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RAF Bovingdon - 1960s

Old 27th Apr 2020, 11:26
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Boulton and Paul Defiant TT MK1 in USAAF Service.

On 1st September 1942 Defiants DR944 and DR945 were seconded to the 326th BS/11CCRC at Bovingdon. They were seen over the next couple of years at American Airfields across East Anglia and towed targets at the 8th Air Force Provisional Gunnery School which was established to train B17 Gunners at Snettisham, Norfolk in the summer of 1943.



DR945 thought to have been photographed at Bovingdon. Photo credit American Air Museum in Britain.

DR945 had a couple of minor scrapes including a belly landing at Bovingdon on 4th February 1943. The pilot Lt John R Westwood later went on to Command the 401st Bomber Squadron at Bassingbourn. Some nostalgic snaps of 'Westy' Westwood here:
Westy Westwood and Peg O' My Heart - 91st Bomb Group (H)

DR945 was again slightly damaged in a ground accident at Bovingdon on June 14th 1943 and was eventually returned to 10 MU in December 1944.

DR945 at Rougham, Bury St Edmunds. Both Defiants displayed USAAF and RAF Markings. Photo credit WW2 Aircraft Net.



DR944 at Bassingbourn. Photo credit WW2 Aircraft Net.



Staff Sergeant Andrew Tolmachoff at Snettisham. In 1944 he was a B17 tail gunner with the 369th BS. Having completed 19 missions and suffered the effects of Frostbite and shrapnel wounds he was re-assigned as a Gunnery Instructor. Photo credit American Air Museum in Britain.



Snettisham - these days an RSPB Reserve. Photo credit Richard Humphrey.

In July 1944 Defiant DR944 was returned to 10 MU in the charge of The Royal Navy. In February 1945 she was allocated to Martin Baker and used for Ejector Seat Trials.
The very first aerial ejection was achieved with this aircraft using a dummy over RAF Wittering on May 11th 1945.



DR944 World's First Ejection.



Pioneer Ejectorist Bernard Lynch of Martin Baker. DR944 in the background.








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Old 27th Apr 2020, 16:45
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That ejection seat ramp takes me back to South Cerney.
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Old 7th May 2020, 07:51
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Visiting Vampires


Vampire FB5 - 502 (Auxiliary) Squadron based Aldergrove. Photographed in 1955.



Vampire T11 photographed in 1958. Any idea which FTS it came from?

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Old 7th May 2020, 09:11
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Very nice photos OUAQUFGF Ops. The T11 was not from 8 FTS at Swinderby, markings are wrong. Photo below of me at Swinderby with one of their T11's in 1957. We also had Vampire Fives and Nines. Wonderful days pre my time on Coastal Com at Bovingdon in 1961/2!

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Old 7th May 2020, 09:17
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T11 XE871 – Armament practice unit at Acklington?
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Old 7th May 2020, 11:34
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XV490 - I think you are right. I gleaned those images off a certain auction web site. Acklington is written on the back of the photograph. brakedwell good to see you in the flesh. Those were the Days ! Incidentally in 1957 I together with our neighbour's son Jonny used to be driven from Ashley Green to school at Kings Langley. The parents alternated this task so if we went in our car (an open top Morris Minor) fine views could be obtained passing the runway at Bovingdon however if it was next door's vehicle (a green Morris Minor Van) one could see bugger all whilst crouched in the back !
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Old 8th May 2020, 07:27
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Bovingdon. Probably photographed in the late fifties - early sixties. Appears to be parked on a dispersal in the north-east of the aerodrome. The Second World War would not have been won without the fighting forces of The British Commonwealth and the magnificent C47.
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Old 8th May 2020, 08:24
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KN201: It still had its old RAF serial number.
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Old 8th May 2020, 09:00
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KN291. (Ended its days in South America.)
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Old 9th May 2020, 11:50
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Midair Collision B17 42-37850 and C47 43-48506 Bovingdon 31st March 1945


B17 42-37850. Photo credit USAAF Nose Art Project.



