WW2 RAF Aerodromes

[X-QUORK]

Does anyone know a good source of info for research into WW2 RAF Aerodromes ?
In particular, I used to go running on an old airfield known comically by the locals as "The Landin's", located near Witney in West Oxfordshire - could it have been a satellite to Brize ?

Any help gratefully received.

[Snapshot]

There is a series called ACTION STATIONS published by PSL Patrick Stephens Limited. They cover all the areas of the UK, absolutely excellent. I have the Lincolnshire and Eat Midlands edition
Snapshot
www.AvCollect.com (http://www.AvCollect.com)

[2greens]

The best source of information I have come across for RAF stations in particular is a series of books called "Action Stations". There are half a dozen books in the series, one covering each region of the UK. They vary in quality a bit though.

2G

[Talking Radalt]

Try RAF Museum Hendon too....

[BEagle]

The 2 disused aerodromes nearest to Witney were:

1. 'Witney' just south of the Witney-Burford road, was originally a WW1 FTS, became dormant until the 1930s when some civil flying took place there, then became a RLG for Brize Norton's 2 SFTS. It is now the site of the West Oxfordshire Motor Auctions, but was used until it closed in 1946 as a repair base by (aaaah) de Havilland in WW2, before later becoming the 'Smiths Industries' site until a few years ago.

2. 'Akeman Street' just north-east of Minster Lovell on the back road from Hailey to Leafield, was also a 2 SFTS RLG. Disused after WW2, it closed in 1947 and now there's a scrap site on its western edge.

...and NO I DIDN'T FLY AT EITHER AERODROME!!


[This message has been edited by BEagle (edited 19 April 2001).]

[Man-on-the-fence]

Could possibly be Stanford in the Vale

[BEagle]

I doubt it - Stanford-in-the-Vale's aerodrome was actually called 'Shellingford' and is quite a way from Witney. It was only really in use from late summer 1941 after expansion of Kelmscot, near Lechlade was ruled out.

[Penn Doff]

Interesting stuff on the local area BEagle, as a resident local to Brize it is good to put a name to these old bases. Where did you get the info from (e-mail as above if you would prefer not to be seen as a spotter type).

------------------
"please report further"

[Shackman]

Another good reference to airfields of WW2 is "Military Airfields in the British Isles 1939-45 (Omnibus Edition)", published by (of course) Enthusiasts Publications, Newport Pagnall. The copy I have was printed in 1990 - and no, I'm not a spotter but found this useful to confound students wirh local knowledge!

It mentions an airfield aa RAF Akeman Street, 3 miles W of Whitney - is this the one you mean?
Pertama

[X-QUORK]

Many thanks to you all, especially BEagle.

Yes, the airfield I was refering to is located on the old Roman road Akeman Street between Hailey and Leafield - and apart from the perimeter track and a couple of shelters there's little to see.

2 SFTS ? Pardon my ignorance, but what does the S stand for, I'm assuming the rest is Flying Training Squadron ? And what type would they have been flying ?

[Jackonicko]

Service FT School

Akeman St: Opened 10 July 1940 as RLG for 2 SFTS.

Following the bombing of Brize by two Ju 88s on 16 August 1940, Advanced Training Squadron, 2 SFTS, actually moved in to Akeman St and was fully op. within 2 days!

The bombing was described as 'the most spectacular on any British airfield during the war', with 30 small bombs and dozens of incendiaries destroying No.s 1 and 3 hangars and damaging the roofs of a barrack block and the Institute Building. One civilian was killed, and three injured, plus 13 service personnel. But aircraft losses (especially at No.6 MU) were staggering, with a final tally of 46 written-off! It took until nightfall to put out all the fires! Harwell was attacked the next day, losing three Wellingtons, and Benson had received the attentions of a Ju 88 only three days before Brize.

An Oxford was shot down in the Circuit at 0300 on 28 July 1941 by a German Night Intruder.

2 SFTS was re-designated as 2 (P) AFU on 14 March 1942, but this closed on 14 July, and thereafter the airfield became an RLG for No.6 (P) AFU at Little Rissington from July 1942 to 15 August 1942 when flying ceased. It closed on 1 February 1947.

2 SFTS flew the Airspeed Oxford (by the time Akeman St opened it had lost its Harvards, and the single-engined training role). It also used RLGs at Witney, and Southrop.

No.2 (Pilots') Advanced Flying Unit gave continuation training to Dominion pilots on Oxfords and a handful of Ansons. No.6 used Oxfords.

Edited to add: The RAF museum will have the official site plans and maps, and could supply photocopies.



[This message has been edited by Jackonicko (edited 20 April 2001).]

[X-QUORK]

Jacko,

Wonderful background info, I hadn't realised Brize had been given such a pasting...it's hard to imagine those Ju 88s raising merry hell in little old West Oxon !

I'm going to get in touch with Hendon to ask about digging through their archives for any photos.

Many thanks.

Regards,

X-Q

[scroggs]

At its height there was never much more than a peri track and a couple of shelters at Akeman Street! It still stands out well from the air.
The Action Stations series includes 11 volumes (the last is 'Action Stations Overseas') and is published by PSL. It's probably still available through Amazon. To get you strted, Action Stations 1 (East Anglia) is ISBN 0 85059 335 2. Action Stations 6 (Cotswolds and Central Midlands - the bit you're after) is ISBN 0 85059 529 0. 'Britain's Military Airfields' by David Smith is a sequel to the Action Stations series, and is ISBN 1 85260 038 1. Hope this helps!

