History 1935 1942
CHAPTER ONE
1935-1942
Royal Air Force Brize Norton came into being as a result of the RAF
expansion programme of the early nineteen- thirties. The original site
chosen for the aerodrome was some two or three miles further south,
near the village of Clanfield, but it was soon discovered that this
area was liable to flooding in the winter months, so the final choice
fell on an area of farmland bounded by the villages of Brize Norton,
Carterton and Black Bourton. In fact, Carterton was to have been the
name of the airfield, but this was changed to avoid any possible
confusion with Cardington in Bedfordshire.
Work began in 1935 along
well established lines, with an almost circular grass landing area
approximately 1,000 yards across, with a domestic and technical site in
the north west corner, which included 5 `B' type hangars. Four further
hangar areas were also provided, dispersed at various points around the
perimeter and each consisting of two hangars.
The station was
allocated to No 23(T) Group, and was officially opened on 13th August
1937. On 7th September, the first flying unit arrived, when No 2 Flying
Training School (FTS) arrived from Digby, Lincs, bringing with it a
collection of Hart Trainers, Audax and Fury aircraft. In fact, much of
the building work was still unfinished at this time, with personnel
being housed in temporary wooden huts, but this did not prevent 2 FTS
from rapidly settling back down to its task of aircrew training, which
included detachments to armament practice camps.
The first such
detachment since the unit arrived at Brize Norton ended in disaster,
when the entire formation of aircraft en route to Penrhos in Wales was
lost after flying into bad weather. Thereafter, bombing practice was
moved to Chesil Beach in Dorset, with the aircraft operating from
nearby Warmwell. Here again, tragedy struck, with one aircraft coming
down in the sea, the pilot being killed.
Accidents like this were
an all too familiar part of life at a training establishment, and Brize
Norton units certainly had their fair share right up to the end of the
last war. During these early days at 2 FTS, at least two more Hart
Trainers were lost during local flying, killing trainee pilots in both
cases. However, there was certainly a lighter side to life, and the
unit was not without its quota of characters, amongst whom were Flight
Sergeant Lillywhite, an instructor, who used to drive himself around in
a steam car, and a wing commander, who regularly came to work on a
horse! In fact, this latter mode of transport was even used for towing
the biplanes on occasions.
The next major development occured on 10th October 1938, with the
forming of No 6 Maintenance Unit, which occupied one hangar on the main
site and all the previously mentioned dispersed sites. The main work of
the unit, which was to remain largely unaltered for the next thirteen
years, was the modification, storage and reissue of a wide variety of
aircraft types.
6 MU was part of 41 Group, Maintenance Command, and
the first aircraft to arrive for storage were two Saunders Roe Cloud
amphibians, which were flown in from Ansty on 30th January 1939. By the
end of the following month, more than 200 aircraft had been received,
including Swordfish, Battle, Tiger Moth, Gladiator, etc. In fact, as
time passed, the variety of aircraft handled increased to encompass
almost every type in RAF service up to the end of the war, and this
will be dealt with in more detail later on.
Another aircraft
operator on the station at this time was the Station Flight, which was
one of the very few to be issued with a de Havilland Don with the
arrival of L2415 during 1938. This aircraft had orginally been intended
as a turreted general purpose trainer, before policy changes resulted
in its relegation to the rather more mundane task of communications.
However, its service life was short and all remaining examples had been
grounded by 1940.
On Saturday, 20th May 1939, 2 FTS was host to the
public at what was to be the last Empire Air Day. This was a very
different affair from the air displays of today; there was no static
display of aircraft and the public were not even allowed onto the
airfield, the flying display being centred on that part of the
Carterton to Black Bourton road which used to run along the western end
of the aerodrome.
Of special interest was the first appearence of 2
FTS's new Harvards and Oxfords, which were just beginning to replace
the biplanes. All the flying was performed by local machines with the
exception of fly-pasts by a Blenheim and a Battle and a display by a
Gauntlet. The now familiar instructor/pupil act was performed in a Hart
Trainer piloted by Squadron Leader Broughton and Pilot Officer P.
Kewliar!
However, more changes for 2 FTS were on the horizon and
the Harvards were destined to be short-lived on the unit. In September
1939, the title of the unit was changed to No 2 Service Flying Training
School (SFTS), and gradually over the next few months all the Harvards
and remaining biplanes were withdrawn as the Oxford took over as sole
equipment.
The onset of war brought feverish activity with the
camouflaging of the airfield being completed on the day of the
declaration, and three day later, two squadrons of Blenheim IVs, Nos
101 and 110, arrived from their home bases on a "scatter" exercise
which kept them at Brize for just a week.
Other than this and a
marked increase in the number of pupils passing through 2 SFTS, the
early days of the war affected the day to day life of the station very
little, although 6 MU made its own direct contribution to the war
effort in early 1940 by despatching Gladiators to Finland and Blenheims
to Jugoslavia. On l lth June 1940, the headquarters and part of the
flying section of 15 SFTS moved in from Middle Wallop with Harvards and
Oxfords whilst waiting for its ultimate base at Kidlington to be made
ready. The rest of the unit was split between South Cerney and Chipping
Norton, and shortly afterwards it became solely Harvard equipped with a
total of 28 aircraft at Brize Norton. On 28th July, a 2 SFTS Oxford
with Sgt Adkinson and Sgt Ward aboard, was shot down by an unknown
enemy aircraft during night flying over the satellite aerodrome at
Akeman Street.
Early in August, a photographic reconnaissance
flight over Brize was made by the Luftwaffe as a prelude to what was to
be a disastrous air-raid which had a profound effect on operations. The
raid took place on Friday, 16th August, when at around teatime, two Ju
88s appeared in the circuit. Previously published accounts of the raid
have talked of the aircraft flying round the circuit with their wheels
down in an attempt to fool the defences into mistaking them for
friendly aircraft, but this is not born out by eye-witness accounts.
