RAF Bovingdon - 1960s

[OUAQUKGF Ops]

1960 Meteor T7. Note tail of C130A 560507. Photo credit the late Arthur Pearcy.



560507 photographed at Greybull Airfield, Wyoming in 2008. Photo credit as per image with thanks

Slight drift available here:https://www.ruudleeuw.com/usa14-greybull.htm

[OUAQUKGF Ops]

Some more images plucked from The Ether...........

Airspeed Oxford 1956 Photo credit Arthur Pearcy.



Meteor F Mk8 1956 Photo credit Arthur Pearcy



DH Devon 38 Group Comms Flt 1958 Photo Credit Arthur Pearcy

This particular Devon, on which he gained his twin rating, was often flown by HRH The Duke Of Edinburgh. In later life it was seen on the airshow circuit as G-HBBC. In 2010 or thereabouts it was purchased by a Norfolk businessman and taken by road to North Norfolk where it was rumoured to have disappeared into the Stygian Gloom of a large abandoned aerodrome perhaps never to be seen again......?



At Coventry



At Compton Abbas in October 2011 before shipment to Norfolk. Photo credit John Morris.



HP Hastings 1955.

AW Meteor NF14 1957. Photo credit Arthur Pearcy.




The tail of the same aeroplane in an Ulster Riding School Paddock during the 1990s.



Earlier image of 840 on the Aldergrove Fire Dump in 1979. Photo credits via AW Meteor WS788 Restoration Project.



Fairchild Packet (C119) 1956 Photo credit Arthur Pearcy.




1956 Photo Credit Arthur Pearcy.



Douglas C117 1956 Photo credit Arthur Pearcy.

The same aeroplane at Davis Monthan AFB Tucson October 1978. Photo credit Keith Burton




In Civil Colours at its Toronto base in 1989. Photo credit as per caption with thanks.



The last hurrah! At Brandford Airport Canada in May 2010. I think she was scrapped in 2011.....

[Steve Bond]

RAF Bovingdon

A 115 Sqn Varsity visiting from Watton on 26 May 1968.

[OUAQUKGF Ops]

A Possible Explanation for the non-standard length of Bovingdon's Main Runway

Latimer House, Buckinghamshire. Requisitioned by MI6 in 1941. Eavesdropping on Enemy POW's a speciality........




Latimer House (bottom) in relation to Bovingdon (top)

Two interesting links to books by Helen Fry 'The Walls Have Ears' pages 59-60 and 'Spy Master' page 273.: https://www.google.co.uk/books/editi...sec=frontcover

https://www.google.co.uk/books/editi...sec=frontcover

[chevvron]

There was also a 'Signals Unit' stationed just a couple of miles east of Latimer at Chenies from the 1930s (before Bovingdon was built in '41/'42) until the late '50s by which time it had been re-purposed as a ROTOR GCI station; the ops room and associated buildings weren't finally demolished until about 2012.
There is still an installation at Chenies (latterly known as 'Martins Top') used as a remote radar station feeding weather information to the Met Office.
A new radar station was built by NATS roughly midway between Bovingdon and Chenies becoming operational in 2013 and replacing the radar which had been situated on top of T1a car park at Heathrow.
Granted the 'interrogation centre' at Latimer was in use during Bovingdon's wartime operarions but I don't think there was any concern, after all Mychett Place, a mile or so east of Farnborough, was used as the interrogation centre for Rudolf Hess!

[chevvron]

Talking of Bovingdon, I saw the first half hour of so of '633 Squadron' yesterday for the umpteenth time; amazing how you can always notice something not seen before.
In this instance in the opening shots, Cliff and Co arrive back from an operation and park right in front of a freshly painted helicopter landing circle and shortly afterwards, the camera pans towards the hangars and you see a rather conspicuous long wheelbase Landrover parked there, not even in camo colours!
NB For you younger people; helicopters hadn't been invented at the time of the 633 op and Landrovers weren't built until about 1948.
Course then there was the often used 'stock shot' of Mossies landing and in the background you could see a row of Ansons lined up all with shining white tops; I'm sure that would have been allowed in wartime!.

[OUAQUKGF Ops]

The Sad Demise of 'Hot Stuff'

Although Liberator B24 41-23728 was never based at Bovingdon it departed on its last flight from that airfield on May 3rd 1943. With 31 Missions completed it was returning to America carrying Lieutenant General Frank M Andrews and party. Interesting links below.



Photo Credit Roger Freeman Collection American Air Museum in Britain.

https://www.uswarmemorials.org/html/...532&MemID=2033

https://www.americanairmuseum.com/aircraft/149


Interesting video link given on latter.

[XV490]

Originally Posted by OUAQUKGF Ops

Although Liberator B24 41-23728 was never based at Bovingdon it departed on its last flight from that airfield on May 3rd 1943. 31 Missions completed it was returning to America carrying Lieutenant General Frank. M Andrews and party. Interesting links below.



Photo Credit Roger Freeman Collection American Air Museum in Britain.

https://www.uswarmemorials.org/html/...532&MemID=2033

https://www.americanairmuseum.com/aircraft/149

​​​​​​
The general also gave his name to Andrews Field (commonly 'Andrewsfield' these days), the US-built airfield at Great Saling, near Braintree.
​​​​

[OUAQUKGF Ops]

Tea Cups in a Storm

Fellow PpruNer goldox brought the existence of this film 'Stop Press Girl' (1949) to our attention in another thread (What Airfield is this ?) Old Eric Rylands probably chuckled when he saw the luxuriously spacious Passenger Cabin depicted in this Movie. And as to the Tea Cups and unsecured bottles of booze in the Pantry (Galley) Well quite shocking My Dear !
One cannot be sure whether this Movie was shot before the commencement of, or during the period of The Berlin Airlift 1948-49. The Lancashire Aircraft Corporation HP Halifax 8 G-AKEC which is seen in the film completed 79 Freight and 159 Tanker Sorties to Berlin during that period.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x81gest

Scenes from Bovingdon commence at approx 4.09mins.






