RAF Base or Station?
Sorry for the thread drift here...but whilst we are talking Brize Norton...
What is the disused airfield WNW of the western runway end....looks mostly back to farmland now with some solar panels, but clearly an ex airfield and only a stones throw (maybe 2!) from the current Station / Base ...whatever we are calling them!
Just seems a bit odd that the new one was built so close to the old one.
What is the disused airfield WNW of the western runway end....looks mostly back to farmland now with some solar panels, but clearly an ex airfield and only a stones throw (maybe 2!) from the current Station / Base ...whatever we are calling them!
Just seems a bit odd that the new one was built so close to the old one.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Broadwell
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YLSNED ... I had always understood that RAF Stations were named after the Parish in which they were located. Railway Station it is, then ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naming...tary_air_bases
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naming...tary_air_bases
I heard that Odiham was meant to be RAF North Warnborough after the name of the parish...but it was a mouthful so they went with the name of the village instead.
sua cuique voluptas
622 - there you go: https://www.abct.org.uk/airfields/ai...der/broadwell/
Wikipedia quotes:No. 512 Squadron and No. 575 Squadron were based here, flying the Douglas Dakota.
In February 1944, No. 512 Squadron was transferred to No. 46 Group at RAF Broadwell. It was a tactical Dakota squadron and started training glider towing and parachute dropping. Its first operation in the new role was a leaflet drop on 17 April 1944 over France; this was followed by intensive flying in and out of France, including dropping parachutists at Arnhem. In fact, 512 Squadron can claim that they were the first planes over on D Day as 3 Dakotas piloted by Fl Lt Hyde, W.O. James Proctor and a C Flight Flying Officer dropped a specialist team at 00.02 on 6 June to try and disrupt the Merville Battery before the main assault.
Broadwell took part in the D-Day assaults alongside nearby RAF Down Ampney and RAF Blakehill Farm. On the eve of D-Day, No. 575 Squadron dropped 5 Para into the invasion drop zone. On 6 June, it towed 21 Horsa gliders into France. In the next few weeks it started a casualty evacuation service from France back to England. In September 1944, it was involved in operations at Arnhem where the squadron suffered severe casualties.
The airfield continued to be a terminus for long-range transport operations to Europe, the Middle East and India.
The following units were here at some point:[1]
Wikipedia quotes:No. 512 Squadron and No. 575 Squadron were based here, flying the Douglas Dakota.
In February 1944, No. 512 Squadron was transferred to No. 46 Group at RAF Broadwell. It was a tactical Dakota squadron and started training glider towing and parachute dropping. Its first operation in the new role was a leaflet drop on 17 April 1944 over France; this was followed by intensive flying in and out of France, including dropping parachutists at Arnhem. In fact, 512 Squadron can claim that they were the first planes over on D Day as 3 Dakotas piloted by Fl Lt Hyde, W.O. James Proctor and a C Flight Flying Officer dropped a specialist team at 00.02 on 6 June to try and disrupt the Merville Battery before the main assault.
Broadwell took part in the D-Day assaults alongside nearby RAF Down Ampney and RAF Blakehill Farm. On the eve of D-Day, No. 575 Squadron dropped 5 Para into the invasion drop zone. On 6 June, it towed 21 Horsa gliders into France. In the next few weeks it started a casualty evacuation service from France back to England. In September 1944, it was involved in operations at Arnhem where the squadron suffered severe casualties.
The airfield continued to be a terminus for long-range transport operations to Europe, the Middle East and India.
The following units were here at some point:[1]
- No. 6 (RCAF) Casualty Air Evacuation Unit
- No. 10 Squadron RAF
- No. 21 Heavy Glider Conversion Unit RAF
- No. 76 Squadron RAF
- No. 77 Squadron RAF
- No. 91 (Forward) Staging Post
- No. 92 (Forward) Staging Post
- No. 94 (Forward) Staging Post
- No. 104 Terminal Staging Post
- No. 105 (Major) Staging Post
- No. 126 Staging Post
- No. 271 Squadron RAF
- No. 512 Squadron RAF
- No. 575 Squadron RAF
- No. 2792 Squadron RAF Regiment
- No. 2807 Squadron RAF Regiment
During my 37 years service I was always 'stationed' at an RAF Station.
Therefore if I was caught displaying excessive 'high spirits' after Happy Hour in the Officers Mess I'd be on the Station Commanders carpet on Monday morning. The Americans have Bases and it's the Army who have 'Camps' however it was quite common for non commissioned personnel to use the word 'camp' when referring to an RAF Stations and hence this became a common colloquialism.
