RAF Anwick
Encyclopedia
RAF Anwick was a World War II faux
Royal Air Force station near the village of Anwick
, 21.3 mi (34.3 km) south east of the county town of Lincoln , Lincolnshire
, England. The airfield was located in a field three quarters of a mile north-north-west of Anwick village.
Originally constructed and operated as a Royal Flying Corps
aerodrome in September 1916 it closed between the wars, reopening in September 1939 as a Royal Air Force decoy site to divert bombing raids away from nearby RAF Digby
, the closest active fighter airfield.
A minimal facility, even at the height of its active use, the airfield had only grass runways and no permanent brick buildings or hangars. All accommodation was of wooden and metal temporary construction. Within a few years of closing in 1942 there were no visible remains of the former flying facility, although a private landing strip and hangar now exist not far from the original aerodrome.
DH and Royal Aircraft Factory BE and FE marques.
The station was mothballed and placed on a care and maintenance basis between the wars. Surveyed in 1937 as a possible fighter base it was decided that the terrain and location was unsuitable for tarmac runways. Instead the grass runways were retained and the station was earmarked as a future decoy airfield, a role that started in September 1939.
The airfield was manned by shifts of eight airmen responsible for lighting flare lamps with a portable generator at night that simulated a runway in use, with the intention of drawing the attention of any German bombers looking to attack an airfield. More accurate electronic navigation aids during the later phases of the war rendered these efforts less useful and the practice was abandoned by 1942.
RAF Anwick was abandoned and dismantled in August 1942.
Faux
'Faux is a French word for "false".When manufacturing faux objects or materials, an attempt is often made to create products which will resemble the imitated items as closely as possible...
Royal Air Force station near the village of Anwick
Anwick
Anwick is a small village in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, north east of Sleaford on the A153 between Sleaford and Billinghay.-History:Two glacial erratic boulders, the Drake Stones, lie next to the churchyard....
, 21.3 mi (34.3 km) south east of the county town of Lincoln , Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, England. The airfield was located in a field three quarters of a mile north-north-west of Anwick village.
Originally constructed and operated as a Royal Flying Corps
Royal Flying Corps
The Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance...
aerodrome in September 1916 it closed between the wars, reopening in September 1939 as a Royal Air Force decoy site to divert bombing raids away from nearby RAF Digby
RAF Digby
RAF Digby is a Royal Air Force station which, since March 2005, has been operated by the Ministry of Defence's Joint Service Signals Organisation, part of the Intelligence Collection Group. Formerly a training and fighter airfield, it is currently a tri-service military signals installation located...
, the closest active fighter airfield.
A minimal facility, even at the height of its active use, the airfield had only grass runways and no permanent brick buildings or hangars. All accommodation was of wooden and metal temporary construction. Within a few years of closing in 1942 there were no visible remains of the former flying facility, although a private landing strip and hangar now exist not far from the original aerodrome.
History
The airfield opened in November 1916 as a Royal Flying Corps aerodrome with three grassed runways laid out in an equilateral triangle. The aerodrome remained busy throughout World War I as a flying training establishment with a large number of aircraft present, flying mostly a motley assortment of de HavillandDe Havilland
The de Havilland Aircraft Company was a British aviation manufacturer founded in 1920 when Airco, of which Geoffrey de Havilland had been chief designer, was sold to BSA by the owner George Holt Thomas. De Havilland then set up a company under his name in September of that year at Stag Lane...
DH and Royal Aircraft Factory BE and FE marques.
The station was mothballed and placed on a care and maintenance basis between the wars. Surveyed in 1937 as a possible fighter base it was decided that the terrain and location was unsuitable for tarmac runways. Instead the grass runways were retained and the station was earmarked as a future decoy airfield, a role that started in September 1939.
The airfield was manned by shifts of eight airmen responsible for lighting flare lamps with a portable generator at night that simulated a runway in use, with the intention of drawing the attention of any German bombers looking to attack an airfield. More accurate electronic navigation aids during the later phases of the war rendered these efforts less useful and the practice was abandoned by 1942.
RAF Anwick was abandoned and dismantled in August 1942.
Timeline and units of RAF Anwick
| Date | Event or Unit | Notes |
| September 1916 | Opened as Royal Flying Corps Aerodrome Anwick | |
| September 1916 | No. 38 Squadron RFC | Flying FE. 2b aircraft. Arrived from RAFC Castle Bromwich commanded by Arthur Harris who later became Air Chief Marshall Harris and commander of Bomber Command in World War II. The squadron redeployed to Dunkirk in May 1918. |
| September 1916 | No. 33 Squadron RFC | Flying Royal Aircraft Factory BE.2 Royal Aircraft Factory BE.2 The Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2 was a British single-engine two-seat biplane which was in service with the Royal Flying Corps from 1912 until the end of World War I. The "Bleriot" in its designation refers to the fact that, like the Bleriot types it was of tractor configuration, with the... s and later Royal Aircraft Factory FE.2s the squadron was employed in the Home Defence role, guarding against German airship raids against northern England. The squadron also operated from Scampton, Kirton in Lindsey and Elsham Woods aerodromes. |
| October 1917 | No. 90 Squadron RFC | Renamed No. 90 Squadron RAF in April 1918 the squadron never saw active combat and was disbanded in August 1918. |
| April 1918 | The station is renamed RAF Anwick | |
| June 1919 | RAF Anwick closed and placed on a care and maintenance basis | |
| September 1939 | RAF Anwick reopens as a decoy airfield for RAF Digby | |
| August 1942 | RAF Anwick closed and dismantled |
The airfield today
No sign of the airfield remains today but there is a private landing strip and hangar at Anwick that are assumed to be sited close to or on the original aerodrome location. There is a small memorial plaque acknowledging the airfield's existence on the main road in Anwick.Main reference
- Bruce Barrymore HalpennyBruce Barrymore HalpennyBruce Barrymore Halpenny is a widely respected English military historian and author, specialising in airfields and aircraft, as well as ghost stories and mysteries. He is also a broadcaster and games inventor.-Parents:...
Action Stations: Wartime Military Airfields of Lincolnshire and the East Midlands v. 2 (ISBN 978-0850594843)