Royal Air Force Blackbushe or more simply RAF Blackbushe is a former

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

station in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. It is now Blackbushe Airport.

History

The station was opened on 1 November 1942 as RAF Hartford Bridge and it was used throughout the remainder of

for reconnaissance, defence and strike operations using

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allies of World War II, Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced conti ...

s, Douglas Bostons and

de Havilland Mosquito The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito is a British twin-engined, multirole combat aircraft, introduced during the World War II, Second World War. Unusual in that its airframe was constructed mostly of wood, it was nicknamed the "Wooden Wonder", or " ...

es. It was also the home of the Free French Squadron (Lorraine). During the construction of the airfield, the already built runways were used for glider testing, including the massive General Aircraft Hamilcar. A number of important people used the airfield including

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of In ...

and Queen Elizabeth, Supreme Allied Commander U.S. General Dwight D Eisenhower and British Field Marshal

Bernard Montgomery Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein (; 17 November 1887 – 24 March 1976), nicknamed "Monty", was a senior British Army officer who served in the First World War, the Irish War of Independence and the ...

. Due to its geographical proximity to RAE Farnborough

Royal Aircraft Establishment The Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) was a British research establishment, known by several different names during its history, that eventually came under the aegis of the Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), bef ...

the airfield was used to develop the Fog Investigation and Dispersal Operation (FIDO) system to enable aircraft operations in heavy fog. The station was renamed to RAF Blackbushe on 18 November 1944 and it became an airfield for the Douglas Dakotas of RAF Transport Command during the 1948 airlift during the

Berlin Blockade The Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 – 12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, roa ...

. The RAF Station was closed on 15 November 1946 and in February 1947 the airfield became Blackbushe Airport under the control of the Ministry of Civil Aviation. During the 1950s the airfield saw increased used as a base for US Navy transport aircraft. Blackbushe was also considered during WWII in consultations to decide the site of London's post-war principal civil airport. It was only narrowly beaten by Heathrow; the winner was announced in 1944.

Units and aircraft (RAF Hartford Bridge)

Units and aircraft (RAF Blackbushe)

;Units:

American Aircraft in Royal Air Force Service 1939-1945- Consolidated Liberator GR Mark IIIA

Accidents and incidents

On 8 October 1945 a Consolidated B-24 Liberator GR.VI aircraft of No. 311 (Czechoslovak) Squadron RAF took off from Blackbushe on a flight to Ruzyně Airport, Prague. Five minutes later it crashed and burst into flames in a field at Elvetham, near

Hartley Wintney Hartley Wintney is a large village and civil parish in the Hart district of Hampshire, England. It lies about northwest of Fleet and east of Basingstoke. The parish includes the smaller contiguous village of Phoenix Green as well as the ...

, southwest of Blackbush. All 23 people aboard were Czechoslovak, and all were killed: five crew, 17 passengers and one stowaway. The passengers included nine women and five young children, the latter ranging from 18 months to three years old.

References

Citations

Bibliography

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External links

RAF Blackbushe at controltowers.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blackbushe Royal Air Force stations in Hampshire Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom Military airbases established in 1942 Military installations closed in 1946 1942 establishments in England 1946 disestablishments in England