Cold War airfields C.1970
 

Dear PPRuNe population,

I'd like some help compiling a list:

My interest is that of RAF / RN / AAC / USAF airfields (or any military), in the UK that were active and still open until circa. 1970.

I'd like to create a comprehensive list of all airfields with a concrete or asphalt runway that were in use in any way at all. It could be a training field (i.e Oakington) through to front line (Leuchars). The emphasis is on a physical in-use hard runway at this location. ATC units / Runway Caravans etc. Based units not required. This is a research project about airfields themselves not the operating units. Imagine you could make an approach, land on a perfectly useable runway.

My work so far:

bold denotes still active as a Military airfield in 2020

Aberporth
Abingdon
Acklington
Aldergrove
Alconbury
Ballkelly
Barkston heath*
Bassingbourn
Bentwaters
Benson*
Binbrook
Boscombe Down*
Bovingdon
Brawdy
Brough
Brize Norton*
Bruntingthorpe
Burtonwood
Chalgrove*
Chivenor*
Church Fenton
Colerne
Conningsby*
Coltishall
Cosford*
Cottesmore
Cranfield
Cranwell*
Culdrose*
Debden
Dishforth*
Driffield*
Dunsfold
Elvington
Fairford
Filton
Finningley
Ford
Gaydon
Greenham Common
Honnington
Hullavington
Keevil
Kemble
Kinloss*
Kirk Newton*
Lakenheath*
Lee on Solent
Leconfield
Leeming*
Leuchars*
Lindholme
Linton on Ouse*
Little Rissington
Lossiemouth*
Llanbedr
Lyneham
Machrihanish
Manby
Manston
Marham*
Merryfield*
Middleton St. George
Mildenhall
Mona*
North Luffenham
Northolt*
Oakington
Odiham*
Ouston
Pershore
Valley*
Scampton*
Sculthorpe*
Shawbury*
St Athan*
St Mawgan*
Stradishall
Strubby
Swinderby
Syerston*
Tarrant Rushton
Ternhill*
Thorney Island
Thurleigh
Topcliffe*
Upper Heyford
Upwood
Warton
Watton
Waterbeach
Waddington*
Wattisham*
West Freugh*
West Raynham
West Malling
Weston Zoyland
Wethersfield
Wittering*
Woodbridge
Woodvale
Wroughton
Wymeswold
Wyton
Yeovilton*

Have i missed any?

Greenham Common and Little Rissington were still active in 1970. I operated out of both in the mid 70s.

Llanbedr also flying Jindiviks.

West Raynham still had Hunters.

Farnborough!! South Cerney - runway still in use in 1970. Shepherds Grove (? not sure when that closed), St Davids (? RLG for Brawdy, not sure on closure), Tangmere was still open, but Ford closed early/mid 60's (although you could say the prison was a definite improvement).

Of note, Chalgrove was (and still is) purely civilian - Martin Baker.

Predannack?
Portreath?

Blackbushe/Hartford Bridge was used by the US Navy and RAF but when that ceased I dont know.

I never realised South Cerney had a runway. It was a grass airfield when I was there.

Yes - RAF Turnhouse - and a "y" in Ballykelly!:)

Jack

I don't think South Cerney ever had a runway either.

Langar - formerly USAF, then Canadian and then AVRO carrying out majors on Shacks.

2 runways at South Cerney. 01/19 2925ft 09/27 3225 ft - both grass.
I remember running around the peri track on OTS before we moved to Church Fenton. You could get all your kit in a TR4 then!!

Arbroath? am sure it had a concrete runway but do not recall actually ever seeing. Ramsay in Cambs?

South Cerney has a peri track but no hard runway. Sure it was just grass when I visited for the World Aeros in '86.

What about Watton ?

Yes! Thanks forgot that one

And what are the asterisks intended to signify ?

Blackbushe closed as an MTCA airport on 31 May 1960 and the US Navy base closed with it. Some RAF and Army Air Corps visiros since then though.

