Copyright© ISBN 0 9507190 0 5

Printed by Stoate & Bishop (Printers) Ltd. Gloucester & Cheltenham

3 Fury and 2 Audax Trainers lined up at RAF Brize Norton in 1937. (Bert Goodare)

~~c/~~Jr~ S#~~

SJBOND

Foreword

Chapter One 1935-1942

Chapter Two 1942-1950

Chapter Three 1950-1965

Chapter Four 1965-1980

Appendix 1 Units and examples of their aircraft

Appendix 2 Aircraft handled by 6 MU

Appendix 3 Station Commanders (1937-1980)

Acknowledgements

Contents 5

7

19

31

47

65

68

inside back cover

inside back cover

Foreword BY THE STATION COMMANDER

I n its modern role of 'Gateway to the World' Brize Norton is probably the Royal Air Force station most often exposed to public view. News films of

the Royal Family, VIPs and troops boarding VC 10s bound for exotic destinations to fulfil tasks of national and international importance are familiar to many. Its other functions are probably not so well known, but certainly of no less significance.

Since its birth Brize Norton has played an active part in the nation's defence. Undoubtedly it was the colour and variety ofBrize's past which first attracted Corporal Steve Bond to embark on his research and eventuilly to produce this history of RAF Brize Norton.

The station has always maintained friendly ties with the surrounding civilian communities whose lives are inevitably affected by the presence of a large and active airfield in their midst. Because of the less transient nature of the civilian population many local people are far more aware ofBrize Norton's past than the personnel who serve here. Corporal Bond has drawn freely from a rich supply of local reminiscences to lend colour to his account.

Corporal Bond has been stationed here for 5 years working as an engine fitter. As a zealous aviation enthusiast he has already had several articles printed in specialist magazines and was the founder member of the Station's flourishing aviation society. This book is his most ambitious project so far and one which I commend to all.

April 1980 Group Captain W H Croydon OBE

5

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 ofBrize 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 comer, 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 19 3 7. On 7th September, the first flying unit arrived, when No 2 Flying Training School (FTS) arrived from Digby, Lines, 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 Warm well. 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 lOth October 1938, with the

7

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 19 3 9. 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 19 3 9, 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 ofBlenheim IVs, Nos 101and110, 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 11 th 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.

8

Hawker Fury II K8294 of Eleven Flying Training School, flying over Brize . (Bunny Shayler)

An aerial view ofBrize Norton taken shortly after it opened in 1937. Several Hart Trainer/ Audax/ Fury types of 2 FTS are visible, and the unfinished state of many of the buildings is quite evident.

(RAF Brize Norton)

Airspeed Oxford 1 N4853 'B' of 2 SFTS during the winter of 1939/40. This aircraft was taken on charge on 25th November, 1939, and was destroyed in the disastrous air raid of 16th

August, 1940. (Bunny Shayler)

North American Harvards of 2 SFTS, including N7146, P5894 and P5899. Harvards were only in use at Brize for a short period, before the unit standardised on Oxfords.

(By courtesy of the Trustees of the Imperial War Museum)

AW Whitley GT V BD661, comes in to land from the Bampton road end, whilst in service with the HGCU. Note the mixture of training and operational camouflage schemes on the Horsas

in the background. (By courtesy of the Trustees of the Imperial War Museum)

Another Whitley GT V, bearing the code '32', tows an HGCU Mk 1 Horsa across Brize. (By courtesy of the Trustees of the Imperial War Museum)

Airspeed Horsa 1 DP747 of the HGCU, showing to advantage the colour scheme used in the early days of the unit to make the training gliders more conspicuous. The underwing stripes were

black and yellow. (By courtesy of the Trustees of the Imperial War Museum)

An air traffic controller's nightmare! No less than 19 Horsas are coming in to land together in this shot, taken on the 15th April 1944. Note the Tiger Moth in the hangar.

(By courtesy of the Trustees of the Imperial War Museum)

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

13

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 l.ives 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.

14

Horsas being marshalled and prepared for the day's work at Brize Norton in April 1944. (By courtesy of the Trustees of the Imperial War Museum).

While personnel stand-by with the next tow-ropes, the tug of this Airspeed Horsa is signalled to commence its take-off run at Brize in April 1944. Note the Albemarle awaiting its turn to

collect a glider. (By courtesy of the Trustees of the Imperial War Museum)

A Horsa getting underway, whilst its Albemarle tug is still firmly earth-bound. This shot was taken on the 25th April 1944, and in the background can be seen a Stirling and a large number

of Spitfires awaiting attention by 6 MU. (By courtesy of the Trustees of the Imperial War Museum)

Another shot, taken on the same day, showing a similar situation. (By courtesy of the Trustees of the Imperial War Museum)

Airspeed Horsa 1 LH501, built by Harris Lebus and assembled at 6 MU at Brize Norton on the l 5th April, 1944.

(By courtesy of the Trustees of the Imperial War Museum)

Two shots of Horsas being assembled by 6 MU, following the receipt from the factories . One of the aircraft is DP528. Photo taken on the 3rd June, 1943. (By courtesy of the Trustees of the Imperial War Museum)

CHAPTER TWO

1942-1950 W ith the coming into service during 1942 of the Airspeed Horsa glider, it

became apparent that a new unit was needed in order to train army pilots to fly it. Previous glider experience had been largely confined to the much smaller General Aircraft Hotspur which had been relegated very early on to a training-only role due to its size.

Accordingly, on the 15th July 1942, the Heavy Glider Conversion Unit was formed at Brize Norton (which by this time had been provided with paved runways), with an initial complement of 56 Horsas, plus 34 Armstrong Whitworth Whitley V tugs , and two Oxfords. The nucleus of the headquarters staff came from 2(P)AFU personnel, and the pupil establishment was set at 62. Aircraft were delivered steadily through July, until, by the end of the month, a total of 307 day and 38 night flights had been made by the Horsas.

Flying at Brize gradually became very intense as the build-up at HGCU was added to ever increasing activity at 6 MU, which was assembling Horsas received direct from the factories, and had also started handling Venturas, Hotspurs, Hudsons, Liberators, Mitchells and Fortress Ils. In fact, the air space was now becoming so congested that 6 MU brought a satellite into use at Woburn Park, on the Duke of Bedford's estate, and the HGCU was forced to transfer some flying to Grove airfield between the lOth February and 20th April 1943.

Another problem was the proximity of the aerodrome at Broadwell, the circuit of which, overlapped that at Brize Norton. In order to help the situation, circuit lights were installed to assist the aircrew during night flying, the start of the system being marked by an illuminated sign reading "BZ Start Now". However, an incident occurred later in the war which serves to illustrate just how potentially dangerous the situation was.

A Dakota took-off from Broadwell one night with a Horsa in tow, and immediately got into some kind of trouble which necessitated a forced landing. The tug came down in open land at Rock Farm, Carterton, the impact setting the glider adrift, albeit with the entire length of towing-cable still attached. At very low altitude, the Horsa Flew across Carterton village, dragging its cable across roof-tops and bringing down telephone lines until it finally was ble to set down in a field adjacent to Brize Norton aerodrome. To this day, a bungalow near the present airfield boundary shows signs of the roof repairs made necessary by the passage of the cable!

As if all this were not enough, it was thought to be desirable, in view of the Luftwaffe's previous unwelcome attentions, to set up a decoy airfield some three or four miles to the south east at Tadpole Bridge. This had no function during daylight hours, but each night, a team would set out from Brize and organise a system of false runway lights. It is not certain if the enemy ever paid any serious attention to it or not.

19

With all this intense activity, it will come as no surprise to learn that there were many accidents in those days with Whitleys coming off particularly badly. Perhaps the most tragic occurred in the evening of 9th November 1943, when two Whitleys on pre night-flying checks were indulging in a little high­spirited low-level flying. According to eye-witness accounts, a third Whitley attempted to join in, and almost immediately, two ofthe aircraft (BD502 and BD512), collided and crashed, one coming down just east of Brize Norton village alongside the Witney road and the other in farmland about half a mile away; four men were killed. Today, the spot where the first aircraft came down is still marked by the partially demolished section of dry-stone wall and small parts of the second machine are still turned up by the plough on Brown's Farm.

Yet another hazard was a row of elm trees, which were exactly in line with the upwind end of the main runway close to Black Bourton village, and eventually they claimed a casualty, again at night, when a Whitley, just airborne with a Horsa in tow struck the tree tops and came down between two cottages. The Horsa managed to cast-off, but it too hit some more elms on the far side of the village and crashed. This accident is believed to have cost 6 lives.

Early in 1943, some of the first production Albemarles arrived to replace the Whitleys, but these P-serialled aircraft were not in fact used and remained only until April, when they were returned to MUs. However, the Albemarle was not to be absent from the scene for long, for it was decided in early 1944, that Brize would become the base for two squadrons of these aircraft in the operational paradrop and glider-tug role.

