Ex RAF Airfields and the current users

[POL]

Was Stiffkey ever a WW2 airfield as such? I thought it was a Bofors training site with a 25 pounder gun line behind the village. I know there's a Warwick out on the marsh, a Henley nearer the Morston side and a Heinkel 111 on Blakeney Point but they landed accidently

Andrew

Complete Sidetrack time! Are any of the above either accessible, or even visible to any great extent? And then, of course, how much is actually left of them?

[22A]

Interesting list from Gadget Man and you named some locations I didn't know of, but 30 years ago some members of (I think it was) Norfolk Aviation Group reckoned therhad been 52 airfields in Norfolk, one for each week of the year. Presumably though, some were just satelite landing grounds for bigger airfields.

[Andrewausfa]

Was Stiffkey ever a WW2 airfield as such? I thought it was a Bofors training site with a 25 pounder gun line behind the village. I know there's a Warwick out on the marsh, a Henley nearer the Morston side and a Heinkel 111 on Blakeney Point but they landed accidently

Andrew

Complete Sidetrack time! Are any of the above either accessible, or even visible to any great extent? And then, of course, how much is actually left of them?

Chris,

The Heinkel I'd like to know a bit more about, that the pilot was called Jordan is all I understand which curiously is the same surname as my ex-father-in-law who lived in Stiffkey before and during the war and regaled me with all the things that went on there. The Heinkel is clearly visible on a September 1944 photo I sourced from JARIC sitting on the sands. Blakeney Point shifts so I guess the remains are there somewhere.

The Warwick came down on the sand at the edge of the marsh (at the time, it's now marsh) in 1944 after an engine failure I believe. The crew (Poles I'm told) walked back up along the track on the left hand side of the gunnery range. The aircraft was not salvageable so was used as a hard target by the Bofors and the 25pdrs. It was also strafed by Tempests, my father-in-law and his chums were just off to souvenir it when they started their gunnery runs. If that wasn't enough the big flood in the 50's? washed a lot of it away. I've been out to it a few times and the engines are all that's left above ground. A Cambs museum has one of the wheels and a couple of other bits from memory. The Henley crashed, burnt out and I've never been able to find it, assuming there's anything left. There's also a Liberator a little way out to sea evidently and several RCATs are under the marsh.

Lastly, I don't want to sound a complete **** but common sense dictates that if you're thinking of going out to the Warwick 1) it will take you ages to find so know your tides, the marsh is like a maze and the sea comes in very quickly, fills the creeks between you and land and you will be cut off and have to wait until the tide turns. If it's an abnormal high tide you're going to be in trouble. If it's going to remotely foggy don't even think about going and 2) there's a lot of UXO out on the sands which you ought to be aware of 3) there is a big nesting site for Terns on the higher sands and they get really seriously peed off if you go near them. As they say in the films "Nobody can hear you scream".... in Wareham Hole

Andrew

[Phil Standfield]

RAF Warmwell is now Crossways village. 2 hangars still there as is the chapel now a very old village hall, i believe the tower is now a house on the Dorchester crossways road with a couple of aircraft pans to the left of the road (coming from dorchester) The grass runways have long gone dug out for gravel. Most of the council hosue estate is built on the old taxiways i believe. I can remember playing around there as a very young kid in the late 60's. RAF Ibsley near Ringwood is now Blashford lake nature reserve run by the Hampshire wildlife trust. While birdwatching there i have seen a number of old buildings. I believe where the runways were is now Ibsley water (lake)

[Gadget Man]

Stiffkey was not an airfield as most people would think of an airfield. But to supply the anti- aircraft gun training units with targets. A catapult was used to launch radio controlled pilotless old Tiger Moths, called Queen Bees into the air. Late in the war the US army built an A2 Rotary launcher which launched (not sure what scale) Model planes into the sky to be shot down by the gunners.
See this thread.
http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showth ... key&page=2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

52 Airfields in Norfolk possible if you include all the decoy sites.
Like this one at Fulmodestone, decoy for foulsham. Was bombed several times.