Sadly the present pandemic has prevented the villagers of Sarratt from holding their planned Commemoration and Service marking the passage of seventy-five years since this accident occurred in their parish. The B17 was on a self-proficiency training detail and was crewed by two pilots and two flight engineers. The skipper was Capt Walter P Hottenstein. The C47 was crewed by two pilots, the skipper being 1st Lt Maurice F Thornburg. Both crews were drawn from 1402 Base Unit AAF which provided hangar and flightline maintenance facilities at Bovingdon. The Bovingdon weather actual at 1400z would indicate that the runway in use would have been 22. The accident report for the B17 is worth reading. Like-wise an eye-witness account by the late Jim Burgin of Chipperfield is reproduced here - his full memoir occurs way back in the depth of this thread.






Credit U.S. Army Women's Museum

Credit U.S. Army Women's Museum

The two crash sites were on open land between the villages of Chipperfield and Sarratt. The B17 burned, the C47 did not. There were no survivors.



B17 aftermath. Photo credit Gregory Edmund (USAAF)


C47. Photo credit Gregory Edmund (USAAF)



C47 Photo credit Gregory Edmund (USAAF)

Emma Jane Windham was one of the Flight Engineers on the B17.

Credit U.S. Army Women's Museum.

More on Emma Jane here:https://www.expressnews.com/news/loc...en-5880802.php

I'm most grateful to Gregory Edmund of the Sarratt History Society for his assistance on this post. Other brief details and pictures of the aircrew can be found here:https://twitter.com/sarratthistory?lang=en


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Old 15th May 2020, 08:09
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A Question of National Importance ! (Extract from Hansard)


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Old 15th May 2020, 14:19
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Bovingdon based British Nederland's two Dakotas had really high cargo and pax utilization across Europe and further afield during 1948 and 1949, in part sustained by contracts from Lep Air Services. Despite the award in 1950 of a Government Contract to provide a leave service for the British Administration in Tripolitania (this necessitated the purchase of a Viking), business had become very thin on the ground and with good prices being paid for Dakotas, G-AJZD was sold towards the end of 1950 whilst the remaining Dakota and Viking provided services until the end of December 1950 when all operations ceased.



Bovingdon, February 1950. Destination Paris. Dakota G-AJZD. Photo credit Lep Transport Archive.




Photo credit Lep Transport Archive.

Photographs of Nederland's Dakotas seem to be few and far between. See #182 for an image of 'ZD.





Croydon not Bovingdon 1948. British Nederlands Dakota G-AJZX. Photo credit Barry Davidson ATChistory.


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Old 23rd May 2020, 10:23
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'Stinky' in Ireland


41-9045 'Stinky' at Bovingdon October 1942. Photo credit American Air Museum in Britain.




On 15th January 1943 'Stinky' was bound for Bovingdon from Gibraltar............ Photo credit American Air Museum in Britain.

https://books.google.co.uk/books/abo...IC&redir_esc=y

J Kemp McLaughlin's excellent book will give you some insight into how the General Commanding The Eighth Army Air Force made an unscheduled arrival at Athenry, County Galway. Read from page 24 onwards.

Further reading here:Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, Athenry, Co, Galway


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Old 30th May 2020, 12:16
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Pigs Might Fly (With plenty of 'Drift')

One of the most successful postwar British Independent Airlines, Hunting Air Transport, later Hunting Clan Air Services was based at Bovingdon from 1948 until 1954. During this period the back-bone of the airline was its fleet of Vickers Vikings. These were operated on charter and scheduled services including many large Government Contracts, typically trooping. On June 14th 1952 a Viking departed Bovingdon to inaugurate what became the famous Hunting Clan Safari Air Service from the UK to Nairobi. This service was initially operated in conjunction with Airwork operating from Blackbushe.



Viking 1 G-AGRV Hunting Air Transport at Bovingdon. August 1952. Photo credit Tony Clarke Collection.




I've always thought this was the most super photo. I have a slight personal connection with 'Romeo Whisky' so I hope you don't mind if I drift off a bit!



At Wisley 1947. After short-lived service with the State carrier this aeroplane passed through the hands of a London tour operator and a merchant bank before joining Hunting Air Transport in 1952. Photo credit the late Ron Roberts.



Basle not Bovingdon. Probably mid-fifties. Photo credit Edgar Beck.


At the end of 1959 'Romeo Whisky' was sold to Overseas Aviation at Southend.

Schipol 17th February 1960. Crew Only. Probably the result of harsh braking while turning off the runway after landing.