Thus, to make the necessary room, the HGCU was moved to North Luffenham during March, taking with it 36 Horsas, 40 Whitleys, 3 Oxfords and one Magister. On 8th March, Brize was transferred to No 38 Group and on the 13th of the same month, a headquarters party arrived from Stoney Cross in Hampshire, preceding Nos 296 and 297 Squadrons which came from Hurn and Stoney Cross respectively. Almost immediately, 100 Horsas were added to the station's strength and training began in earnest to prepare them for D­Day.

The first major exercise took place on 20th March, when 28 Albemarles, split 50/50 between the two squadrons, together with other 38 Group squadrons, dropped paratroops onto Brize Norton and released gliders. This exercise was code-named "Bizz One", and was followed by others entitled "Dreme", "Dingo", "Exeter" and "Confirmation", all along similar lines, and all preparing for the allotted tasks which were soon to follow on the 6th June.

The two Albemarle squadrons commenced Brize's D-Day activities by dropping the main body of the 5th Parachute Brigade on landing zone "N" at 0320 hours, from 9 aircraft of each unit. The landing zone was 6 miles from the coast and 6h miles north east of Caen, on the banks of the river Orne. The first job of the troops was to prepare the landing zone for the Horsas which followed in the second wave behind 8 tugs from 296 Squadron and nine from 297. In addition to these, further Horsas landed from behind tugs airborne from Harwell and Tarrant Rushton, with a final total of 68 gliders being put down. The main task of the men aboard these gliders was to capture two bridges over the River Orne and the Caen canal and this was successfully accomplished.

The final phase of this operation was the capture of the coastal battery at Merville, and for this, three further Horsas were towed by 297 Squadron

20

following 2~ hours behind a heavy bombardment by 100 Lancasters, and a landing of Horsas from other 3 8 Group stations. The Brize aircraft were landed directly onto the battery to effect its final capture, although in the event, only two aircraft made it, the tow-rope of the third aircraft broke and it was forced to set down at Odiham on the outward journey.

Finally, on the evening ofD-Day, in Operation Mallard, the two squadrons each used 20 Albemarles to tow Horsas containing men of the 6th Airborne Division to another landing zone.

Operation Comet, which was planned for the 8th September, involved 97 Horsas being flown to Manston, but in the event, the operation was cancelled. However, they returned to Manston on the 15th for operation Market,joining otherunits, including Hadrian gliders. On the 17th, a total of 46 Horsas and 10 Hadrians were towed-off and joined the many other units en route to Amhem. In one of the gliders was Brize Norton's Station Commander, Group Captain TM Abraham, DFC, who spent some time at the landing zone. On the second day of the operation, a further 43 gliders were taken over, but thereafter, Brize aircraft took no further part.

In addition to all the towing work, which also included positioning gliders for other tug squadrons, 296 and 297 were involved in leaflet raids on the Channel Islands, code-named "Nest Egg", and also dropped personnel and supplies to the resistance movement in Europe.

In all these operations, only one fatal accident at Brize is recorded when an Albemarle, returning from an operational sortie, crashed at Black Bourton, killing 7 crew. On 30th September, 296 and 297 moved to Earls Caine in Essex in two stages taking 4 7 Horsas each time.

On October 15th the HGCU returned home from North Luffenham, with the flying wing shortly preceding the servicing wing, and by the 20th, it had become No 21 HGCU, reflecting the still increasing pace of glider operations. No 22 HGCU was set up at the same time at nearby Keevil and Fairford, with No 23 HGCU at Peplow and Seighford.

The establishment of 21 HGCU at this time was intended to be 35 Albemarles, 34 Horsas and 6 Oxfords, but in fact, the Whitley was destined to soldier on, the last examples not leaving until January 1945. In addition, Hadrian gliders began arriving during November 1944 to supplement the Horsas.

During all these changes on the operational side of the station, the MU had steadily continued and indeed diversified its work still further. On 8th February 1943, it had taken over the satellite at Barton Abbey from 39 MU and then transfered that at W oburn Park to 8 MU. By early 1944, the predominant aircraft being handled was the Spitfire, with growing numbers of Stirling III and IV. At the end of June there were 301 aircraft in stock, and in November there was another about-tum when the Woburn Park strip was taken over again, and gradually, 175 Stirlings accumulated there. One Stirling came to grief at Brize on March 26th 1944, causing injury to three of the crew, one of whom later died.

Another fatal accident involving the MU occurred in March 1945, when one of the test pilots, Sqn Ldr Anderson was killed in a crash near the village of Shilton; the aircraft has been variously reported as a Spitfire or Hurricane. 21 HGCU also continued to suffer accidents and on November 17th 1944, yet again at night, Whitley LA87 3 flew into the ground at Ducklington, with

21

Horsa LG749 still attached, killing both crews. As the re-equipment with Albemarles built up, the training of RAF glider

pilots ceased altogether, and thereafter, only army pupils passed through the unit.

On the lst June 1945, the HGCU became the parent unit for No 1 Glider Training School at Croughton, Northants, which had a complement of Masters, Tiger Moths and Hotspurs. With the end of the war came a reduction in the intensity of training, but experiments were tried with alternative tug aircraft, both Stirlings and Halif axes being tried, although the Albemarle continued in use. During October, some Horsas and Hadrians were towed over to nearby Hullavington for "T AF" Day; unfortunately, Horsa RX6 l 8 crashed into a hangar after release and was written off.

Brize Norton's long association with glider training finally came to an end on the 3lst December 1945, when 21 HGCU moved to Elsham Wolds in Lincolnshire, taking Horsas, Hadrians, Albemarles and Halifaxes with it. Many Horsas, however, were destined not to make the journey, for with the cessation of hostilities, the need for large numbers of the gliders abruptly ended leaving a great number awaiting assembly at 6 MU. The solution found was to offer the fuselages for sale locally; the original price was £25, but as time went by this gradually came down in stages to 25 /- and then the final two dozen aircraft were offered free to anyone who could take them away!

The redundant machines found a ready market as garden sheds, and thirty­three years later, a few were still to be found in back gardens and allotments. In fact, during 1978, ~wo fuselage sections were rescued for restoration by the Mosquito Aircraft viuseum at London Colney, Herts, with another going to the care of the Brize N onon Aviation Society. Amongst many other unwanted items which found there way onto the open market, were Spitfire mainwheels which went for I 0/- a pair!

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of 6 MU's work at this time however, was the storage of captured German aircraft after their evaluation at Farnborough, or use as "hacks" by the occupying forces. The first to arrive was a Junkers Ju. 188 on the IOth May, and between then and 1947, when the last new arrivals were received, around 70 aircraft were handled, the most numerous being the Junkers Ju. 52/3M and the Messerschmitt Me. l 63B, with about 20 examples of each.

In addition to storage, the German aircraft were also sent out to various exhibitions, including Hyde Park in September 1945 (Me 163, He 162, Me 108, Me 110, Fw 190, Ju 88 and Fi 156) and Brize Norton's own Battle "At Home" Day on the same day (15th September) when the following were displayed: Ju 52/3M, Ar 234B, Fw 190, Fw 189, Ju 188, Ju 88, Me 262, He 162, He 219, Si 204. In addition, another He 162 plus an Me 163 were despatched to Little Rissington on loan for their open day.

Although some aircraft were passed to 4 7 MU at Seal and, 7 6 MU at Wroughton and various other RAF stations in ones and twos, the vast majority lingered on at Brize, with the larger aircraft open to the elements until the bad winter of 1946/ 4 7 took its toll. Many of the aircraft were overturned in the gales, and others suffered from falling trees, and shortly after this, the wholesale scrapping began. The aircraft were taken to the south side of the airfield where 6 MU were already scrapping Spitfires, Spitefuls and Liberators. After all useful pieces and large metal areas had been removed, the mortal

22

A brand new Spitfire LF 16, SL616, arrives at Brize for 6 MU, on the lOth of August 1945. It was issued to 17 OTU on the 9th September 1946, returning to 6 MU on the 23rd October. After a further period of storage, it passed to 1 PRFU on the 18th August 194 7, until withdrawn from use as Cat 5 on the 5 th April 19 51 and issued to 14 S of TT at Henlow for ground training use

as 6885M. (JATE)

Brize Norton in 1943. By this time, paved runways had been laid down and the attempted camouflaging of the airfield is evident. Scattered around the perimeter are approximately

15 Whitleys, 30 Horsas and a handful of Albemarles. (RAF Brize Norton)

Two views of a TCDU Halifax A. VII, with a serial in the PP-range, taxiing around the eastern end of the airfield, past 6 MU's German aircraft storage area. Visible in the photographs are

4 Ju 52/3Ms, a J..i 290A, He 219AN11, two Si 204Ds and 3 Ju 88s. (JATE)

Avro York C.l MW263, landing from the Black Bourton end of the airfield. probably in 1947. (JATE)

Fairchild C-82A 422993, taxies in to the main hangar area, in late 1945 or 1946. Visible in the distance are the Ju 290A, some Ju 52s and Ju 88s, and a Mosquito.

