigata. A later photograph at Bovingdon in August 1957. Many thanks to Bernard Martin for permission to include this image.
It was reported that a slight hiccup occurred when an inbound C119 took a wrong turning off the A41 and landed, some 26 miles up the road, at The Rocket Propulsion Establishment, RAE Westcott. Easily done with one war-time airfield looking much like another.
Westcott Airfield.
Westcott was a rather rundown looking place surrounded by high fences, police patrols and immediately post-war, peopled by German Rocket Scientists.
Westcott November 1964.
Westcott November 1964. (Photographer Tony Eyles)
I fear that viewing this film is rather like watching paint dry. One expects that Alec Guinness will appear at any moment but sadly he does not.
https://www.bis-space.com/wp-content...tt-History.pdf