Overseas went bust in 1961 and in 1962 'Romeo Whisky' joined Autair at Luton.



I expect the passenger scheduled service from Blackpool to Luton on the 7th July 1965 was delayed by this runaway Aermacchi AL60-B1 which wrote itself off in a moment of absent-mindedness. Photo credit late Capt Pete Dibley.



'Romeo Whisky' now in freighter config and working its way towards the end of its flying life. Luton possibly winter 1966-67. Note the Ops Department's CCTV camera atop the hangar. We were very proud of this bit of kit. It was the most modern piece of technology the airline had, at least until the new HS748s came along.



On February 15th 1968 'Romeo Whisky' and her sister ship 'Papa Bravo' were flown by Autair to Soesterberg, Netherlands and taken through the streets to be put out to grass. Photo credit from a postcard via 'The Vikings of Soesterberg'



'Romeo Whisky' remained at Soesterberg until about 1980 when the three Vikings were sold. The proceeds of the sale of RW and PB enabling the third Viking RU to be returned to the UK for preservation. Photo credit A Kempster. 'The Vikings of Soesterberg'



I've next found 'Romeo Whisky' looking rather sad on the roof at Vienna Airport in 1998. Apparently she spent many years there. Photo credit Erik Frikke.



Somewhere about 1999 'Romeo Whisky' was restored by a group of Austrian Airlines enthusiasts and placed outside a MacDonalds near Vienna Airport. Photo credit Gergo Ozoray.

'Romeo Whisky' survived on Big Macs until 2013 when it was removed and once again put out to grass. Photo credit Andy Graf.



G-AGRW at the Austrian Aviation Museum Bad Voslau February 2018. Photo credit Philip Stevens Target Aviation Photography.



It looks like the end is nigh. Photographed in 2019 at the Austrian Aviation Museum Bad Voslau. Credit per photo.



Happy Memories. G-AGRW landing with its load of Dutch Flowers at Templehof in 1966. Photo credit Ralf Manteufel.

My erstwhile colleague Keith Spragg flew the Autair Vikings - the Berlin Skippers Alex Imrie and 'Speedy' Williams were local legends, Keith writes of his times with them here. Scroll down to read:
https://books.google.co.uk/books/abo...AJ&redir_esc=y


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Old 30th May 2020, 14:13
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Originally Posted by OUAQUKGF Ops
One of the most successful postwar British Independent Airlines, Hunting Air Transport, later Hunting Clan Air Services were based at Bovingdon from 1948 until 1954. During this period the back-bone of the airline was its fleet of Vickers Vikings. These were operated on charter and scheduled services including many large Government Contracts, typically trooping. On June 4th 1952 a Viking departed Bovingdon to inaugurate what became the famous Hunting Clan Safari Air Service from the UK to Nairobi. This service was initially operated in conjunction with Airwork operating from Blackbushe.



Viking 1 G-AGRV Hunting Air Transport at Bovingdon. August 1952. Photo credit Tony Clarke Collection.




I've always thought this was the most super photo. I have a slight personal connection with 'Romeo Whisky' so I hope you don't mind if I drift off a bit!



At Wisley 1947. After short-lived service with the State carrier this aeroplane passed through the hands of a London tour operator and a merchant bank before joining Hunting Air Transport in 1952. Photo credit the late Ron Roberts.



Basle not Bovingdon. Probably mid-fifties. Photo credit Edgar Beck.


At the end of 1959 'Romeo Whisky' was sold to Overseas Aviation at Southend.

Schipol 17th February 1960. Crew Only. Probably the result of harsh braking while turning off the runway after landing.

Overseas went bust in 1961 and in 1962 'Romeo Whisky' joined Autair at Luton.



I expect the passenger scheduled service from Blackpool to Luton on the 7th July 1965 was delayed by this runaway Aermacchi AL60-B1 which wrote itself off in a moment of absent-mindedness. Photo credit late Capt Pete Dibley.



'Romeo Whisky' now in freighter config and working its way towards the end of its flying life. Luton possibly winter 1966-67. Note the Ops Department's CCTV camera atop the hangar. We were very proud of this bit of kit. It was the most modern piece of technology the airline had, at least until the new HS748s came along.