(JATE)

Fairchild C-119C 9149 towing a TCDU Horsa during trials in about 1949/50. It is not certain that this photo was in fact taken at Brize Norton but well illustrates the sort of work TCDU was

involved in. (JATE)

Douglas C-54 272461 at Brize Norton the day after its history-making automatic flight across the Atlantic in 194 7.

(Courtesy of Flight International)

remains were buried in twenty feet deep holes where they remain to this day. This burial process was quite common with another pit being sited out beyond Brize Norton village in farmland, to accommodate the remains of aircraft that had been stored in dispersed sites.

_ The last recorded "movement" of a German aircraft took place on the 16th of December 1948, when Siebel Si 204D AM 46 _was sold to the Eyre Smelting Co. Most of the German aircraft on display in Britain today passed at some stage through 6 MU, but it is sad to record that many now extinct aircraft were scrapped in the great clear-out, including such types as Ju 290, He 219, Fw 189, Do 217.

The MU's main task now was to reduce to scrap a wide variety of aircraft; the Spitefuls already mentioned, together with its naval counterpart, the Seafang, were received straight from the production line, with many never having been flown. In January 1946, it took over the satellite at Chipping Warden in N orthants for the storage of complete Horsas, and then in May 194 7, W oburn Park was closed after the last Stirlings there had been scrapped.

After this, 6 MU became a mere shadow of its former self, although it entered the jet age in January 1948 when the first two Meteors arrived, the main variants handled being the F 4 and T 7. However, the Spitfire continued to be the main type to be found here right up to the time the MU finally disbanded on the 31 st December 1951, when all the Spitfires, plus 3 Meteors and 7 Proctors were despatched to other MU s.

While all this was going on, the operational side of the station had yet again undergone great changes. With the departure of 21 HGCU, Brize had been handed over to Transport Command, and the School of Flight Efficiency and the Transport Command Development Unit arrived from Harwell. Also, at this time, Finmere, Bucks and Hampstead Norris, Berks, were taken over as satellites. In May 1946 the Army Airborne Transport Development Unit took up residence.

The TCDU started life at Tarrant Rushton, Dorset on lstDecember 1943, as the Airborne Forces Tactical Developmet Unit and its primary tasks were experimenting with methods of carriage and delivery of airborne loads and. paratroops. The main types used at the time of the move to Brize were the Stirling, Dakota, Halifax, York, Liberator, Horsa, Hadrian and Sikorsky Hoverfly. Strangely, the TCDU never operated a Lancastrian which was one of the principal Transport Command types in use at that time, although one aircraft (VM702) was present briefly during September and October 1946. A fairly spectacular accident to a TCDU York occurred when, having failed to become airborne, it crossed the railway line, at which point the tail unit parted company and was left on the track. The aircraft came to rest in a field with no serious injury suffered.

A rare aircraft adapted by TCDU for its own use was the Bristol Buckingham C2. Originally intended as a bomber, the few Buckinghams completed were adapted for a variety of secondary roles and in March 1946, the TCDU obtained KV365 and modified it for use as a seven passenger transport. In later years, the unit was also to add the Hastings and V aletta to its strength, the Hastings being used as a tug for Hamilcar gliders.

TCDU also carried out trials with aircraft from other air forces and during 194 7, Fairchild C-82s spent some time at Brize carrying out dropping trials on the airfield in order to give the USAAF benefit ofTCDU's experience. Later

27

still, the USAAF returned again, this time with C-119s and towing trials with Horsas were carried out.

On the 5th September 1946, 297 Squadron returned to Brize from Tarrant Rushton, although it was now equipped witnthe Halifax A IX. Its six aircraft stayed for just under a year before moving to F airford in August 194 7.

Shortly after this, on the 23rd September, Brize Norton staged "Exercise Longstop II", which was a demonstration of operating a mobile staging post for forward air supply.For the purpose of the exercise, Brize was considered to be a captured airfield whose runways were still intact.

A total of twenty Yorks were flown in, consisting of five from No 4 Group and fifteen from No 47 Group. Before 1,500 invited spectators, the aircraft were taxied in front of the tented staging post area for unloading. Unfor­tunately, the timing went slightly adrift, with some aircraft sitting on the taxiway with engines running for some considerable time, waiting for the aircraft ahead to unload and clear. However, the usefulness of the York at that time was well illustrated, with one aircraft unloading ajeep, anti-tank gun and trailer in less than five minutes.

The final part of the exercise consisted of a rapid-landing demonstration by TCDU Dakotas, with five aircraft being brought in at two minute intervals.

Another advance in long-range transport technology had already been demonstrated at Brize the previous day, when a USAAF C-54 ( 42-72461) Skymaster landed after flying from the United States without any of the nine crew having touched the controls. The aircraft used a system of radio beams and "corridor control" and had a mixed crew ofUSAAF and RAF personnel and civilians. It belonged to the All Weather Flying Centre.

On June 30th 1949, the TCDU moved to Abingdon, Berks, and on the 4th July, Brize Norton was again transferred, this time to No 21 Group, Flying Training Command, thus echoing its earliest days; a feeling which was reinforced by the arrival the next day of 25 Harvards from the Examining Wing of the Central Flying School, Little Rissington. They stayed until the 16th March 1950, during which time Fairford was used as a relief landing ground.

Prior to this, on the 15th August 1949, yet another unit had arrived. This time it was No 204 Advanced Flying School from Driffield, Yorkshire, with Mosquito T 3 and FB 6 aircraft. The job of this unit was to convert aircrew onto type, and yet again, accidents were fairly frequent, with one Mosquito coming down alongside the Brize Norton to Bampton road, and another crashing in marshy ground opposite the "Mason's Arms" public house in Brize village. This accident, on the 5th December 1949, killed one of the crew.

On lst March 1950, the station was moved to 23 Group, Flying Training Command and then on the 9th June, the Mosquitoes left for Swinderby, Lines. Finally, on the lst of June, just before 204 AFS's departure, the station was put in the charge of Bomber Command as a prelude to its handing over to the United States Air Force.

28

No photos suitable for reproduction have come to light of Boeing B-50s at Brize Norton. However, this shot of' A' model 6026, serves to illustrate the type.

(USAF)

22nd May, 19 5 3, and the Duke of Edinburgh steps down from a Viking of the Queens Flight, on his official visit to Brize Norton.

(Mick Burnett)

Convair B-36H, either 01084 or 01094, sits at dispersal on an unknown date, whilst another of the same type takes-off.

(Mick Burnett)

Convair RB-36F 01098 running-up at Brize on an unknown date. (Mick Burnett)

CHAPTER THREE

1950-1965 ~understand the reasons for the USAF take-over at Brize Norton, it is first .I. necessary to go into the background of their return to the UK after the war.

In 1948, with tension between the East and West on the increase, the British Government invited America to re-deploy air force units to England. Preparation for just such an eventuality had been under way in fact since an informal agreement was reached in 1946 between General Spaatz, Commander US Strategic Air Forces in Europe and Marshal of the Royal Air Force Lord Tedder whereby five East Anglian bases would be prepared to handle B-29s if required.

Matters came to a head in April 1948 with the start of the Berlin Blocade and on the 7th August the establishment of USAF units in the UK was once more put on a permanent footing. In November 1948, having been assured the long-term use of British bases, the USAF decided that the East Anglian bases could prove vulnerable and that it was therefore desirable to build four new B-29 bases further inland behind the British fighter screen. A lengthy search for suitable sites in both England and Scotland finally resulted in the choice of the closely grouped airfields at Fairford, Greenham Common, Upper Heyford and Brize Norton, and an arrangement for developing these airfields for USAF use was signed in April 1950 by the then US Ambassador, Lewis Douglas, and the Under-Secretary of State for Air, Aidan Crawley - the so-called "Ambassadors Agreement."

An advance party of American Army engineers surveyed all four bases during April and May 1950 in order to determine what resources would be needed to provide each airfield with a 9 ,OOO ft runway, additional hardstands and lighting. Then, on the 7th June, the 7503rd Base Complement Sqn was moved from Marham, Norfolk, to Brize· Norton.

It is interesting to record at this point that very little of all this was being given away in public, as a look at the pages of the local paper, the Oxford Times, reveals, In the issue dated Friday, 2nd June, the possibility of American forces occupying Brize and Little Rissington was discussed at a meeting of the Witney Rural District Council. A statement from the Air Ministry was read out which said that American forces were not interested in Brize Norton, this just five days before the first Americans arrived! Then, in the issue of the paper for Friday, 9th June - two days after the first arrivals -the Air Ministry was quoted as saying that no decision had yet been reached as to which airfield would be occupied by the Americans for B-29/B-50 operations!