East Kirkby, it was an emergency runway, resurfaced in 1964 and has fuelled go in lights along the runway.

Spilsby, 1964, B47 recovery airfield, but closed 1958.

South Cerney, 19/01 975 yards 27/09 1075 yards steel matting (sommerfield track). Not sure if that was present in the 60s
I
Try and find Military Airfields in the British Isles 1939-1945 Omnibus Edition
May 1987. ISBN 0 907700 12 8

Sleap was used as a satellite to Shawbury in the early-mid '60s; I recollect that it was some kind of approach training, and club flying was stopped during it. Was it with Piston Provosts? Jet Provosts? The word was that you could get paid for riding along as safety observer ("HCAS") while P1 was fixated on the panel. But I don't know if that continued until the '70s.

Not just RAE Farnborough but RAE Bedford too. V-bomber dispersal at Bedford still used into the '80s at least.
Plus Kirknewton and Catterick, but not sure if they had RCVs; pretty certain Aberporth didn't.
Ford re-opened for a short while late '70s.

Halton has PSP and Somerfield tracking but I wouldn't call it a 'hard' runway; Henlow might have it too.

If South Cerney counted you'd have to add Bicester, Weston on the Green, Swanton Morley, and Middle Wallop, Upavon and Netheravon.

Shepherd's Grove closed in 1963

Benbecula

Have you looked at the Action Stations series of books?

and Newton!

And RAF Hurn.

Cranfield was civil from the late '40s.

Three Vulcans and a Comet managed to land on it. Hemswell had concrete runways and so did Catterick. Thornaby was home to 608 Sqn RAuxAF and was open and operating until 1958, which is within the Cold War era.

How about RAF Gatow? Not UK but British sector of Berlin.

Barkston Heath
Waterbeach
Fulbeck (May have closed prior to 1970)
Stornoway had a signals unit
Catterick

YS

Fullbeck closed in 1970.

Sorry that I post on your threat, while it may not be related to it but... can anyone tell me trainer military aircrafts based on edinburgh between 1945 and 1980?

Thank you

Prestwick, 2 bomber dispersal
Jurby

What about RAF Valley. I flew Gnats there in the mid 70s and it had been open since the 40s. A few years later when I was on Lightnings at Binbrook, when we recovered on ridiculously low fuel levels, we had two Decision Heights. The first one was at 30,000ft before the final descent where we used what remaining fuel that we had. If Binbrook was Amber 2 weather code or below and both Conningsby and Waddington were not Green or better we had a standard diversion to Valley where the weather was always better!

I don't remember Hurn being an RAF station in 1970. The nearest was Sopley, but obviously no runways.

Pedantic mode: It's Coningsby and Honington!

Bitteswell
 

Bitteswell. I know that Vulcans were maintained there in the 1960s and I landed there in a light aircraft in the mid 1970s

Bitteswell

When I joined UBAS at Shawbury in 1967, there were GCA Radars at Sleap and Shawbury. Marshall’s operated Vampire T11s and Piston Provosts for trainee controller practice. The pilots were civilians, mostly ex-service but some of the Piston Provost pilots had never served. One of them also flew the Vampire on a PPL, which was unique in the UK at that time.

They became so good at flying GCAs that they had to deliberately fly up and down, left and right, to give the controllers a chance to learn how to give corrections.

Sleap was so busy during the week, that I remember an article with a title along the lines of “Don’t go to sleep when you go to Sleap.”

In 1968 or 1969, the GCA at Shawbury was replaced with a PAR. I don’t remember if they did the same thing at Sleap.

JPs replaces the PPs and T11s sometime in the 70s.

St Eval - As long as you avoided the aerials.

Ballykelly - Closed 1971

Dounreay - Not military, but operated by a government department

YS

Might as well add Mona, even if nobody was based there, and Woodvale at a push.