Which airfield?

[exscribbler]

Can any one help me identify this lovely new airfield?

http://www.putpic.com/gallery/684/8826432

The RAF Museum says it's Finningley as 76 Squadron was formed there in 1937 from 7 Squadron but I'm not so sure as the MQs there are behind the hangars and can't be seen from the this position. I realise there was some rebuilding of Finningley in the 1960s for the V-Force but surely that wouldn't involve moving the houses?

Any help will be gratefully received; the keen young officer sixth from the left is my wife's father, Bernard Peter Jones. The original photograph has Vickers Aeroplane Company stamped on the back.

Exscribbler

[Hot Charlie]

Looking at the link below, it looks as though the small section of quarters behind said hangar (which I'm assuming is the most northern one) would be visible from this angle - and assuming that any foliage would have been newly planted in 1937:):

http://www.flashearth.com/?lat=53.488745&lon=-1.005856&z=18.3&r=0&src=ggl

[GOLF_BRAVO_ZULU]

The Museum will have used their reference http://www.rafweb.org/Sqn076-80.htm

The squadron disbanded at Tadcaster on 13 June 1919. When it reformed at Finningley on 12 April 1937, it was in the bomber role, having been formed from 'B' Flight of No 7 Squadron and for the next two years was equipped with Vickers Wellesleys.

[ORAC]

How certain are you of the year? If it was 1938 it might be RAF Stradishall as 148 sqn moved there in the March of that year. KK7716 was on the strength of of 148 sqn when it later crashed in 1939.

"Flying accident 18/10/1939, age 32. Irwin was the Wireless Operator aboard one of two 148 Squadron Wellesleys that crashed head on over Dunmow in Essex. Irwin was in K7716 flown by Sergeants Prosser and Cuningham; The other Wellesley (K7714) was flown by Pilot Officer Wheelright and Sgt Walker with AC2 Boyd as wireless operator"

RAF Stradishall: (http://www.roll-of-honour.com/Suffolk/StradishallRAF.html)

RAF Stradishall was created when the site was selected for the expansion scheme bomber airfield. Sited at Stradishall it was located mainly in the parish of Hundon, south of the A143 road, some 11 miles from Bury St Edmunds. It lay on Suffolk clay which, although excellent for heavy crops of wheat, was not suitbale for heavy aeroplanes. Despite the extensive under draining carried out during construction the glue-like mud that appeared after heavy rain quickly led to RAF Stradishall becoming the first airfield in Bomber Command scheduled for hardened runways.

Five Type C hangars, administrative, technical and barrack buildings were built between the bombing circle and the A143 during 1937-38 and Stradishall officially opened on February 3 1938, although still far from complete. Sir Lindsay Parkinson & Co. Ltd carried out the £500,000 contract. Nos. 9 and 148 Squadrons moved in from Scampton the following month where the latter had recently formed from a flight of the former. No. 9 had Heyfords and No. 148 Wellesleys, although it received Heyfords when all Wellesleys were withdrawn and sent to the Middle East and East Africa. There was not long to wait for Wellingtons with which Bomber Command intended to reequip all No. 3 Group squadrons, both units receiving this modern type in February and March 1939.

[OverTq]

Bloody big mountain in the background!

[exscribbler]

OverTq: I never met Mrs Ex's father as he was long gone to Canada well before she and I met but, if his reputation (according to her mother) was anything to go by, that'll be Mount Beerstain...

ORAC: I'm not sure of the year; there's no indication on the original print.

I'm assuming BP Jones was at Cranwell in the early 1930s - he was born in 1913; he left the RAF at the end of the war. My mother-in-law had a gold RAF wings brooch with, if I remember correctly, an Irvin Airchute Company Caterpillar attached by a small chain. Sadly, this item is no longer in the family as it was stolen in a burglary some 25 years ago. B*stards; they were never caught http://www.pprune.org/forums/images/icons//icon8.gif and she was devastated.

I didn't know about the crash of K7716, although I discovered that K7713 was the first production model, delivered to A&AEE at Martlesham Heath on 4 March 1937.

I wondered if the photograph had anything to do with the Long Range Development Flight and its successful flight from Ismailia to Darwin in November 1938, although there are rather more than three aircraft displayed. The LRDU may have been part of the A&AEE which moved from Martlesham Heath to Boscombe Down in 1939. The layout of Martlesham Heath is no longer traceable on Google Earth as the site has been comprehensively redeveloped and I haven't been able to find a photo of the site as an airfield. Other airfields I have examined are Cranwell, Hurn (factory) Upper Heyford, Upwood and Boscombe Down, none of which show the houses in that position.

Thanks for all contributions so far; any more will be more than welcome. Perhaps Mrs Ex will get some more answers when she writes to RAF Disclosures at Cranwell.