Therefore if I was caught displaying excessive 'high spirits' after Happy Hour in the Officers Mess I'd be on the Station Commanders carpet on Monday morning. The Americans have Bases and it's the Army who have 'Camps' however it was quite common for non commissioned personnel to use the word 'camp' when referring to an RAF Stations and hence this became a common colloquialism.
The nearest Railway Station is usually the "rule". However, if it could cause confusion then an alternative was used. For example, RAF Scopwick and RAF Shotwick are very similar, and so became Digby and Sealand respectively. The idea to use the nearest railway station was to help with the movement of logistics and personnel - you just bought a ticket to the station name!
Last edited by mopardave; 16th Nov 2021 at 10:26. Reason: clarity
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Following the Broadwell/Brize Norton diversion ... I went to Google Earth to have a look [as on does]. Drag the imagery timeline back to 1945, and there's a very clear B&W image o Broadwell ... but Brize seemingly does not exist! Just a patchwork of fields [which look as though they're photoshopped in], despite Brize having been there since 1937.
Why "hide" Brize, in that 1945 imagery? What was so 'special' there? There are plenty of other airfields displayed in their full glory [eg Alconbury, Wyton etc.]. But then go to Kent, and the entire county seems to be covered with 'cut and paste' imagery!
Curiouser and curiouser, said Alice.
Why "hide" Brize, in that 1945 imagery? What was so 'special' there? There are plenty of other airfields displayed in their full glory [eg Alconbury, Wyton etc.]. But then go to Kent, and the entire county seems to be covered with 'cut and paste' imagery!
Curiouser and curiouser, said Alice.
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I recall reading about 'self mobile squadrons', title may a bit wrong.
Was WW2 era.
When they re-located themselves was that a base ? How did the rest
of the R.A.F know where to find them ?
Was WW2 era.
When they re-located themselves was that a base ? How did the rest
of the R.A.F know where to find them ?
Or was it "base" that he said ?
My Record of Service (RAF Form 543R) that I requested a copy of quite a few years ago shows that I was posted to a "Unit" - not a Base or Station- see attached.
Ken Scott #17 & MPN11 # 22
The name of the railway station by the South East (Brittania) gate on the RAF Brize Norton airfield boundary at the time the airfield was built was "Bampton" even though Bampton is 5 miles away. Carterton at that time was merely a crossroads with a shop and a few smallholdings established by Mr Carter. Brize Norton Parish and Village were well estabished centuries before. I have a map of the area dated 1828 showing Brize Norton and Bampton, but No Carterton. The railway station was renamed "Bampton and Brize Norton"in 1944 to reflect the new importance of the RAF station.
The railway station closed in 1962.
The name of the railway station by the South East (Brittania) gate on the RAF Brize Norton airfield boundary at the time the airfield was built was "Bampton" even though Bampton is 5 miles away. Carterton at that time was merely a crossroads with a shop and a few smallholdings established by Mr Carter. Brize Norton Parish and Village were well estabished centuries before. I have a map of the area dated 1828 showing Brize Norton and Bampton, but No Carterton. The railway station was renamed "Bampton and Brize Norton"in 1944 to reflect the new importance of the RAF station.
The railway station closed in 1962.
MPN11,
When the USAF extended the Brize runway, did they ever consider the effect of having a railway across it? On the face of it, it is apparently a somewhat silly thing to do: if you have an aircraft needing an emergency landing and there's a train in the section, it may not be possible to stop the train in time....
When the USAF extended the Brize runway, did they ever consider the effect of having a railway across it? On the face of it, it is apparently a somewhat silly thing to do: if you have an aircraft needing an emergency landing and there's a train in the section, it may not be possible to stop the train in time....
During my 37 years service I was always 'stationed' at an RAF Station.
Therefore if I was caught displaying excessive 'high spirits' after Happy Hour in the Officers Mess I'd be on the Station Commanders carpet on Monday morning. The Americans have Bases and it's the Army who have 'Camps' however it was quite common for non commissioned personnel to use the word 'camp' when referring to an RAF Stations and hence this became a common colloquialism.
Therefore if I was caught displaying excessive 'high spirits' after Happy Hour in the Officers Mess I'd be on the Station Commanders carpet on Monday morning. The Americans have Bases and it's the Army who have 'Camps' however it was quite common for non commissioned personnel to use the word 'camp' when referring to an RAF Stations and hence this became a common colloquialism.
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radeng … also Ballykelly, IIRC. Perhaps the USAF had spoken to Dr. Beeching?