Departing R/W 27 Bovingdon.

R/W 35 was used for the Horse and Cart sequence. Note neglected state of runway. View here towards Berkhamsted with the woods of Ashridge Park distant centre right.



1950 at Hurn for The Daily Express Air Race. Piloted by Captain A.N. Marshall - LAC Station Manager Bovingdon. Placed 24th at an average speed of 267 mph. Photo credit Dave Welch with many thanks.

G-AKEC was damaged beyond repair in December 1952 when it was parked at Blackpool and blown against Halton G-AHDV in strong winds.

[Sue Vêtements]

Very interesting thread. My sister used to live in Tring, so I'll have to ask her what she knows about the area

anyway, look at this picture of the B17. Is it me, or does it appear to have the cheek gun on the port side only ... and only the port side chin turret gun mounted too?

compare it with the second pic

Originally Posted by OUAQUKGF Ops

[OUAQUKGF Ops]

I think you would need a B17 enthusiast to answer your question - so many built, various 'marks' etc. From this link it seems that turrets were possibly attached and perhaps detached for filming.....https://www.pbase.com/easystreet/notes_on_the_filming




Photo credit Warbirds Information Exchange.

[treadigraph]

If you want more info about how the War Lover B-17s arrived in Britain, try and get hold of a copy of Martin Caidin's "Everything but the Flak". I don't doubt there's a touch of exaggeration in the telling but it's still a cracking read!

Incidentally, I chanced across a video the other day which shows a 1960ish Tiger Club display probably at Redhill - including a parachutist exiting a crazy flying Tiger Moth G-ACDC at relatively low level - pretty sure that would have been Mike Reilly who died doing a drop from the B-17s into The Channel while filming The War Lover. See if I can find it again...

[OUAQUKGF Ops]

Bovingdon's Hangar Queen 1959.












Photo and Text Credit Roger Freeman Collection American Air Museum in Britain.

[chevvron]

Originally Posted by Sue Vêtements

Very interesting thread. My sister used to live in Tring, so I'll have to ask her what she knows about the area

My great aunt and her husband lived in Tring right oppostie the Rothschild Museum, my mother in Pitstone .
I think you'll find most memories about that area will involve either Cheddington or Halton because sometimes an arriving aircraft couldn't make Cheddington so it landed at Halton instead in spite of the fact the grass runway was only about 1200yds.
Years later, 3 Vulcans, 2 Comets and an Argosy landed at Halton too.

[brakedwell]

Originally Posted by treadigraph

If you want more info about how the War Lover B-17s arrived in Britain, try and get hold of a copy of Martin Caidin's "Everything but the Flak". I don't doubt there's a touch of exaggeration in the telling but it's still a cracking read!

Incidentally, I chanced across a video the other day which shows a 1960ish Tiger Club display probably at Redhill - including a parachutist exiting a crazy flying Tiger Moth G-ACDC at relatively low level - pretty sure that would have been Mike Reilly who died doing a drop from the B-17s into The Channel while filming The War Lover. See if I can find it again...

When I was on Coastal Command Comm Flight in 1959/1, I flew several flights in one of our Ansons for Columbia Pictures to film movies of cumulus clouds, which were used as backgrounds in the War Lover film. I also remember Shirley Anne Field visits to the Officers Mess quite well!

[chevvron]

Originally Posted by brakedwell

When I was on Coastal Command Comm Flight in 1959/1, I flew several flights in one of our Ansons for Columbia Pictures to film movies of cumulus clouds, which were used as backgrounds in the War Lover film. I also remember Shirley Anne Field visits to the Officers Mess quite well!

I saw Shirley Ann in a film of about 1970 vintage; I won't tell what it was about but she told one of the characters 'you kinky b@stard' so perhaps that's why you got to know her 'quite well'.

[OUAQUKGF Ops]

I've long searched for a decent photograph of The French Air Attache's Fouga Magister at Bovingdon or indeed anywhere. I've come across this image taken at Glasgow in 1975 of The Air Attache's runabout (rumoured to be on a golfing mission) and also noted that this particular aeroplane was seen at Northolt in 1970 (where I believe it was subsequently based) . Registered as F-TFTR/547 I have been unable to establish its date of manufacture or history. I wonder if this is the same aeroplane I watched in my youth ? Possibly so, it appears like me, to be suitably aged and battered.........

[brakedwell]

I remember the Fouga Magister in the hangar next to our Coastal Com Flight hut. It was always a bit grubby and I never did see it fly.

[chevvron]

Used to go out saturday mornings; saw it a few times when we were pulling our gliders out but we flew until dark on sunday evening and never saw it return so it must have sneaked back early mondays when you lot were doing your power checks which we could hear from our school in Chesham if using 02.

[chevvron]

Originally Posted by Sue Vêtements

Anyway, look at this picture of the B17. Is it me, or does it appear to have the cheek gun on the port side only ... and only the port side chin turret gun mounted too?

compare it with the second pic

Er I don't think they're guns, just broomsticks made up to look like them.