[exscribbler]

Another thought; does anyone know if there are on-line versions of the Air Force List from (say) 1935 to 1945? Too much to hope for, perhaps?

[mystic_meg]

I'd say it could possibly be Finningley - the hangar could be the old SARF HQ, and the houses could be the (in)famous 'Gatehouse' ...(aaahh..memories, or should that be 'mammaries?') :E

[polecat2]

From "Bases of Bomber Command Then and Now" by R A Freeman.

http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg156/polecat2/Finn01.jpg

http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg156/polecat2/Finn02.jpg

[exscribbler]

Polecat 2: Thanks for the confirmation; I wonder what event the photo was to mark?

Mike J: I searched the London Gazette and there he was! In the LG of 23 Feb 1937 - The undermentioned Acting Pilot Officers on probation (!) are confirmed in their appointments and graded as Pilot Officers on the dates stated (27 January 1937).

I haven't his Service Number but a check with the CWGC showed several of his contemporaries with SNs in the range 37664 to 37714. One of them was 37693 S/L ASK Scarf, a Blenheim pilot who won a VC in Malaya in 1941.

See: http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=937770
and
http://www.victoriacross.org.uk/pimg.htm

His VC is held at the RAF Museum, Hendon.

Mystic Meg: Tell me more...;)

ORAC, GBZ and Hot Charlie: Thanks, you're brilliant - as if you didn't know. Mrs Ex will be so pleased... :ok:

[allan908]

Polecat Spot on - got to it before I could. The hangar in question is the old BCDU (Bomber Command Development Unit) Hangar - No 1 - when Finningley used to be a real RAF base and not some kindergarten.

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c92/allan907/chipchip.jpg

[Warmtoast]

exscribbler

Your father-in-law is shown in a photo that illustrated an article about 76 Sqn in Flight magazine (17th March 1938).

Here:

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r231/thawes/Flight17March1938-76Sqn_800x468.jpg

Other contemporary 76 Sqn photo are below.
http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r231/thawes/76Sqn1_800x337.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r231/thawes/76Sqn2_800x537.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r231/thawes/76Sqn3_437x600.jpg


When the Zeppelin attacks on .London in the autumn of 1915 revealed the complete ineffectiveness of the defences. Lord Kitchener (so it is recorded in The War in the Air, Vol. III) sent for Sir David Henderson, the Director General of Military Aeronautics, and asked him “What are you going to do about these airship raids? “ Sir David replied that the responsibility rested with the R.N.A.S. To which K. of K. retorted, “I do not care who has the responsibility; it there are any more Zeppelin raids and the Royal Flying Corps do not interfere with them, I shall hold you responsible.”
Not long afterwards it was decided that the Admiralty should hand over the air defence of the country to the War Office, and then Sir David Henderson was able to make plans for intercepting the raiders. It was decided to form ten Home Defence squadrons, and string them out on a line between Dover and Edinburgh. But in May, 1916, the number was reduced to eight, and next month the needs of the Army in France caused another reduction to six. In the autumn the matter was reconsidered, and the four other Home Defence squadrons were raised. Under this final decision, No. 76 H.D. Squadron came into being on September 15, 1916 The first CO. of the Squadron was Major E. M. Murray, M.C., and his headquarters were at Ripon. The three flights of the squadron were stationed at Catterick, Helperby (near Ripon), and Copmanthorpe (south-west of York). Each of these stations was equipped with a searchlight.
The H.D. Squadrons were mostly given B.E. machines of various types, though there were a few F.E.s here and there. The choice of machines was probably dictated partly by what the Army in France could spare and partly by ease of landing at night. Actually the B.E, 2c proved very suitable for the work, and that type was responsible for destroying several German airships. The establishment of a Home Defence Squadron was eighteen machines, but by the end of 1916 less than half the allotted total had been received by the squadrons.
These squadrons worked under active service conditions and accommodation on the aerodromes was of the simplest, the aerodromes were sometimes cramped and of poor surface. Night landings on those grounds by the help of primitive flares must have been an anxious task, and altogether the life of the officers could hardly be described as a “cushy job.”
They Also Serve.
The worst of it was that for the squadrons stationed in the North there was little chance of glory. There had to be H.D. squadrons in the North, for on one occasion a Zeppelin had found Hull utterly undefended and bombed it with deliberate aim, doing considerable damage. But No. 76 Squadron never had the luck which fell to the pilots of No. 39 H.D. Squadron in Essex, or the R.N.A.S. pilots of Felixstowe and Great Yarmouth, of shooting a Zeppelin down in flames. ”They also serve who only stand and wait”—No. 76 Squadron did its duty in the Great War. and no unit can do more than that. At the date of the Armistice the squadron formed part of the 46th Wing, its stable companions being Nos. 36 and 77 H.D. Squadrons. By that time they had been promoted to Avro machines. So ended the first chapter in the squadron’s history.
The present expansion scheme called it into life again, and it was reformed on April 12, 1937, at Finningley, a few miles outside Doncaster. According to the Air Ministry notifications, it was first intended to make it a heavy bomber squadron, and the nucleus from which it was re-formed was a flight of No. 7 (B) Squadron, which was a unit equipped with Heyfords. This decision was presently reconsidered, and No 76 became the first unit of the R.A.F. to receive the Vickers Wellesley medium bomber.
It was no small distinction to be the first Wellesley squadron, for this machine with its light but strong geodetic construction sounds a new note in R.A.F. equip­ment. Its designer, Mr. B. N. Wallis, has said that if loaded up” with fuel, and nothing but fuel, it could cover 8,000 miles non-stop. It has naturally been chosen as the type with which the R.A.F. Long-range Flight will operate. As the equipment of a bomber squadron, the Wellesley is not expected to break any world’s records; but with its disposable load adjusted between fuel and bombs, it could naturally carry a very useful weight of explosives for a very respectable distance into an enemy’s country. With a normal load of both, its range is reckoned at 1,620 miles in still air, and its maximum ceiling with full military load is 31,000 feet. The Pegasus XX engine develops a maximum b.h.p. of 925 at 10,000 feet. The Wellesley has a top speed of 216 m.p.h. with full military load. The wing loading is 17.50 lb./sq. ft., and the power loading 11.3 lb. /h.p. Incidentally, the geodetic construction would probably stand a good deal of shooting about before any structural failure would occur, and the knowledge of that would give great confidence to the men in the machines.
The pilots of No. 76 B.S. are full of praise for the flying qualities of the Wellesley. Also, it is a very good example of the necessity for complete retraction of the undercarriage, for if by any chance it is not closed up flush, the machine in question is not able to keep its place in the formation. Every pilot on joining is made to fly for five hours with the wheels down before he is allowed to retract them.
No Space Wasted