31

At about the same time as the arrival of the unit from Marham, the 928th Engineer Aviation Group moved in, followed on the 26th August by the 803rd Engineer Aviation Battalion and work started in earnest. On the 16th April 19 51, in a formal ceremony, the station was officially handed over to the USAF and on the 18th March the parent unit was redesignated the 7 503rd Air Base Wing.

Just over a year later, the airfield work was completed and in June 1952, the USAF commenced its first operational use of Brize Norton in spectacular fasion. On a rare foggy day the drone of many heavy piston-engined aircraft circling the area could be heard, and finally, one by one, in came a total of 21 I Ith Bomb Wing Convair B-36s the ten-engined bomber known as the Peacemaker, or more unofficially, the "aluminum overcast". The aircraft stayed for about a week, with little or no flying being done before departing one evening at 2 minute intervals back to the States.

Not long after this, on the 6th November, the 7503rd was succeeded by the 3920th Air Base Group, later to become the 3920th Strategic Wing, the unit which was to look after Brize Norton for the rest of its occupancy by the USAF. Thus, with the organising of the station back-up system complete, the way was clear to start full scale bomber deployments on a permanent basis, and accordingly, on the lst of December 1952, the 352nd and 353rd Bomb Squadrons of the 301 st Bomb Wing flew in with Boeing B-50 Superforts, with KB-29P tankers for their ninety day stay, being replaced in their turn by the 43rd Bomb Wing, and so on.

The next year, 1953, was one of considerable advance, and it was also marked by several notable v'sits by VIPs, starting on the 15th February when General Curtis E LeMay, late of the renowned USAAF 8th Air Force, made a ·tour of inspection. On May 22nd, the Duke of Edinburgh visited in a Viking of the Queen's Flight and many other high ranking officers and US Senators were to inspect the base before the year was out.

On the construction side, 195 3 brought the completion of the direct fuel-line from the Esso terminal at Purton on the 30th June and the opening of the new control tower, situated on the south side of the runway, on the 30th August. However, by far the most important event of the year was the arrival of the first unit of Boeing B-47 Stratojets, with the first element of the 305th Bomb Wing touching down on the 4th September for the then customary three months tour of duty. These were the forerunners of several hundred of their type which would ultimately visit Brize during the next 11 ~ years.

The final happening of the year was the first accident to occur since the USAF take-over. On the 27th November, an RAF Vampire made an emergency landing and overshot, fortunately without injury, although the aircraft was severely damaged.

Further consolidation during 1954 saw the base being assigned its own C-47 (43-15943) on the 14th August, and the first major exercise on the 22nd September. Code-named "Operation Blueplate", the exercise involved the deployment to Brize of 15 B-47s of the 43rd Bomb Wing, at that time on temporary duty (TDY) at nearby Fairford. The aircraft stayed for two days.

At the close of the year on the 21st November another first was achieved with the arrival of an advanced party from the 3 21 st Air Refuelling Squadron, the first KC-97 unit on TDY. The only accident in the area that year did not, in fact, involve a Brize Norton aircraft. During the night of the 20th July, a large

32

North American RB-45C Tornado 8019, from the 47th Bomb Wing at Sculthorpe, Norfolk, in the static display at the "Open House" in May 1955.

(Mick Burnett)

Convair B-36J 22220, of an unknown bomb wing, at the 1955 "Open House". This aircraft is now preserved in the USAF Museum.

(Mick Burnett)

The 9th April 1955 and the storage hangar blaze is well alight. Taxiing out for take-off is a Lockheed RF-80A, 58404 from the 38th TRS at Spangdahlem in West Germany.

(Mick Burnett)

Boeing B-4 7E 2616 under tow round the perimeter track during 19 5 5. The bomb wing is unknown. (Mick Burnett)

explosion and fireball were seen to the south; a B-4 7 had taken off from Fairford and almost immediately come down in open country close to Radcot Lock on the Thames with the loss of all three crew members. Crash rescue, firemen and security personnel were despatched to the scene from Brize Norton since it was closer than the aircraft's parent base. In October 1978, the scene was revisited, and after a few minutes searching in the newly ploughed field, several pieces of wreckage came to light, including a throttle pulley and panel fastener marked "Boeing".

A fire of a different sort was discovered by an air policeman on the 9th April 1955, when one of the old T2 metal hangars, now used as a store was set ablaze and totally burnt out with an estimated material loss of nearly two million dollars. The collapsed remains of the building were still much in evidence a month later when Brize opened its doors to the public for its first "Open House".

An impressive array of aeroplanes was drawn up on static display including: B-47E 2287 on TDY, KC-97G 53-108 of the 310th ARS, F-86D Sabre 24091 of the 514th FIS, 406th FIW at Manston, accompanied by T-3 3 A 35055 from the same unit, F-84G Thunderjet 1951 of the 79th FBS, 20th FBW at Wethersfield, Essex, RB-45C Tornado 48-019 of the 47th BW at Sculthorpe, Norfolk, B-36J 52-2220, F-84F 26382 from the 81st FBW at Bentwaters, Hunter F 1 WW641 'B' of 54 squadron at Odiham, Hants, Hastings C 2 WJ331 'GAX', Vampire T 11 XD437 '49'of7 FTS Valley plus unidentified Provost T 1 and Canberra B 2.

Shortly before this event on the 4th May, a KC-97G of the 310thARS had crashed 90 miles southwest of Iceland while operating from Brize, but despite this, another public relations exercise went ahead on the 20th of the same month, when a reporter from the Yorkshire Evening News was taken in a KC-97 on a refuelling mission, thus becoming the first British journalist to be taken on this type of flight.

However, by now it was evident that the new runway, and some taxiways were in need of repair, and consequently, the airfield was closed from November 22nd to 28th for inspection, and then closed completely on the 16th December for the work to be carried out. The "Open House" on 19th May 1956 was thus a very quiet affair as the repaired runway was only re-opened for daylight use on the 16th July and for full use again on the 4th September, when 4 B-47s made the first use of it by jet aircraft.

Another claim to fame for the base was established on Thursday 1 7th January 1957 when the first Boeing B-52 to make a scheduled overseas flight landed after a flight from Castle AFB, California. The aircraft was B-52B 3395, "City ofTurlock" and was flown by Major Ben H. Clements of the 93rd Bomb Wing. A press day for the local papers was held the next day, and although in later years Brize would have something in the order of 90 visits by B-52s, this was the only time a 'B' model was to be seen here or anywhere else in the UK.

Yet more runway work was necessary between August and September and then on the 12th December, the 3920th Air Base Group was assigned its first jet aircraft with the arrival of two RB-4 7 s for the use of command personnel in maintaining type proficiency.

19 5 8 began with the first overlapping of B-4 7 wings on rotation. Between the 1 st and 31 st January, elements of both the outgoing 6 8th Bomb Wing and

35

the incoming 1 OOth Bomb Wing were present on the airfield at the same time. Shortly after the exchange had been completed, on the 3rd March, a 1 OOth BW aircraft accidentally jettisoned an underwing fuel tank whilst flying locally. It came down in the back garden of a retired Wing Commander's house at Ashton Keynes, fortunately for all concerned, causing no damage to people or property!

Not so fortunate though was the pilot of an F-86D Sabre of the 86th FIW stationed in Germany, which, with another from the same unit, was carrying out GCA runs at Brize Norton on the 1 Oth May. While flying on the downwind leg of the circuit, one aircraft hit trees alongside the A40 road near Burford, crashed and disintegrated, killing the pilot. Great anxiety was caused when only 23 of the 24 rockets the aircraft had been carrying could be found and it was several days before an RAF mine detector unit came up with the missing one.

On the 14th May, the B-5 2s returned with the arrival of six aircraft from the 92nd BW at Fairchild AFB, Washington, to participate in the RAF's annual bombing competition. The aircraft involved were all 'D' models and were serialled, 5112, 6584, 6599, 6667, 6668 and 6674. In marked contrast to more recent times, the USAF scored a runaway victory in the contest, being placed first in all categories but one, in which they came second.

Shortly afterwards, on the 26th May, Brize witnessed its first "Ban The Bomb" type march, when 250 protestors made a peaceful protest, which included handing in a petition at the main gate to a selected airman. It had been decided that all officers would remain in the background to avoid provoking anti-American elements in the crowd.

On June 27th, two KC-135s arrived after flying from New York in the record time of 5 hours 2 7 minutes. Two days later they returned, setting a further record for the west-bound leg of 5 hours 51 minutes. 19 5 8 was again a year of VIP visits including a three hour meeting between the US Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles, and the British Foreign Minister, Selwyn Lloyd, on the 19th October, and a brief tour of the base by Vice-President Richard Nixon on the 28th November.