WW1 Fields in Norfolk 24. Bacton, Burgh Castle, Easham, Freethorpe, Frettenham, Gooderstone, Gt Yarmouth, Harling road (Close to Snetterton used by Army for storage in WW2), Hickling Broad, Hingham, Holt, Kings Lynn, Marsham , Mousehold Heath (nr Boulton and Paul aircraft works), Narborough, North Elmham, Norwich (Cromer Rd Mann Egerton works), Saxthorpe, Sporle, Pulham (Airships), Sedgeford, Thetford (Snarehill )( WW2 Bombing range), Tottenhill and West Rudham.

[Andrewausfa]

Hi Gadgetman, the Queen Bee thing's a myth, they came from Weybourne and there was no catapult at Stiffkey, Wilfrid Georges map is labelled incorrectly. The circular tarmac track - is a post war thing for launching the RCATs. The RCAT's (officially OQ-19D's) were pretty big, 12 foot wingspan, 140+kg in weight and 200 mph top speed. I have some piccies I took of one dug up from the marsh, maybe for another thread.

Just found a USAF factsheet on it http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsh ... sp?id=4777" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Incidentally, while I'm writing - the 25pdr gun line I mentioned above is visible on Wilfred Georges map on page 1 of the thread you linked, in the middle along the Chosely Farm track.

Cheers _ Andrew

[Gadget Man]

Hi Andrew. You may well be right, I was only going by The military airfields of Britain by Ken Delve. under Stiffkey he states.
How ever as with weybourne, the decision was taken to erect on site a catapult launch system for pilotless aircraft.
Guess we can cross stiffkey of the list.
It's still all interesting stuff though.

[POL]

Chris,
...
Andrew

Thanks Andrew - Don't worry, I'm not planning on going (I'm daft, not stupid! ) I was asking simply out of interest - Though it might be something for the future...wonder if I could find a helicopter pilot mad enough to land there....

[Sparts99]

In case I've missed it above, is Henlow still used by the RAF ? What about Cardington ?

I forgot the WW1 airfield at Sundridge in Kent, now farmland but apparently part of an original hangar is a farm building, anyone got details ?

[Blue Diamond]

In case I've missed it above, is Henlow still used by the RAF ? What about Cardington ?

I forgot the WW1 airfield at Sundridge in Kent, now farmland but apparently part of an original hangar is a farm building, anyone got details ?

There is an RAF presence still at Henlow but the only military flying there is 616VGS with their Vigilant T1 powered gliders. Long gone are the days when I could watch from my back garden Lincoln, Shackleton, Beverly and Argosy doing trial parachute drops.

[ArabJazzie]

Thought some of us Scots would have put their input in by now!!!

RAF Turnhouse. Runway and aprons now to Edinburgh Airport. Main Hangar and old buildings still there but domestic site across the road is now flattened. Another BAA airport is using Dyce as Aberdeen Airport and i seem to remember someone saying Glasgow is on part of the site of an old RAF/RN station, Renfew???

A good skelp of Highlands and Islands airports are ex RAF, Campbeltown, Stornoway, Benbecula, Wick, Inverness and i think Kirkwall.

RAF Tealing, the tower is still there but the runways and taxiways are used for farming, storage and hen huts with one corner ad electricity sub station. Errol has a sawmill and some aircraft based on one of the runways with a parachute school using the main. I think the tower is still there and some of the old buildings are still used.

More around my way are East Haven(RN??) hangars used for farming storage, Condor(RN??) now a Marine base and VGS unit, Kinnell once used in the 90s by a certain Ronnie Groat for a Parachute centre. Stracathro Hospital was once an airfield and nearby Edzell i think now only the housing remains, having served as a USN listening post for years, but lies empty. Will have to go and have a look soon. Montrose i think has some original hangars and of course the museum. Fordoun i remember being used as a stock car track during the 70s but the owners lost heart after someone was killed and is now back to mainly farming.