Not unnaturally, in a machine designed for performance, there is no room wasted inside the Wellesley. The man in the back seat is responsible for wireless, gunnery, and bombing, and he has a table to write on when working out the navigation. No. 76 B.S. has a supply of qualified air observers for this responsible position, namely, a sergeant and several corporals. In the front cockpit the pilot’s seat takes up the whole of the space from aide to side. But if a second pilot is carried (which would certainly be advisable on a very long flight) it is possible for him to relieve the first pilot. It is rather amusing to watch this operation. The relief comes up behind and releases a catch, which allows the pilot’s seat to tilt backwards until his torso is horizontal and his thighs perpendicular. Even though, for our benefit, the operation was carried out inside a hangar, and the first pilot knew what was going to happen, the expression on his face as he felt himself beginning to go over backwards raised an unsuppressible smile from the spectator. But one can imagine that if a pilot had been flying half across Africa, the coming of the relief would be welcome even if it involved a half-back somersault followed by a wriggle and a crawl. Mr. Wallis allowed plenty of room to swing a cat on R.100, and he has now shown that he can do the opposite.
Finningley is one of the new stations, and it has a large aerodrome with a good surface. All the married quarters for airmen have been finished, and the barracks have been built. One, curious thing about the station is that the county boundary between Yorkshire and Nottingham runs through it. Most of the aerodrome is in Yorkshire, but the living quarters are in Nottingham, Therefore Doncaster, being a Yorkshire town, will not admit the children of the airmen to its schools. The squadron provides transport to take the children two miles to a school at Rossington
Of course Doncaster is the place which provides amusement when officers and men leave the station, and the unit of the Territorial Army there is very friendly to the squadron. The officers of No. 76 have all been made honorary members of the local golf club and the Doncaster Aero Club, None the less; Finningley itself is not a place of all work and no play. Every week a cinema show is held in the N.A.A.F.I. hut to which officers are admitted for 1/- and men for 4d.
Finningley aerodrome is a sanctioned bombing range for dummy bombs, but another range is being made at Mission, five miles away, to serve several stations. No. 76 B.S. went to No. 2 Air Armament School at North Coates (it is no longer a “camp,” and is no longer called by the intriguing name of North Coates Fitties) in November, and did live bombing and gunnery. While there the machines had to be left out in the open, and the squadron was very pleased to find how well the Wellesleys stood up to the rigours of the season.
No. 76 (B) Squadron impresses the visitor as a very good unit with a very good aeroplane. What is the Wellesley going to do in the future? It is a machine of promise, and we wait with great interest to see that promise fulfilled.