However, by far the most significant event of the year was the ending of the old-style full B-47 wing deployments with the return to the States of the lOOth Bomb Wing on April 1 st. Thereafter, the B-4 7 units were only to stay in this country for about three weeks at a time in considerably reduced numbers under the so-called "Reflex Alert" system. The numbers present at any one time were reduced from the 40 to 50 of the old system, to approximately 20, and little, if any, flying was undertaken between arrival and departure.

1959 was, by comparison, a rather quiet year. The B-47 detachments continued in the new pattern and completion of long-awaited over-runs at last allowed full utilization of the 10,000 ft runway length. In November, the anti H-bomb marchers returned this time over 500 strong, but again, no incidents arose.

On September 14th, 1960, whilst three B-4 7 aircraft were on their way to Brize Norton for a standard deploym_ent, two aircraft collided over the Atlantic -and one came down in the sea. An immediate -search for the- 3-man crew was instigated, and that same day, 10 KC-97s arrived at Brize to help. However, several days intense activity failed to find any trace of the men or their machine and the search was abandoned.

36

Boeing KC-97G 3108 from the 310th ARS, in the static display at the 1955 Open Day, while at Brize on TDY. (Mick Burnett)

De Havilland Vampire T.11 XD437 of7 FTS, Valley, at the 1955 "Open House". (Mick Burnett)

Boeing B-47E 31858 at rest on a south-side dispersal. Again, the unit it belonged to is not known. (Mick Burnett)

Boeing B-47B 12214, believed to belong to either the 305th or 320th Bomb Wings. It is parked on one of the dispersals to the south of the Witney to Fairford railway line, which are now only

used for time-expired fire practice airframes . (Mick Burnett)

/ ............... .

I/Lt. Lou B. Bauer briefing B-4 7 alert crews on the 20th December, 19 5 7. The crews at that time would all be from the 68th Bomb Wing, Lake Charles.

Boeing B-47E 2371 of the 68th Bomb Wing (Caption see next page)

(USAF)

Boeing B-47E 2371 of the 68th Bomb Wing, Lake Charles AFB, being prepared for a mission atBrize Norton on the 20th December, 1957. In the first photo, the pilot 1/Lt. Kenneth F. Somers is activating the remote controlled tail-guns; the second shows A/2C Danny N. Shreves, the cr_ew

chief, removing ground power, and the third shows the aircraft ready to start engines. (USAF)

Despite this tragedy, the station was still able to win the "Flying Safety Base of the Year" award the following February, countering fierce competition from other bases in SAC UK's 7th Air Division. This same year, 1961, ended with large-scale preparations to protect the base from what had by now become the annual "Ban the Bomb" march.

On the 6th December, two thousand RAF Regiment troops were moved in, and three days later, the "Committee of One Hundred" demonstrated here and at Wethersfield and South Ruislip. The massive RAF protective presence was re-inforced by the use of a Belvedere helicopter keeping a watch on proceedings in the surrounding area, but yet again nothing serious occurred.

Although August 1962 saw the first large scale use at Brize Norton of the Boeing KC-135 tankers, which gradually replaced the rather out-dated KC-97, a problem was fast arising with the B-4 7 which was itself beginning to show signs of age and reduced effectiveness. Just a year later, it would be announced that the B-4 7 Reflex operations would be run-down although it was not made clear at that time just what, if anything, would replace it.

196 2 was also a year of incident starting with a B-4 7 catching fire during an engine ground-run on the 4th October and KC-135A, 91514 suffering damage immediately after take-off on the 1 lth November, which resulted in a precautionary landing being carried out. It was also around this time that during a violent thunderstorm, another B-4 7 was struck by lightning whilst sitting at its dispersal. This resulted in the JA TO Uet assisted take-oft) bottles being set off. These bottles were always strapped to the rear of the fuselage while the aircraft were on Reflex alert, but were seldom used and were usually removed prior to the aircraft returning to their home bases.

1962 also brought the Cuban crisis, during which the entire 7th Air Division flying programme was suspended, starting again on the 5th December. However, another halt to operations was forced on the base by the hardest winter for many years which began to bite at the end of the same month. The situation became so bad that a large snow-blower was flown over the Atlantic in a C-133 Cargomaster on the 3rd January. Unfortunately, it was unable to land at Brize and had to divert to France, finally reaching its intended destination the next day.

There was still no outward sign of the B-47's demise and in fact on the 5th April 1963, a further aircraft was put on the station's strength for proficiency crew training bringing the total to four. Also, by this time, other stranger B-4 7 s were beginning to appear at Brize, with weather, intelligence-gathering and reconnaissance variants such as the WB-47E, RB-47H and ERB-47H becoming more and more frequent visitors.

During July 1963, numbers of KC-135s increased in order to support Tactical Air Command's Operation "Daily Double", and then, on the 27th January 1964, great excitement was caused when a B-58 Hustler from the 43rd Bomb Wing, Carswell, Texas, arrived at Brize on a training flight code­named "Alarm Bell". This was the first of its type at the base and its two day visit was to be followed by eleven more during the year, with perhaps the most memorable occasion being on the 11th/12th May when no less than four aircraft were present together. Naturally, rumour was rife that the Hustler would replace the B-4 7 on Reflex operations, but this was never to be since on the 8th June, it was announced that Brize Norton would be returned to the RAF in April 1965 for the use of Transport Command. In July, the base lost

41.

two of the B-4 7 s assigned for proficiency flying, reflecting the reduced commitment.

The plan for the run-down of the base was published on the 1 st September and called for the last USAF personnel to be off the base on the 31 st May 1965. However, the Reflex operations continued right up until the official hand-over of the base on 1 st April 1965.

It seems that the last year or so of Strategic Air Command (SAC) operations was treated as something of a "last-fling" with an intense programme of alerts, exercises and visits by various other strange types; many locals still recall the U-2 which spent some days here around this time. Amongst the many aspects of operational life which the local population had to learn to live with was the use during exercises of smoke-screens, when evil­smelling smoke, produced by burning so-called "Fog Oil", would drift for great distances across the countryside. In fact, when the wind was in the right direction and strong enough, the good people of Carterton even had to put up with Fairford's smoke.

By far the most common form of exercise though, was the "Broken Arrow" alert, which simulated a B-4 7 accident and was practised almost once a week to test emergency procedures. This was especially important when it is remembered that aircraft on Reflex duty were armed with nuclear weapons.

The final 1 7 aircraft Reflex detachment came to an end on the 3rd April 1965, the last aircraft to leave being B-4 7E 0.31884. The aircraft on this last tour were drawn from the 380th Bomb Wing, which on returning to the States, was disbanded to reform at a later date as a missile unit.

Not long before the final pull-out by the USAF, it was announced that one of the four 7th Air Division bases would be retained after all in order to support limited SAC operations in the future, in particular, RB-47 and KC/RC-135 missions. Although the Americans were known to favour Brize Norton, they were over-ruled by the RAF's wishes and the final choice fell on Upper Heyford.

42

Boeing B-52B 3395 "City of Turlock", from the 93rd Bomb Wing, Castle AFB, California, during the press day at Brize on the 18th January, 1957. The aircraft had arrived the previous

day, to make the first scheduled overseas flight by any B-52. (By courtesy of the Oxford Times)

The Committee of 100 on their way past Brize Norton, moving towards Brize village, during their anti H-bomb march on the 6th December 1961. The KC-97s on TDY appear to be turning their

backs on the proceedings! (Mick Burnett)

/ -.._

Convair B-58A Hustler 92442 " Little Rascal", from the 43rd Bomb Wing, Carswell, Texas, during an " Alarm Bell" training mission to Brize on February 19th, 1964, accompanied by another aircraft from the same unit. The spot where it is standing is now covered by part of

Base Hangar. Note the KC-l 35s in the background. (By courtesy of Flight International)

Boeing B-5 2G 80215 of the 42nd Bomb Wing, landing over the Bampton road on the 12th of January 1965. (Barry Cooper)

--

Douglas C-124C Globemaster 0.20971 of the 63rd Troop Carrier Wing, landing on the l 9th January, 1965. This was one of 4 aircraft from that unit to visit on the same day, moving

equipment out of Brize as part of the USAF withdrawal. (Barry Cooper)

B-4 7 (Caption see next page)

~ u. .

Three shots showing the last B-47 to leave Brize Norton. On the 3rd April, 1965, the 380th Bomb Wing returned to the States, bringing to an end just under 12 years of B-4 7 operations

at the base. B-47E 0.31884 had the distinction of being last away. (USAF)

CHAPTER FOUR

1965-1980 For some years prior to 1965, the RAF's principal strategic transport base

had been located at Lyneham, Wilts, operating the Hastings early on and later the Comet and Britannia. With the ordering of several new types to replace these, it became evident that Lyneham could no longer handle all the main transport requirements on its own. Firstly, the airfield was not large enough to handle V C 1 Os and Belfasts especially with regard to runway length, which would not accommodate a fully-laden VC 10 with a sufficient safety margin. Secondly, with the C-130K Hercules on order as the new tactical transport, it was decided that Lyneham would be the ideal base for it.

