22 03 Staffs WWII Airfields

A tour of Staffordshires WWII Airfilrds. Otherton, Teddersley Park, Lichfield, Tatenhill, Abbots Bromley, Hixon, Meir, Seighford, Wheaton Aston, Halfpenny Green, Perton and Wolverhampton (Pendeford) I also went past Cosford but that is just over the border in Shropshire
Teddersly Park. 3 miles from Otherton on Cannock Chase. Opened on 14th July 1942 as a Satellite Landing Ground. Nothing can be seen of the grass strip that used to be there. Lockheed Hudsons, Avengers, Brewster Bermudas, Hawker Typhoons, Percival Procters and Hotspur gliders were once stored there. It officially closed in February 1946
Otherton (Penkridge or Pillaton) Opened 19th May 1942. Used by 28 EFTS Flying Tiger Moths
Lichfield. (Fradley) The busiest airfield in Staffordshire. Opened 1st August 1940. Hawker Hurricanes were collected from here by ATA pilots to be taken to the front line during the Battle of Britain. Vickers Wellingtons and Bristol Beaufighters were many other types prepared for front line service. A few original hangars and a small section of runway are all that can be seen now. However up until the late 1990s it was virtually complete. I remember a microlight flying school being based there. That eventually moved to Otherton when Fradley started being built on.
Tatenhill. 27 Operational Training Unit (OTU) was formed there in 1941. Training crews on Wellington bombers. Even though it was a training unit several crews went on operations such as the Thousand bomber raids. Sadly some didn’t return. Tetenhill is still a thriving general aviation airfield.
Abbots Bromley. Built as a relief landing ground in 1941. Several light aircraft are still based there and the original guard room still exists at the entrance off the Uttoxeter road.
Hixon. 30 OTU was the first to be based here from 28th June 1941, flying Wellingtons. Many crews from here also went on operations such as the Thousand bomber raids. The runways are visible but used for storage. Some hangars are still in use as industrial units and the original watch tower still exits now used as an office.
Meir. ( Stoke on Trent) Originally set up as a municipal airport in the 1920s. In 1938 it expanded as a training school flying Hawker Harts, Hinds, Miles Magisters and Avro Anson’s. During the war Roots set up a factory producing the Blenheim bombers. The factory buildings can still be seen but all of the airfield is now built on or reverted to agriculture. The Staffordshire Gliding club used the airfield until it closed in 1973
Seighford. Opened on 29th July 1942. Wellingtons and Ansons were based there. Later Horsa gliders. The RAF moved out in August 1946. Then Boulton Paul took it over and used it for testing jet aircraft. The BP111 prototype often visited. Work on Canberras and Lightnings was also carried out there. Staffordshire gliding club moved there in 1992 and it is still an active glider field. Some original Nissan huts still exit.
Wheaton Aston. Constructed in early 1941 it became a Relief Landing Ground in December 1941 mainly for Ansons and Oxfords. Closed in 1947. The runways and the watch tower are still visible but all the land has reverted to agricultural use.
Cosford. RAF Cosford opened in 1938 as a joint aircraft maintenance, storage and technical training unit. It is still active and major part of the Defence College of Technical Training (DCTT) The RAF museum is also based there.
Halfpenny Green. Opened as a training station in February 1941.Originally training crews on Blackburn Bothas. Then replaced by Avro Ansons. Westland Lysander target tugs also operated from there. The RAF moved out in December 1945 and it eventually became the thriving general aviation airfield it is today. A great deal of the original WWII buildings and hangars still exist as does the original watch tower which is still in use.
Perton. In 1918 an adjacent field was used as a landing ground for FE2bs. These were based there to defend the Midlands from Zeppelin raids. In 1929 and 1935 Alan Cobhams barnstorming aircraft visited.
The war time airfield was completed in 1941 with three hard runways in the “A” configuration. The first aircraft based there Airspeed Oxfords. The RAF left on the 16th July 1946. One light aircraft operated from there in the 1960s and the KARCS model aircraft club flew RC models there up until building stated in the 1970s. Now only the officers mess an a few out buildings are visible. The mess has been converted and extended and is now an old peoples home.
Wolverhampton (Pedeford). First opened in the 1030s. The Midland Flying Club was based there and Boulton Paul Aircraft Ltd built their factory in 1936. The BP Defiant is the most famous aircraft to be product there. The RAF based 28 EFTS in 1941. The RAF ceased flying there 10th March 1957. Civilian flying continued up to 1970 when the airfield closed. It has now completely disappeared under houses although the Boulton Paul factory building still exists.

Видео 22 03 Staffs WWII Airfields канала Graham CoyoteWiley