[exscribbler]

Mike J: Thanks for that; 37739 looks like him but Mrs Ex will have to wait for confirmation from Cranwell. One entry has RAFO next to his name; it surely can't mean Read And Find Out - any ideas?

Thawes: That is absolutely brilliant! Mrs Ex and I presume you consulted your collection, which had a double result in that she was pleased and I could reinforce the concept of saving all magazines, no matter how much space they take... What a write-up on the Wellesley! Optimistic, or what? I bet the 109 pilots were rubbing their hands.

Polecat 2: We visited Finningley yesterday afternoon to work out the angles on the first photograph and discovered that I really must improve my terrain appreciation skills. A suitably craven email will be sent to the RAF Museum soonest. :O

Thank you all so much for your help; any more information will, of course, be gratefully received and I'll post the results of her enquiry with Cranwell. :ok:

[exscribbler]

Mike J: According to Mrs Ex's uncle (a 91-year-old Flt Lieut RAFVR (Retd) who can still remember his SN!:ok:) BPJ spent some time in Burma; Oman wasn't mentioned, but wasn't that more a 1960s and 1970s thing than 1940s?

The Gazette entries show:

1. Promotion to Sqn Ldr (temp) wef 1 March 1942 (LG 27 March 1942)
2. Transfer from GD Branch to Admin and Spec Duties Branch in the Reserve of AF Officers still as a temp Sqn Ldr wef 22 July 1943 (LG 10 August 1943)
3. Confirmed promotion to Sqn Ldr wef 27 January 1942 (LG 23 May 1944) - some welcome seniority there!
4 RAFO (LG 8 June 1944) - most on that page are either RAFVR or RAFO

I love the style in which the Wellesley is described - you can almost hear the Movietone News commentator! I bet the crews were glad they didn't have to face the Luftwaffe - we all know what happened to the Battles when they tackled the Albert Canal bridges and the 109s.

Brave, steadfast and faithful men all - and somehow this PC-obsessed country still produces their like. Thank God.

[ORAC]

.......During the period 1939-45 the following acronyms were widely used, RAF .= Royal Air Force, RAFO = Reserve of Air Force Officers...........

Wikipedia: ......The RAFVR was formed in July 1936 to provide individuals to supplement the Auxiliary Air Force (AAF) which had been formed in 1925 by the local Territorial Associations. The AAF was organised on a Squadron basis, with local recruitment similar to the Territorial Army Regiments. Initially the RAFVR was composed of civilians recruited from the neighbourhoods of Reserve Flying Schools, which were run by civilian contractors who largely employed as instructors members of the Reserve of Air Force Officers (RAFO), who had previously completed a four year short service commission as pilots in the RAF.

[Warmtoast]

I love the style in which the Wellesley is described - you can almost hear the Movietone News commentator! I bet the crews were glad they didn't have to face the Luftwaffe - we all know what happened to the Battles when they tackled the Albert Canal bridges and the 109s.[

As an addendum to the article quoted in my post #14 above. The author is a "Major F. A. de V. Robertson, VD. MA (Oxon)". Thinking the award/decoration VD was a typo for VC I did a Google search and it turns out Robertson did in fact have the VD, but not as we would expect in modern day parlance as a medical problem. VD in those days was the Volunteer Decoration, created in July 1892 to reward 'efficient and capable' officers of the Volunteer Force who had served for twenty years, so he must be totally FFI!

One can almost imagine Major Robertson reporting to his new unit, being interviewed by his new CO as the CO read his record of service:

"...so Robertson, you have the VD then, where did you get that?" "Well Sir it was in Cairo I think, but I wasn't the only one, many of my fellow officers had the VD too!" etc. etc

Major Frederic Arthur de Vere Robertson, to give him his full name, was a noted 1930's author / co-author of books about the RAF and aeroplanes, but other than that I know nothing more about him.

[snapper41]

The caption in 'Bases of Bomber Command Then and Now' (see Polecat's post above) is wrong. It states the hangar is the western-most one, but it is in fact the northern-most. The MQs seen beyond the hangar are what became the infamous Gatehouse estate, used to house the ab initio airman aircrew courses, and now sadly demolished:{:{

[exscribbler]

Snapper41: As can be seen on Google Earth where Almond Close is still shown.

Thawes: According to ARRSEPedia the VD was replaced in 1908 by the Territorial Decoration which itself was succeeded in 1930 by the Efficiency Decoration, although UK recipients continued to use the post-nominal TD. Perhaps it was fortunate that the first PN was discontinued although I imagine the abbreviation didn't then have the connotations later applied to it.

It's just as well it was only an Army decoration as the VD was frequently self-awarded by the pilots of 608 (North Riding) Squadron in the 1930s if my Dad's stories were anything to go by. Allegedly... :E