The search was therefore started for a new strategic base and the choice soon fell on Brize Norton. Plans for its re-development were already well in hand at the time of the American withdrawal and work was started almost immediately. Although already a large and well equipped airfield, Brize obviously lacked the facilities necessary to handle large transport aircraft and their cargoes, both human and material, so amongst the priorities in the building programme were a passenger terminal, a cargo handling shed (converted from an existing 'B' type hangar), and enlarged aprons with full floodlighting. On the domestic side, the Americans had built comparatively few married quarters, so a large scale housing programme was put in hand together with an hotel for transit personnel and new living-in accommodation.

However, perhaps the most impressive item in the building programme was what came to be known as Base Hangar. Designed to accommodate up to six aircraft of VC 10/Belfast size, at the time of its completion in August 1967 it was the largest cantilever structure in Western Europe and cost just under two million pounds.

Despite all this intense activity, it was realised early on that Brize would not be ready for the start of operations by the new types. The first RAF VC 10 (XR806) had made its maiden flight on the 26th November 1965 and deliveries to the designated operator, 10 Squadron, began on the 7th July 1966. The Belfast, meanwhile, had commenced its flight test programme with XR362 on the 5th January 1964 with the first hand-over of XR367 to 53 Squadron taking place on the 20th January 1966.

Consequently, early operations were mounted from both Lyneham and Fairford. The first operational flight was mounted by Belfast XR367 in October 1966 when it transported 3 Whirlwind HC 10 helicopters of 1310 Flight from Atkinson Field, Guyana, arriving at Fairford on the 7th of the month, having flown its load 5,200 miles via Barbados and the Azores. The first VC 10 scheduled service left Lyneham on the 4th April 1967. The two

47

squadrons finally moved into Brize Norton during May 1967 and continued to build-up to their full strengths of 14 V C 1 Os and 10 Belfasts, although early on in its career, VCIO XR809 was loaned by the Ministry of Defence to Rolls Royce as a flying test-bed for the RB. 211 engine and was destined never to return to 10 Squadron since it was broken-up at Kemble during 1977 /78 after having out-lived its usefulness .

On the lst August 1967, Transport Command became Air Support Command and it fell to a 10 Squadron VC 10 to fly the inaugural service of the new command on that day. By this time, the unit was welJ settled into its routine of operating two primary regular routes, one to Hong Kong via Bahrain, Gan and Singapore outbound, and Singapore, Gan and Cyprus on the return leg, and the other to John F. Kennedy (New York). There were also commitments for trooping to Germany, and the squadron was heavily utilized in the deployment of troops to Anguilla and Northern Ireland and in support of the withdrawal from Aden. In fact, during 1968, the VC 1 Os carried nearly a third of all passengers flown by Air Support Command.

On the lst October, 1968, the new passenger terminal finally came into use and VC 10 flights were at last able to be fully self-contained at their home base. Meanwhile, 5 3 Squadron continued on its less glamourous but no less important job moving large amounts of cargo and equipment around the world and on the 4th July 1969, the unit received its standard from Air Chief Marshal Sir John Grandy, appropriately, during its 53rd year.

Among the many unusual loads carried by the Belfast were several historic aircraft collected from various parts of the world for the RAF Museum, including a Supermarine Stranraer flying-boat from Canada and a Seagull V amphibian from Australia, both of which now reside at Hendon. The Belfast also had a regular task of taking Hercules wings to America for attention by Lockheed, the only RAF aircraft capable of doing this, something in fact, which was said about it many times during its career.

By early 1970, the build-up of the RAF's Hercules fleet was complete and consequently, there was little room left at Lyneham for the two Britannia C.1/C.2 Squadrons, Nos 99 and 511, which accordingly moved into Brize Norton during June to take up residence on the old B-47 Reflex pans on the south side of the airfield.

Despite their comparative age, the Britannias still performed a vital task, operating into places such as Gibraltar, which, because of runway restrictions, were denied to the VCIOs. The two squadrons'total complement was 22 aircraft, comprising 19 C 1 s and 3 C2s. There had originally been a total of 23 RAF Britannias, but Cl XL638 had been written off in an accident at Khormaksar, Aden on the 13th October 1967, although its forward fuselage later arrived at Brize for use as a ground training aid with the Air Movements School.

Other time expired aircraft which were consume-d on that same dump by Brize's fire section have included an Anson C19, Comet C2 (XK669), Shackleton MR2 (WR955), Varsity TI (WJ886) and more recently, Devon C2/2 (VP978). In addition to these, the already mentioned Air Movements School has also made use of an ex 103 Squadron Whirlwind 10 (XK987), an Army Air Corps Sioux AH I (XT141)andthefuselageof Andover Cl XS598 which had been written off after overshooting at Abingdon.

48

636 II

Bristol Britannia C. I XL636 from 99/ 511 Sqns, photographed before the units moved to Brize Norton. With the disbanding of the Britannia Squadrons , '636 was sold to Young Air Cargo

of Belgium as 00-YCE. (Mick Allen)

Short Belfast Cl XR366 "Atlas", taxies out past Base Hangar during the types swan-song period at Brize. This was in fact the last Belfast to leave, finally going to Kemble for storage on

the 3rd October, 1977. (RAF Brize Norton)

Short Belfast C.1 XR371, awaiting sale at RAF Kemble, following its withdrawal from 53 Squadron service. The photo was taken on the 16th February 1978 and the aircraft was later sold

to Rolls-Royce for its engines. (Mick Allen)

HS Argosy El XP439 "Theseus" of 115 Sqn, seen during a trip to Lossiemouth. This aircraft was eventually to end its days here, when it was delivered for use by the station's fire section

on the 13th September 1977. (Mick Allen)

_,,,.,,.--- -I

XR143, an Argosy of 115 Squadron, climbs out on its final departure to Kemble on the 30th January, 1978. Appropriately, this aircraft, which was also the last production RAF

Argosy, was named "Omega" (RAF Brize Norton)

HS Andover C.1 XS641, newly delivered to 115 Sqn and paying an early visit to Lossiemouth. (Mick Allen)

I I

- ------ - ·--

115 Squadron's first Andover E3 XS603, back at Brize after conversion, but still awaiting repainting in the new red, white and grey colour scheme.

(RAF Brize Norton)

BAC VClO C.1 XV102 of 10 Squadron. (RAF Brize Norton)

>ii:< ROYAL ~lR fORC( . ::;:s:-•,x WX I a k AWL

0 _:

· 1 0 2

I

In 197 4, the Cyprus conflict occurred necessitating the evacuation at very short notice to the UK of thousands of Service and civilian families. Over 7 ,500 people were air-lifted out of Cyprus in the biggest operation of its kind for many years. A total of 95 sorties were flown by the Squadrons of Brize Norton in the 12 days of the operation. On one day, (25 July) 42 aircraft movements were successfully handled, their loads varying from full loads of 100-130 evacuees inbound to aircraft full of military stores and medical and welfare supplies bound for Cyprus.

In the same year, the cut backs announced in the Defence Review were to have a profound effect on the number and type of aircraft flying out of Brize Norton. It was decided to dispose of the Britannias straight away, to be followed shortly afterwards by the Belfasts. Consequently, the run-down of 99 and 511 began on the 25th April 197 5 with the departure of XM51 7 and XN398 to St. Athan for storage, and ended with their disbandment on the last day of the year, at which time, only XL637, XL658, XL660 and XM498 remained on strength. The aircraft were offered for sale on the civil market and eventually, most of them were taken into use in Britain and abroad as cargo aircraft, although some were broken for spares.

The Belfast servicing, which up to this time had been carried out at Abingdon, was now moved to Brize with the extra hangar space made available by the departure of the Britannias. However, the first aircraft XR364, departed for 5 MU Kemble on the 3rd June 1976. It was originally intended that all ten aircraft would be gone shortly after the squadron disbanded on the 14th September, but in the event, XR366 was retained at Brize until the 3rd October 1977. During this time it was used as a demonstrator for potential customers and also carried a Hawk simulator to RAF Valley, Anglesey.

All this change left Brize as a large airfield with few aeroplanes, but the balance had been redressed somewhat by the arrival during 1975/6 ofNo 115 Squadron from Cottesmore, Rutland. Equipped with Argosy Els, the squadron's task was to calibrate service ground radio and radar aids. Once again, change was already planned here, and during June 1976, the first Andovers appeared, heralding the run-down of the Argosy fleet, although the last aircraft (XR140) did not leave until the lOth February 1978, by which time the Andover fleet had built up to 6, with modifications under way to bring the aircraft up from C 1 to E3 standard.

