Ex RAF Airfields and the current users

[Mike]

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.

Some of you may already know that I grew-up in Edinburgh and started spotting in August 1964 and was very lucky to be part of the the Catering-Management team at Turnhouse and later the New Terminal(Flight-Catering,Bonded-Store etc.) from 1975-1981.
I found this site a few years ago,it's owned by Colin Lourie and is superb,brings back so many happy memories for me.
It shows lots of RAF Turnhouse visitors in the "old" days.

http://www.clourie.co.uk/aircraft/index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Enjoy !

[TankBuster]

Hi,

I dont know if any of you guys have seen this website before? It is a real gem when it comes to viewing old airfields...

Airfields & Aviation Memorials...http://airfields.fotopic.net/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


TankBuster

[davedubya]

Hi,

I dont know if any of you guys have seen this website before? It is a real gem when it comes to viewing old airfields...

Airfields & Aviation Memorials...http://airfields.fotopic.net/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


TankBuster

Thanks for the reminder - I was looking for that site a while ago and couldn't find it.

[chrisb]

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.

Some of you may already know that I grew-up in Edinburgh and started spotting in August 1964 and was very lucky to be part of the the Catering-Management team at Turnhouse and later the New Terminal(Flight-Catering,Bonded-Store etc.) from 1975-1981.
I found this site a few years ago,it's owned by Colin Lourie and is superb,brings back so many happy memories for me.
It shows lots of RAF Turnhouse visitors in the "old" days.

http://www.clourie.co.uk/aircraft/index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Brilliant pics of Turnhouse....sad to see it not used anymore. Loved seeing all those military jets flying in.
I remember my time flying in the chipmunks with the atc and also the f18's landing like it was yesterday.
Can i add Raf Kirknewton which houses 661vgs.
cheers.

Enjoy !

[CAB]

Here's one as I am about to live there!!
RAF Daws Hill, High Wycombe
It is a ghost town now but there is still a subterranean 23000 sq ft nuclear bunker there!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Daws_Hill

[Moschops]

RAF Locking...not strictly an airfield but Helo's still drop in now and again, all the buildings except the Married Quarters, Church and Guardroom have long since been demolished. Now known as Flowerdown Park. Various plans were mooted but nothing has appreared on site as of yet except travellers who were blockaded buy the local residents at the main gate from entering the site again once they had been moved off.

[septic]

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

not forgetting RAF Honiley, Elmdon (now Bham Airport), Castle Bromwich, (Shadow Factory producing Spitfires, mind you, if you live here on the south coast the TV companys give Southampton all the credit, and Castle Brom never gets a mention!!)

Then there is Longbridge airfield nr the Austin Motor Co, RAF Hixon Staffs (Wellingtons) etc etc!!!

[Adam]

RAF Bovingdon (Former USAAF Station 112) was home to 92nd Bombardment Gp before it transferred to Alconbury. B-17s were based there.

The runways are intact. There is a prison (HMP The Mount) a portion of an old taxiway is used for banger racing, the main runway is used for a large market on Saturdays and the north side is a paintball centre.

Aviation-wise, it's a major VOR beacon known as the Bovingdon Stack which holds inbounds to Heathrow.

[BigDan]

Then there's two close to my heart,

Kemble, former RAF MU, now GA, airliner storage/recycling, home of Cotswold Airshow, G-VFWE, Battle of Britain Airshow,
The main site is now home to several industrial units whilst the Airport is on the Nothern side of the main runway.

and

Halfpenny Green, WWII OTU for navigators, now GA airfield and where I first got interested in aviation

[BOLLO]

RAF Bovingdon (Former USAAF Station 112) was home to 92nd Bombardment Gp before it transferred to Alconbury. B-17s were based there.

The runways are intact. There is a prison (HMP The Mount) a portion of an old taxiway is used for banger racing, the main runway is used for a large market on Saturdays and the north side is a paintball centre.

Aviation-wise, it's a major VOR beacon known as the Bovingdon Stack which holds inbounds to Heathrow.

Wasn't that film the "War Lover" with Steve McQueen filmed there?

[698]

RAF Bovingdon (Former USAAF Station 112) was home to 92nd Bombardment Gp before it transferred to Alconbury. B-17s were based there.

The runways are intact. There is a prison (HMP The Mount) a portion of an old taxiway is used for banger racing, the main runway is used for a large market on Saturdays and the north side is a paintball centre.

Aviation-wise, it's a major VOR beacon known as the Bovingdon Stack which holds inbounds to Heathrow.

Wasn't that film the "War Lover" with Steve McQueen filmed there?

I believe it was, and also "633 Sqn" I think.

There is an underground reservoir compound fenced off in the NE corner that probably still has my mates 1/2 " ring spanner rusting on the bottom and there were a couple of Comms towers that I was once all to well familiar with in that area too.

[22A]

RAF Poddington in Northants became Santa Pod raceway.

[davedubya]

Google Earth now has "1945" imagery for quite a few parts of the UK and it shows several airfields in their prime. Some you can even pick out aircraft on the ground.

(I say "1945" because the imagery is apparently from surverys ranging from 1937 to 1955.)

[698]

Yeah.

RAF Wyton is all 1945'y on the South side and all V Bomber'y/Canberra'y on the North side

Take a look at Stradishall too, where'd it go

Hardly a trace, just a few bits of concrete here and there.

[davedubya]

I don't think Heathrow in 1945 looked quite like that either.

[Truly55]

RAF Catterick is now Marne Barracks, part of Catterick Garrison's complex. Runway is now accommodation

RAF Dishforth is Army 9 Regiment. Runway still very much in use by Army helis.

RAF Topcliffe is Army 40 Regiment RA. Runway still in use

[PDA1234]

Morning all,

With all the current rumbling about future bases closing, it got me thinking about the ones that we have already closed in the last 20-25 years, the most obvious was my former local Binbrook, which is now farmland

But I thought over the weekend what has become of the others?

Well I don't like your time limitation because I've discovered a ton of airfields in Cheshire from the first and second world war.

If people have google earth they can zoom down really closely and see whats preserved.

See here: -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:R ... n_Cheshire" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

trust me the latest version of Google Earth is fantastic. It provides interaction between street view and earth

[dazp79]

Didnt see RAF moreton in marsh mentioned, sorry in advance if im just being blind! they used fly wellingtons out of there in ww2.Now used as a fire service college.

[StuBie]

Didnt see RAF moreton in marsh mentioned, sorry in advance if im just being blind! they used fly wellingtons out of there in ww2.Now used as a fire service college.

There is a good small museum on the outskirts of the town dedicated to the wellington and some history from the airfield, it is run by a chap who used to be an aircraft engineer during the war.

[dazp79]

Didnt see RAF moreton in marsh mentioned, sorry in advance if im just being blind! they used fly wellingtons out of there in ww2.Now used as a fire service college.

There is a good small museum on the outskirts of the town dedicated to the wellington and some history from the airfield, it is run by a chap who used to be an aircraft engineer during the war.




Alas no more, He is in the process of moving the museum to The Armory at stratford on avon. The chaps name is gerry tyack, a real nice bloke. He made local television news while loading up the wellington fusalage for transportation. I have fond memories of getting my air tattoo tickets from there when i was a kid.