------------------
Scroggs
Wannabe Forum Moderator
[email protected]

[Blue Stuff]

At risk of straying slightly from the thread, does anybody have anything on a wartime USAAF airfield by the name of Harrington, in the South-East? My old UAS mounted an exercise in the late '70s to recover a pair of Brownings from the rear turret of a USAAF Liberator flying out of Harrington, which crashed on high ground to the West of Sheffield during WWII. Whilst I don't necessarily condone removal of artefacts from crash sites, the Sqn are interested in finding out more about the A/C and crew; according to records held at Elvington, one person survived the accident. Any info gratefully received.

Regards,

Blue.

[WebPilot]

Hi Blue Stuff,

RAF Harrington (or USAAF Station 179) was occupied by the 801st/492nd American Eighth Air Force Bomb Group, otherwise known as The Carpetbaggers, which was engaged in SOE operations (ie flying agents and supplies into Occupied Europe).

Post war the station was one of the
Thor missile bases and was closed in 1963.

Harrington is just off the A14 near Kettering. I think there's a small wreckology museum somewhere nearby, but I've not visited it (not much into bits of twisted ally).


[This message has been edited by WebPilot (edited 23 April 2001).]

[BEagle]

Harrington's Thor missile pads were very visible from the air last time I was up that way. For some obscure reason, it disappeared off the CAA 1/2 mill map a couple of years ago, so if you're near Naseby and spot a disused aerodrome 4 miles or so to the east which doesn't appear on the map, that's Harrington!!

[newswatcher]

Hi Blue Stuff, staying ever so slightly "off-thread", I came across this site the other day. Might be of interest.

http://www.455th.ukpc.net/tomfeise/8thusaaf/bases.htm

Extract for Harrington follows:

Harrington, Station 179: Satellite to RAF Denton. 5.5 m W of Kettering, built by 826th and 852nd Engin. Bn. (Aviation), RAF 84 OTU, 8th USAAF 801st Bomb Group (merged from 36th and 406th BS) with B24s, painted black, special operations (OSS, 'Carpetbaggers'), later redesignated 492nd BG (46/850/788, 856/857/858/859 BS), 406th Night Leaflet Sq.. Later: RAF storage, Thor missile site, now agricultural land, owned by Merton College, Oxford. Memorial to 801st/492nd 'Carpetbaggers', on the Lamport-Rothwell road.


[This message has been edited by newswatcher (edited 25 April 2001).]

[Blue Stuff]

Hello chaps.

Thanks for these snippets, especially that website, Newswatcher. I'm afraid my own attempts at research were not terribly fruitful (scouring quarter mil charts and a road atlas for disused aerodromes!).

Sorry for hijacking your thread, X-QUORK. Serious question: does anybody know the proper procedures for de-activating weapons (i.e. 6mm Brownings) for display purposes? When I re-discovered the guns from the Liberator in a garage at Fenton last year, I had to turn them over to the armourers at Linton, who sent them to Donington for de-activation. They didn't sound too hopeful of us getting them back though - apparently such weapons are frequently just destroyed on receipt, despite any requests for their return. I'm no longer on the Sqn, but would like to tie this up if possible. Thoughts, anybody?

Regards,

Blue.

[WebPilot]

Deactivated weapons generally have the barrel filled and welded and the firing mechanism disabled. . The Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988, Section 8 states:

For the purposes of the principal Act (the Firearms Act 1968) and this Act it shall be presumed, unless the contrary is shown, that a firearm has been rendered incapable of discharging any shot, bullet or other missile, and has consequently ceased to be a firearm within the meaning of those Acts, if—
(a) it bears a mark which has been approved by the Secretary of State for denoting that fact and which has been made either by one of the two companies mentioned in section 58(1) of the principal Act or by such other person as may be approved by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this section; and
(b) that company or person has certified in writing that work has been carried out on the firearm in a manner approved by the Secretary of State for rendering it incapable of discharging any shot, bullet or other missile.


HTH


[This message has been edited by WebPilot (edited 26 April 2001).]

[Skylark4]

My local Library, Abingdon, Oxford, has the full set of `Action Stations.` Try Yours.

Mike W

[ORAC]

Harrington: Thor launch site manned by 218 Sqn, one of 5 squadrons under the control of a main complex command centre at North Luffenham, with 3 missile/launch pads. The others being 144 Sqn North Luffenham, 130 Sqn at Polebrook, 223 at Folkingham and 254 at Melton Mowbray. There were a total of 4 complexes x 5 sqns for a total of 60 missiles. The North Luffenham complex and subordinate sites were the last decommissioned. Non-op 15 Aug 63, disbanded 23 Aug 63.

The Thor force had 59 out of 60 missiles on 15 minutes alert during the Cuban missile crisis in Oct 62 - the other being used for training at the Strategic Missile School at Feltwell.

The force was disbanded as a result of a decision taken in April 62 and announced in Parliament on 1st August 62.

[Oldie Volvo]

Not a great deal left at Harrington now - a
few sheds, the bases for the Thor missile
pads and the firing butts which used to be a
great source of spent bullets when I were but
a lad. There is a museum of sorts which uses
the old Ops block (I think) but as far as I remember its only open on high days and holy
days. I used to do some very silly flying
over Harrington many years ago before I grew
up and scared myself ****less - happy days !

[Arkroyal]

The launch pads at Harrington are in pretty good condition. I wonder why all the others are gone?

Few years ago I was flying the local plod helo over Harrington when the NATs (New Age Travellers) moved in. Much persuasion and threats failed to convince them to move on until a bright spark let it be known that the base had once been home to filthy nuke missiles. They cleared off pretty quickly!

[Blue Stuff]

Greetings all.

Thanks for the above - some interesting gen here. I'll keep going with the research. The only time I've seen Thor pads was at Barkston when undertaking a most enjoyable (and frosty) Ex PEACEKEEPER! TTFN.

Blue.

[chiglet]

There is a guy at EGCC called Graham Innes who has written a series of (ex) RAF Station guides.
When I find his email, or speak to him, I'll post it