With the arrival of the Andovers and the setting up of an Andover Servicing Flight, Brize Norton assumed responsibility for the overhaul of all examples of the type within the RAF, with the exception of the Queen's Flight machines, which remained in the charge of their own unit. Later, a seventh Andover was added to Brize's strength, although this aircraft (XS643) was allocated for crew conversion to No 241 OCU which had been at Brize for many years, "borrowing" VClOs and Belfasts for training purposes.

Other units to move into Brize Norton during 1976 included No 1 Parachute Training School from Abingdon, which makes use of Lyneham Transport Wing Hercules for parachute training at nearby Weston-on-the­Green and South Cerney aerodromes, in addition to which, it provides the Falcons parachute display team. No 38 Group Tactical Communications Wing also arrived, together with the Joint Air Transport Establishment (JATE).

JATE is the descendent of the old TCDU, so well known at Brize in the

53

past, and although it does not possess any aircraft of its own, it too makes considerable use of Lyne ham C-130s for trials. Load carrying by helicopter is also an integral part of JATE's work, and various types such as Wessex, Puma and Sea King, can frequently be seen.

During most of 1976 and part of 1977 Brize handled the Master Diversion and Foreign Visiting Aircraft commitment for the area whilst the runways at Lyneham were receiving attention. This naturally resulted in a large increase in the amount of visiting aircraft and during this time, more than 30 different air forces were represented, with a large proportion of these using the ubiquitous C-130. Another visitor which has also become part ofBrize's way of life in recent years, is Concorde, with British Airways using the base every three or four months for two-week crew training periods, although lack of new routes for the aircraft brought a halt to this programme late in 1978.

One of the most interesting and continuing aspects of the station's work is the provision of VC 1 Os for VIP flights, with various members of the Royal Family, prime ministers and cabinet ministers, being carried to all parts of the globe on many occasions. Thus, despite Britain's shrinking military presence overseas 10 Squadron still manages to find itself in exotic places.

While under the USAF during the fifties and early sixties, Brize Norton was known as "SAC's Gateway to the UK". This theme is re-inforced by the Station's heraldic shield, approved by Her Majesty The Queen in 1968, which symbolizes the Station's location by use of the Cotswold Gateway surround­ing an armorial helmet in order to depict its present role as the military gateway to the world.

As if to illustrate this role, in December 1979, "out of the blue" came the need to establish a monitoring force in Rhodesia, codenamed Operation Agila. RAF Brize Norton was heavily involved in the round-the-clock airlift to ferry troops and equipment to Zimbabwe-Rhodesia for the cease-fire force to monitor the independence elections.

Once again, RAF Brize Norton showed its ability to react to the call for logistics back up for an operational environment. It proved conclusively that when the need arises the means will be found. Over the 4~ days of the deployment phase a total of 42 aircraft were loaded and despatched, and a grand total of 1.1 million pounds of equipment, together with 860 passengers, were moved.

RAF Brize Norton can be justly proud of its past and can look forward with optimism to a future which promises to be just as busy.

54

Representative transport aircraft of No. 38 Gp lined up outside Base Hanger RAF Brize Norton at the time of the 1974 Defence Review.

(RAF Brize Norton)

The Cyprus Airlift 1974 - Service and civilian families disembark from a VClO at RAF Brize Norton.

(RAF Brize Norton)

A Concorde of British Airways taxiing at RAF Brize Norton prior to a training flight. (RAF Brize Norton)

Logistics co-operation during Operation Agila. A Galaxy of Military Airlift Command USAF being loaded with helicopter alongside VCIO on the pan at RAF Brize Norton.

(RAF Brize Norton)

The JATE Hercules carrying out an Ultra Low Level Airdrop (ULLA). (JATE)

The RAF Free-Fall Parachute Display Team, The Falcons, performing a linked 4 man diamond exit from the ramp of a Hercules C 130 into a 120mph slipstream. Speeds of between 120 and

180 mph can be reached during free-fall. (RAF Brize Norton)

Lockheed C-130E 84001 and Douglas C-47 79004 of the Swedish Air Force at Brize during the visit by F20 wing's Sk 60's in June 1975.

(RAF Brize Norton)

A view of some of the 14 Saab Sk.60s of F.20 wing of the Swedish Air Force, which paid a courtesy visit to Brize on the 5th June 197 5, during a short tour of RAF bases.

(RAF Brize Norton)

Supermarine Seagull V VH-ALB shortly after its return to the UK aboard a 53 Squadron Belfast from Australia, in 1969. The aircraft had been entered in the England-Australia air race. but was damaged on the outbound journey to England, as evidenced by the torn fuselage. It was

subsequently presented to the RAF Museum and is now on display at Hendon. (RAF Brize Norton)

Photographed in November 1978, this Horsa fuselage section was "rediscovered" in a Carterton back garden, after lying in the same spot for over thirty years . It was later rescued by the Brizc Norton Aviation Society, and during the recovery, the large sprung landing skid was also found

in the undergrowth. (Author)

One of the small hangars built outside the airfield after the air raid of the 16th August, 1940. This is the only one still standing, and is now in use as a vehicle workshop in Carterton village.

(Author)

The service graves at Black Bourton, with the names of many foreign and Dominion airmen who died during flying training and on operations.

(Author)

APPENDIX ONE

Units and examples of their aircraft

2 FTS, 7.9.37-14.7.42 (later 2 SFTS and 2 (P) AFU) Hart Trainer K3757, K3759, K3760 Audax K5139, K5156 - K5158, K5207, K5587, K5599, K7311, K7339, K7343, K7351, K7352, K7365, K7367, K7422, K7485, K7486 (crashed at sea 12.7.39) Hart Special K4376 Fury II K8227, K8232, K8269 Harvard N7146, P5894, P5899 Oxford N4578, N4761, N4762, N4763, N4770, N4777, N4778, N4780, N4781, N4789, N4845, N4853, N6367, N6368, N6384, N6407, N6409, N6432, N6436, N6437 (all the foregoing were des­troyed in the air raid on 16.8.40), L9656 (written off after stalling on approach 30.8.40), N4787 (written off during landing 31.8.40), N4570, N4575, N4579, N4584, N4586, N4588, N4591, N6268, T1002, T1005, T1013, T1019 Anson

Station Flight Don L2415 DH.60 X5027 Tiger Moth Magister

15 SFTS, 11.6.40-19.8.40 Oxford Harvard

101 Sqn, 6.9.39-15.9.39 Blenheim IV

110 Sqn, 6.9.39-13.9.39 Blenheim IV

1525 BAT Flt, 18.2.42-16.7.42 Oxford

HGCU (later 21 HGCU) 15.7.42-14.3.44 and 20.10.44-31.12.45 Horsa DP279-DP285, DP288, DP289, DP291-DP294, DP303, DP304, DP306, DP310, DP314, DP383, DP389, DP528, DP714-DP717, DP743, DP745, DP747, DP748, DP751, DP755, DP756, DP763.:.DP765, DP769, DP770, DP772, DP773, DP776, DP777, DP794-DP796, DP798, DP807, DP808, HSlOl, HS103, HS105, HS108, LG749, LH501, RX618 Whitley GT.V BD502, BD512, BD557-BD559, EB308, LA873, BD661 Hadrian FR564, FR567, FR572-.PR575, FR577-FR579, 42-52858, 42-53236, 42-56240, 42-56331, 42-62193, 42-73883, 42-73931, 42-77065, 42-77363, 42-79349, 42-79446, 42-79447, 43-19779, 43-40849, 43-41220, 43-41384, 43-41387, 44-0438 Oxford Albemarle P1367, P1382, P1440, P1443,P1444,P1445 Tiger Moth Halifax A.7 PP364, PP367, PP373, PP374,PP377,PP378,PP383 Magister

61

296 Sqn, 14.3.44-30.9.44 3920th Air Base Group 1954-1965 Albemarle Vl 765, Vl 774, Vl 775, B-47E 20448, 20496, 20517, 20581 V1815, V1817, V1818, V1821, C-47 0.224172, 0.315352, 0.315943, V1822 0.316048, 0.349158

RB-47H 297 Sqn, 14.3.44-30.9.44 and 5.9.46-8.47 305th Bomb Wing, 4.9.53-12.53 Albermarle Vl 769, Vl 771, Vl 772, B-47B V1773, V1776, V1778, V1781, Vl 782, V1817, V1823, V1825 320th Bomb Wing, 6.6.54-9.54 Halifax A.9 B-47B

TCDU, 30.12.45-30.6.49 Stirling V PJ958 Dakota KP208 Halifax A. 7 /9 York C.1 Liberator Horsa Hadrian Hamilcar Hoverfly 1 KLI 10 Hoverfly II KN837, KN839, KN840, KN844 Buckingham C.2 KV365 Hastings C .1 Valetta C.1