What is certain is that the aircraft made a low- level attack and
headed straight for the main hangar complex, dropping a total of 32
bombs including two 250 kilo bombs, one of which skidded off a hard-
standing and came to rest perilously near an ammunition store,
fortunately failing to explode. However, one hangar, packed full of
Oxfords, received a direct hit, destroying all the aircraft inside. In
all, 46 aircraft were destroyed, comprising 35 Oxfords and 11
Hurricanes lodging with 6 MU. In addition, a further 7 Oxfords were
damaged; both Ju. 88s escaped unchallenged.
One result of this raid
was that within a couple of days 2 SFTS had dispersed their aircraft to
relief landing grounds at Southrop and Akeman Street, and although
Brize Norton was to be bombed on three more occasions no further
aircraft were lost as a result. Also, on the same day that 2 SFTS
completed its dispersion, 15 SFTS moved out to Kidlington.
Throughout the remainder of 1940 and most of 1941, the work of 2 SFTS
continued as before, though the nature of that work continued to take a
heavy toll in terms of casualties from flying accidents. A visit to the
churchyard at Black Bourton reveals just how many men lost their lives
before they ever got to combat, with a large proportion of European and
Commonwealth airmen amongst them.
One potentially dangerous
situation, which fortunately came to a safe conclusion, concerned a
pilot on a solo handling flight in an Oxford. Having got airborne, he
discovered that he had undercarriage trouble, so, being unable to
communicate with the ground, he had the idea of throwing a note out of
the aeroplane! This he did, with the result that the circuit was
cleared for him to make a safe landing! Another lucky escape came the
way of the crew of a Wellington which came down in the camp area,
coming to rest on the Sergeants' Mess tennis court! No injuries were
sustained.
Yet another Oxford unit to operate from Brize for a
brief period of time was No 1525 Beam Approach Training Flight, which
was present from 18th February until 16th July 1942. It was during this
period, on the 14th March to be exact, that 2 SFTS finally became 2
(P)AFU, still with Oxfords, although it also had one or two Ansons on
strength. Its job was now to provide short courses for Dominion
personnel until, on 14th July 1942, it was disbanded, thus bringing to
an end nearly five years of powered aircraft pilot training activities.
Although the major flying activities of Brize Norton were now to enter
a very different, and certainly better known, phase, the work of 6 MU
continued unabated with large numbers of aircraft passing through their
hands. Amongst the many types being handled there were numbers of
Douglas Bostons, many of which were destined to sit out on the airfield
for several years, plus Hampdens, Beauforts, Defiants, Whirlwinds,
Blenheims, Spitfires, Hurricanes, Oxfords, Tiger Moths, and even such
rarities as an Avro Commodore (HH979) and Monospar ST.25 (X9334),
impressed into
military use at the outbreak of war, both of which spent short periods in storage before being re-issued for service.
However, the type which was probably present in the greatest numbers at
that time was the Fairey Battle, brought here after its premature
withdrawal from bombing duties, following its heavy mauling at the
hands of the Luftwaffe in France. By now, the airfield had spread
considerably into the surrounding countryside, and a large wood to the
east of Brize Norton village was the home for around 60 Battles for two
years or more. Finally, a sheet-metal worker on 6 MU, who still lives
in the area today, was detailed to carry out modifications to all the
aircraft, which consisted of cutting holes down through the floor and
installing periscopes. He is not sure if this was ever put to use, but
well remembers the aircraft being eventually overhauled and despatched
overseas for further use, presumably in the training role in Canada.
The MU also suffered its share of accidents and incidents, the worst
being to an Anson engaged in ferrying pilots around which crashed on
approach to Brize, killing all 5 on board. Then, on 22nd December,
1940, a Hurricane crashed in a snow-storm, killing the pilot. However,
all incidents did not have such tragic results, as the following, which
is well remembered locally, will show.
A Spitfire was carrying out
ground runs on the 28th February 1941 with a Czech or Polish pilot in
the cockpit, when it inadvertently took-off with a 6 MU man still lying
across the tail! A very cautious circuit was flown and a safe landing
made, the tail-hanger being none the worse for his experience; in fact
he still lives locally. Not so fortunate was the pilot of a Defiant
whose aircraft hit No 4 hangar and was destroyed.
The spread of the
airfield brought about some interesting situations. Several small
hangars suitable for two or three Spitfire-sized aircraft were erected
in Carterton and other areas and disguised to look like farm buildings.
It thus became a common site to see aircraft taxiing or being towed
along the village roads and country lanes on their way to and from
these dispersed sites. Today, just one of these small hangars remains,
long since converted for use as a garage workshop. Despite its new
frontage, however, a walk round the back of the building reveals its
unmistakable outline and the original doors, now fixed permanently open.
Another feature which must have caused a few headaches was the Witney
to Fairford railway line, which, following Brize Norton's first period
of growth, found itself, for a few hundred yards, running inside the
airfield boundary with a taxiway crossing it! This was resolved by the
provision of one, later two, aircraft/train level crossing, and
although the railway finally closed in the early nineteen-sixties the
remains of the crossings can still be seen on the airfield today.
On the 15th July 1942, the Heavy Glider Conversion Unit (HGCU) was
formed at Brize Norton, a move which was to eventually result in the
station assuming a front-line operational role.
These sites cover the ox18 area of Oxfordshire England, including the following villages, OX18, Alvescot, Bampton, Black Bourton, Burford, Broadwell, Carterton, Clanfield, Kelmscott, Kencot, Langford, Lechlade, RAF Broadwell, Shilton, Parish Pump, Oxfordshire Events,