On February 15th 1968 'Romeo Whisky' and her sister ship 'Papa Bravo' were flown by Autair to Soesterberg, Netherlands and taken through the streets to be put out to grass. Photo credit from a postcard via 'The Vikings of Soesterberg'



'Romeo Whisky' remained at Soesterberg until about 1980 when the three Vikings were sold. The proceeds of the sale of RW and PB enabling the third Viking RU to be returned to the UK for preservation. Photo credit A Kempster. 'The Vikings of Soesterberg'



I've next found 'Romeo Whisky' looking rather sad on the roof at Vienna Airport in 1998. Apparently she spent many years there. Photo credit Erik Frikke.



Somewhere about 1999 'Romeo Whisky' was restored by a group of Austrian Airlines enthusiasts and placed outside a MacDonalds near Vienna Airport. Photo credit Gergo Ozoray.

'Romeo Whisky' survived on Big Macs until 2013 when it was removed and once again put out to grass. Photo credit Andy Graf.



Photo credit Target Aviation Photography.



It looks like the end is nigh. Photographed in 2019 at the Austrian Aviation Museum Bad Voslau. Credit per photo.



Happy Memories. G-AGRW landing with its load of Dutch Flowers at Templehof in 1966. Photo credit Ralf Manteufel.

My erstwhile colleague Keith Spragg flew the Autair Vikings - the Berlin Skippers Alex Imrie and 'Speedy' Williams were local legends, Keith writes of his times with them here. Scroll down to read:
https://books.google.co.uk/books/abo...AJ&redir_esc=y
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Great to see photo of the attempted mating of 'RW and G-ARZG (the root of my PPrune name, my first flight, and the reason for a mis-spelt lifetime in aviation)
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Old 31st May 2020, 07:03
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G-ARZG - you presumably were not at the controls when it happened?
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Old 31st May 2020, 07:09
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Safari Air Service

Click on images:

Vikings into Africa
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Old 31st May 2020, 09:39
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No, my 'maiden flight' (I love the French 'bapteme de l' air') was a few months before 'ZG ran amok.
I did see RW in the hangar soon after, under repair.

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Old 6th Jun 2020, 11:32
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Quite Early One Morning


Meteor T7 of 504 Squadron circa 1954. Express Dairies delivering, young lad sitting in Milk Float - School Hols? Patterns in The Sky. Photo credit Key Aero Forums Richard Knight et al.
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Old 6th Jun 2020, 13:55
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Hawker Hurricane LF363 A tenuous connection.

Some-time ago I posted this photograph of an airman and assumed that it was taken at Bovingdon. I suspected it was John Puczynski's Dad but wasn't sure.




Recently I've been doing a bit of internet gleaning trying to dream up something to post when I came across this second image:



Hurricane LF363 but not at Bovingdon. Pictured at Martlesham Heath with the Battle of Britain Flight 1959.


So then I e-mailed John Puczynski who replied as follows:


The photos show my father. The connection is that when WW2 ended my father, who had been in the Polish Air Force (starting out as a Polish National Serviceman at Warsaw's Okecie airport and working for LOT) , was posted to RAF Bovingdon. He transferred to the RAF and was with the Fighter Command Communications Squadron. After a posting to Singapore he was posted to Biggin Hill where he worked on Meteors and Hunters. He volunteered to help form a historic flight and over the years became a mainstay of the flight. In the days up to his retirement at Coltishall we remained living in Bovingdon while he was posted to various stations, including Martlesham Heath and North Weald. In those days the flight was not established and was funded through being part of a station flight and through other means. At one point the flight had 13 aircraft but almost any senior officer could pull strings and get to fly one of the aircraft. This resulted in a number of aircraft being damaged through lack of pilot currency and forgetting to lower the undercarriage. Other aircraft were donated to US museums. When he retired from the RAF the flight was put on a more formal footing and the official history of the BBMF was started. I attach a picture of my father with Jeffrey Quill when Vickers presented the flight with AB910.








Air Vice Marshal Vincent flew LF363 in the Battle of Britain Flypasts of 1948 and 1949.



A bit more gleaning turned this up:

Wing Commander Tom Neil DFC AFC AE. (1920-2018) Posted in 1950 to Headquarters Fighter Command, Bentley Priory and living at Flamstead, not too far from Bovingdon.




Chief Technician Puczynski , Jeffrey Quill and LS363 at Coltishall in 1965.

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