CFS (Examining Wing), 5. 7.49-16.3.50 Harvard T.2B Anson C.XII

204 AFS, 15.8.49-9.6.50 Mosquito T. 3 RR297, RR299, RR308, LR581, VT605, VT606, VT620, VT621

321 st Air Refuelling Sqn, 9.12.54-15.3.55 KC-97

310th ARS, 15.3.55-6.55 KC-97

40th ARS, 6.55-8.9.55 KC-97

384th Bomb Wing, 5.1.57-9.4.57 B-47E

380th Bomb Wing, 29.3.57-7.7.57 B-47E This wing also operated the final reflex detachment, which ended on the 3rd of April 1965, with the departure of the following aircraft: 0.31865, 0.31869, 0.31884, 0.31903, 0.31908, 0.31922, 0.31923, 0.31925, 0.31948, 0.31952, 0.31954, 0.32120, 0.32132, 0.32355, 0.32399, 0.36224, 0.36231

Mosquito FB.6 LR308, PZ307, 68th Bomb Wing, 21.9.57-8.1.58 RF890, RS551, TE657, VL730, B-47E SZ974 Tiger Moth T7025

11 th Bombardment Wing, 6.52 B-36D, B-36F

301st Bomb Wing, 1.12.52-7.3.53 B-50, KB-29P

43rd Bomb Wing, 7.3.53-17.6.53 B-50, KB-29P

62

90th ARS, ? -8.1.58 KC-97

lOOth Bomb Wing 4.1.58-1.4.58 B-47E

376th ARS, 8.1.58-? KC-97

301st Bomb/Reconnaisance Wing, (various dates between 1958 and 1964. These missions were also flown by aircraft of the 98th SW and 55th SRW, which both had origins in, or connections with, the 30lst). B-47E RB-4 7H, 0.34280, 0.34287, 34292, 0.34293, 0.34299, 0.34300, 0.34302, 0.34308, 0.34298 ERB-4 7H 0.36245-0.3624 7, 0.36249

40th Bomb Wing, 4.64-30.6.64 B-47E

310th Bomb Wing, 29.6.64-? B-47E

After early 1958, with the adoption of the Reflex Alert, the B-4 7 s rotated in much smaller numbers than previously, and more rapidly, so an exact account of which units were present at what time is not possible, although it is known that the 2nd Bomb Wing was present in 1958 and 1959.

10 Sqn, 23.5.67-present VClO C.1 XR806-XR810, XV101-XV109

241 OCU, reformed 1.7.70-present VC 10, Belfast and Britannia aircratl "borrowed" from the squadrons as required. Andover C.1 XS643

99/511 Sqns, 16.6.70-31.12.75 Aircraft not allocated to individual squadrons. Britannia C.1 XL635 - XL637, XL639, XL640, XL657-XL660, XM489-XM491, XM496-XM498, XM5 l 7-XM520 Britannia C.2 XN392, XN398, XN404

115 Sqn, 1975-present ArgosyE.1 XN816,XN855,XP439, XP448, XR137, XR140, XR143 Andover C.1/E.3 XS603, XS605, XS610, XS639, XS640, XS641

JATE, 1976-present Serials ofTDY B-47s have generally Hercules C Mk 1 (on permanent loan not been quoted, since although a from 38 Gp) great many are known, unit allocation is uncertain in most cases.

53 Sqn, 5.67-14.9.76 Belfast C.1 XR362-XR371

Although this list is obviously far from complete, it contains all the serials traced to date and should serve as a basis for further research.

63

APPENDIX TWO

Aircraft handled by 6 MU (with examples where known)

Swordfish Cloud K3724, 25, 29, K4300 Gladiator Blenheim Battle Hampden Whitley Spitfire SL616 (Mk.16), X4596 (1), RW382 (16), LA215 (21) Proctor Beaufort Defiant Nl 755, Nl 754, Nl 792 Manchester Halifax A.7 PP364 Boston Whirlwind Ventura Hudson Liberator Mitchell Fortress Horsa TL619, TL726, TL615, TL248,440,441,442,475 Stirling Spiteful RB516, 17, 19, 20-25, RB527-RB531 Seafang VB893, VB895, VG471-VG482, VG486, VG488-VG490. (Most, if not all of these were handled by 6 MU) Fury II K7281 (as instructional airframe 15 77M) Hurricane Tempest V SN354 Commodore HH979 Monospar ST.25 X9334 Tiger Moth BB704, BB857 Meteor F .4 VT221, VW26 3, VW264, VW255, 57, 59, 61-68 Meteor T.7 WA616, WA631, WF839, WF851, WF853, WF875, WF879, WA618

Footnote

Ju.88G 622838/ AM3/VK884? 621965/AM9, 621186/AM33, 622461/AM41, 620968/AM47, 62281 l/AM48 Ju. 188A 180485/AM45 Ju. 188D 150245/AM35 Ju. 290A-7 10186/AM6 Ju. 52/3M AM102, 6567 /D-AGAC/ AM103 Si. 204D 321523/AM5, 351547/ AM12, 251922/AM13, 221558/ AM28, AM46, 251104/AM49 FW.190A 550214/AMlO, 733682/ AM75, AMll 1, AM230, 584219/ AM29 (2 seater) FW.189A 0173/AM27 Ta. 152H 150168/AMll He. 219A 290126/AM20, 310109/ AM21, 310106/AM43, 310215/ AM44 He. 162A 120076/AM59/VH523, 120074/AM60, 120086/AM62, 120095/AM63, 120235/AM68 Ar. 234B 140008/AM25/VK880, 140476/AM26/VK877, 140141, 140493, 140581 Bf. llOG 730301/AM34, 420031/ AM85 Bf. 109G 413601/AM229 Me. 410A 420430/AM72, 130360/ AM73, 10259/TF209 Bf. 108B 1547/AM76/AM84 Me. 262A 500210/VH519 Do. 217M 56158/AM107 Me. 163B 310061/AM203, 120370/ AM210, 191400/AM214, 191659/ AM215, 191904/AM217, AM200, AM202, AM204-AM206, AM209, AM211-AM213, AM216, AM218-AM222 HS-129A

Explanation of German Aircraft Serials.

The first number quoted is the German production or "Werke" number, while the "AM" number is that allocated by the British Air Ministry for Evaluation Flying. 64

September 19 3 7 May 1939 August 1939 January 1940 May 1941 March 1943 October 1943 April 1944 September 1944 June 1945 December 1945 October 194 7 July 1949 1950-1951 1951-1952 1952-1953 1953-1955 1955-1956 1956-1958 1958-1959 1959-1961 1961-1962 1962-1964 1964-1965 March 1965 January 1968 January 1970 April 1971 January 1974 November 1975 June 1978-

APPENDIX THREE . RAF BRJZE NORTON

Station Commanders (1937-1980)

Group Captain F L Robinson DSO MC DFC Group Captain C R Carr DFC AFC Group Captain S Smith DSO AFC Group Captain E B Rice Group Captain R H Kershaw Group Captain J E M MacCullum Group Captain C A Horn OBE Group Captain T M Abraham DFC Group Captain C A Horn OBE Group Captain F G Argyle-Robinson DFC Group Captain D J Alvey OBE Group Captain J M Cohu CBE Group Captain D W F Bonham-Carter DFC Lieutenant Colonel H 0 Hamilton USAF Colonel C B Steely USAF Colonel T G Corbin USAF Colonel W M Van Sickle USAF Colonel F M Hardison USAF Colonel E A Loberg USAF Colonel 0 0 Schurter USAF Colonel E D Edwards USAF Colonel E F Arnold USAF Colonel E A Van Dyke USAF Colonel H C Bayne USAF Group Captain R G Wilson DFC AFC Group Captain D L Attlee MVO Group Captain T L Kennedy AFC Group Captain J Richardson MBE AFC MBIM Group Captain P A Ward Group Captain R D Bates AFC Group Captain W H Croydon OBE

Acknowledgements A great many people and organisations have given me assistance in the form

of information and/or photographs, and they are: Barry Cooper, Em Loader, Bunny Shayler, Gordon Giles, Tony Giles, Mick Burnett, Bob Humphries, Bill Preston, Stan Coles, Peter Corbell, George Pennick, Mick Allen, Tom Southam, Dave Woodland and Bert Goodare.

Airfix Magazine, Southend Aeronews, Air Britain, Control Column, Messrs Putnam and Co., Military Aviation Review, Oxford Times, Ministry of Defence (Air Historical Branch), Imperial War Museum, Flight Inter­national, Merseyside Aviation Society, 1361 st Audiovisual Squadron (USAF), The Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, Public Record Office, South East Air Review, Headquarters Strategic Air Command, Headquarters Third Air Force (USAFE), The Boeing Airplane Co, JATE, and RAF Brize Norton.