Royal Air Force Honeybourne,or more simplyRAF Honeybourne,was aRoyal Air Forcestation located 0.6 miles (0.97 km) south ofHoneybourne,Worcestershire,Englandand 4.6 miles (7.4 km) east ofEvesham,Worcestershire, England
RAF Honeybourne | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Honeybourne,Worcestershirein England | |||||||||||
  RAF Honeybourne Shown within Worcestershire  RAF Honeybourne RAF Honeybourne (the United Kingdom) | |||||||||||
| Coordinates | 52°04′47″N001°50′28″W/ 52.07972°N 1.84111°W | ||||||||||
| Type | Royal Air Force station parent station 1941-46 | ||||||||||
| Code | HQ[1] | ||||||||||
| Site information | |||||||||||
| Owner | Air Ministry | ||||||||||
| Operator | Royal Air Force | ||||||||||
| Controlled by | RAF Ferry Command RAF Bomber Command *No. 6 (T) Group RAF *No. 91 (OTU) Group RAF | ||||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||||
| Built | 1940 | ||||||||||
| Built by | John Laing & Son Ltd | ||||||||||
| In use | October 1941 - January 1946 | ||||||||||
| Battles/wars | European theatre of World War II | ||||||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||||||
| Elevation | 54 metres (177 ft)[1]AMSL | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
The station was operational from 1940[2]or 1941 to 1946[3]or 15 November 1947.[4]
Station history
editRAF Honeybourne had fivehangarsthere was one J Type and 4 T2's.[5]Theairfieldused a mixture of temporary and permanent accommodation and on 1 December 1944 there were 1,973 males and 382 females located at the airfield.[6]
No. 24 Operational Training Unit RAFwas formed on 15 March 1942 at RAF Honeybourne, as part ofNo. 7 Group RAF,withinRAF Bomber Command,to train night bomber aircrew usingArmstrong Whitworth Whitley,a British twin-engined mediumbomberaircraft. It carried out three operational sorties during 1942. The unit converted toVickers Wellington,a British twin-engined, long-rangemedium bomber,in April 1944 to trainRoyal Canadian Air Forceaircrews, before disbanding in July 1945.[7]It is also reported that the OTU may have flown leaflet dropping sorties.
A number of units fromRAF Ferry Commandwere based at RAF Honeybourne, including theFerry Training Unit RAFwhich usedLockheed Hudsonan Americanlight bomberandcoastalreconnaissanceaircraft,andBristol Beaufort,a British twin-enginedtorpedo bomber,between November 1941 and March 1942.No. 1425 (Communication) Flight RAFequipped withConsolidated Liberator,operated at RAF Honeybourne between November 1941 and April 1942.
The airfield was protected byNo. 2828 Squadron RAF Regiment[4]
Postwar
editThe airfield was also temporarily home toNo. 21 Operational Training Unit RAF.It operated Vickers Wellington aircraft based atRAF Enstone,but due torunwayrepairs from August 1945 for two months it used RAF Honeybourne. From October 1945 until 1946, No. 107 Sub Storage Unit fromNo. 8 Maintenance Unit RAFused the airfield for storing Vickers Wellington andGeneral Aircraft Hamilcargliders.[5]
The role of the airfield changed after the Second World War, with the reduction of flying movements. There was a slight change in what the units did on the airfield when, from 1947, No. 107 Sub Storage Unit began to collect no longer needed Vickers Wellington aircraft, which were then scrapped and taken toWeston-sub-Edge goods yard(which was near to the south-western corner), where therailwaywas used to take the airframes to the necessary destination.[8]
Accidents and incidents
edit- 7 August 1940 -Handley Page Hampden'P2086' ofNo. 4 Ferry Pilots Pool RAFstalled attempting to force land after an engine failure.[9]
- 24 December 1941 -Bristol Blenheim'L8663' ofFerry Training Unit RAFstalled on approach.[10]
- 10 March 1942 -Lockheed Hudson'V8995' of the Ferry Training Unit RAF spun into ground.[11]
- 20 July 1943 -Avro Anson'DJ242' of No. 24 Operational Training Unit RAF undershot landing.[12]
- 14 May 1944 -Armstrong Whitworth Whitley'N1436' of No. 24 Operational Training Unit RAF stalled on overshoot.[13]
- 6 January 1945 -Vickers Wellington'HE633' of No. 24 OTU crashed on takeoff when an engine failed.[14]
- 28 April 1947 - Vickers Wellington 'JA349' was hit by Vickers Wellington 'LR130' while parked.[15]
Current use
editIn July 1948 the site was closed and much has reverted to farmland with runways being removed in 1968.
During 1949 and into 1950 parts of the site were used for temporary housing for local families while new Council housing developments were being built in the area - people moving into the new houses when completed.
Since then, the airside area has evolved into the Honeybourne Airfield Trading Estate.[8]
References
edit- ^abFalconer 2012,p. 111.
- ^"RAF Honeybourne".The Wartime Memories Project. Archived fromthe originalon 10 June 2012.Retrieved27 March2012.
- ^"RAF Honeybourne".Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation.Retrieved27 March2012.
- ^ab"Honeybourne".Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust.Retrieved27 March2012.
- ^ab"RAF Honeybourne".Control Towers.Retrieved27 March2012.
- ^"Honeybourne".English Heritage- Pastscape.Retrieved27 March2012.
- ^Sturtivant 2007, pp. 198–206
- ^ab"RAF Honeybourne".MIAC.Retrieved27 March2012.
- ^"Aviation crashes in the south-west midlands during 1940".Aviation Archaeology.Retrieved27 March2012.
- ^"Aviation crashes in the south-west midlands during 1941".Aviation Archaeology.Retrieved27 March2012.
- ^"Aviation crashes in the south-west midlands during 1942".Aviation Archaeology.Retrieved27 March2012.
- ^"Aviation crashes in the south-west midlands during 1943".Aviation Archaeology.Retrieved27 March2012.
- ^"Aviation crashes in the south-west midlands during 1944".Aviation Archaeology.Retrieved27 March2012.
- ^"Aviation crashes in the south-west midlands during 1945".Aviation Archaeology.Retrieved27 March2012.
- ^"Aviation crashes in the south-west midlands during 1947".Aviation Archaeology.Retrieved27 March2012.[permanent dead link]
- Falconer, Jonathan (2012).RAF Airfields of World War 2.UK: Ian Allan Publishing.ISBN978-1-85780-349-5.