Im sure someone will help me out with the others, especially around Lothian where East Fortune is a museum and Microlight centre.
Arabest,
Geoff.

[Blue Diamond]

In case I've missed it above, is Henlow still used by the RAF ? What about Cardington ?

I forgot the WW1 airfield at Sundridge in Kent, now farmland but apparently part of an original hangar is a farm building, anyone got details ?

Cardington is a bit of a building site. Main Royal Airship Establishment building is intact but everything else is pretty much flattened to make way for new housing.
Presume the RAE building will become flats. Air cadets have a small presence there but that's it really.

[davedubya]

RAF Andrewsfield Flying club but in line for 40,000 houses if the landowners get their way.

Let's hope not.

Wormingford Agriculture

Wormingford actually has a very active glider club (our observatory is near the perimeter of the original wartime airfield and gliders frequently fly low over us).

[698]

RAF Andrewsfield Flying club but in line for 40,000 houses if the landowners get their way.

Let's hope not.

Wormingford Agriculture

Wormingford actually has a very active glider club (our observatory is near the perimeter of the original wartime airfield).

Of course !

Forgot that, and was only stood nearby and watching the gliders in September, Duh !


See here.
http://www.saveboxtedwood.org.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There may be an update ealy next month

[balders]

In case I've missed it above, is Henlow still used by the RAF ? What about Cardington ?

I forgot the WW1 airfield at Sundridge in Kent, now farmland but apparently part of an original hangar is a farm building, anyone got details ?

There was a WW1 airfield called RAF BEKESBOURNE near Canterbury that had a belfast truss hangar used by a farmer. It was demolished in the early 90's after being damaged in the hurricans. The airfield was used during WW2 as base for Lysanders doing drops over France.

[Calum93]

Im sure someone will help me out with the others, especially around Lothian where East Fortune is a museum and Microlight centre.
Arabest,
Geoff.

Yep , East Fortune was used during WW1 and WW2 , but closed in 1961. Was at one point used as Edinburgh Airport when the actual airport was having a new runway built. Now home to the museam of flight as you say and the east of scotland microlight centre is nearby (they use a strip of the former runway).

We had 3 others in East Lothian ,

RAF Drem was a major air defence station , both 602 and 603 squadron were based there. Nothing remains of the runway as it was grass but a few of the buildings are used for farm storage now and there's a small museam dedicated to the ex-station.
(http://www.rafdrem.co.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;)

RAF Macmerry was located close to the village of macmerry and used for training purposes , but it's now farmland and partially covered by a dual carrigeway. Ive heard there's still some pillboxes to be seen

and RAF Lennoxlove was used as a satellite landing ground for a period of WW2 , but is now farmland

hope this helps

Calum

[GOOSE]

RAF Turnhouse. Runway and aprons now to Edinburgh Airport. Main Hangar and old buildings still there but domestic site across the road is now flattened. .

Quite a shock that was Geoff. Took the wife up there, not that long ago, to show her around. Went past on the train just over 2 weeks later and bash, they'd gone.........just lots of piles of rubble and brick, very sad.

[SteveS]

Hmm, ok let me think...Near me we have -

RAF Pershore - Farmland and Industry
RAF Defford - Home to some massive satellite dishes, BT I think
RAF Perdiswell - Sports grounds and golf course
RAF Warwick - Farmland
RAF Long Marston - GA strip, Global Gathering venue, closed aircraft museum and drag-racing strip
RAF Stratford - Farmland
RAF Shobdon - GA strip/gliders
RAF Wellesbourne Mountford - GA strip
RAF Snitterfield - Gliders
RAF Hockley Heath - Farmland
RAF Honeybourne - Industrial

Steve

[roughcutter]

RAF Wymeswold, Leicestershire http://www.controltowers.co.uk/w-z/wymeswold.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Sean Mac]

RAF Keevil Wiltshire. http://www.controltowers.co.uk/H-K/Keevil.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Sean.