Re Hawley / Starve Acre

[Martinburney]

Hi All

The following message was posted to another aviation forum.
Can anyone help. The grid ref. is SU845590 or Long/Lat N5119-W00047

Regards Martin Burney



Hi
A couple of years ago, I stumbled across a small airstrip on the Army heathland about 2 miles east of Blackbushe.( Only lived in the area for 20 years!!!}
L shape runway configuration - e-w runway still intact and about 1200ft. At its western end another shorter runway at right angles going south but stripped of tarmac- in heaps at the end.
Can't find any local info in libraries etc.
Ordnance survey shows it and probably called Starve Hill or Starve Acre. May have last been used by Army to test sand filters just prior to Desert Storm.
Just personal curiosity - anyone know when set up and what usage??
Photos could be provided for anyone wanting that sort of documentation.

Regards
Tony Hyatt
Sandhurst, Berks

[BRL]

Hi Martin. I am sending a copy of this to the Aviation History and Nostalga forum. Maybe one of the old boys in there might know something about it. Good luck. :)

[Keef]

Never come across it in any of my airfield data gathering. Don't have anything within a mile of those coordinates, either.

Was it an airfield, or something for the army to play on, as in the Stanford PTA in Norfolk?

[Circuit Basher]

Have looked this up on Street Map and found where you mean. It's actually at N51:19:10 W0:47:20

Did a bit of Web research and found this Web site Hampshire Airfields (http://pub34.bravenet.com/guestbook/show.php?usernum=2873772028&cpv=1). In the guestbook, a Barry Goldsacks posted the following question on 6 May 02:-

I am a PPL and have made a point of flying over most of the sites listed in your Hampshire Airfields. I am pleased to say I have learnt of a few I hadn't up until now heard of. A very interesting site.
Do you have any info on an old airfield I first flew over in the early 1970s? It is " Starve Acre ", located on Army land two miles east of Blackbushe and three miles north of Farnborough. After seeing it from the air I visited the sight on foot and discovered two very short concrete runways. At that time there was a metal mast where the runways met which would have supported a windsock. I contacted The Museum of Army Flying to see if they could provide any info on the site but they had never heard of it.
It is my guess that it was a construction trial sometime during the last war and was never used for any flying. I would be very pleased to hear differently.
It is clearly marked on Ordnance Survey maps showing the two runways.
I look forward to your response.

The reponse to this question was not visible on the Web site, as it was an email response (if, indeed, one was sent at all).

HTH.

[poetpilot]

It's on www.multimap.com at link

http://www.multimap.com/map/photo.cgi?client=public&x=484316&y=158717&scale=10000&width=500&height=310


(cor wot a mouthful...) - that's the photo version of it.

[wrecker]

Flew in to this strip in about 1964 in a DH Beaver at that time it was used to teach Tactical Field landings etc and was also used for AOP9 ops.