RAF Condover
Encyclopedia
RAF Condover was a Royal Air Force
Flying Training Command airfield and air navigation training establishment between August 1942 and June 1945, unusually for both fighter and bomber crews at different times. Located on the southern outskirts of Condover
village in Shropshire
, 4.9 miles (8 kilometres) south of the county town Shrewsbury
.
Condover was used to train fighter pilots by the RAF and the USAAF
as well as pilot
s and air navigator
s from Australia
, South Africa
and Canada
.
Although the runways have now been broken up and removed, many original station buildings still stand and the control tower is considered to be one of the best-preserved in Shropshire. After many years as a major part of a local riding school several of the buildings and land plots were offered for sale by auction during the summer of 2007.
but by the time it was completed Atcham had been handed over to the United States Air Force
as a fighter base, so Condover was instead established as a satellite airfield under RAF Shawbury
, also serving as an RLG for RAF Ternhill
. Although it had a large layout for a satellite field it remained mostly under utilised throughout its existence during World War II
.
The airfield's three runways, two short and one long runway for heavier bomber aircraft were poorly constructed and the station closed for runway repairs on more than one occasion during the three year span of its operational career. There were ten hangars erected, a single Type T1 and 9 prefabricated blister type. Airmen and WAAF personnel were accommodated in prefabricated Quonset
hutting and the officers were housed in the nearby magnificent Elizabethan manor house
, Condover Hall
, that had been commandeered by the War Office
for the duration of the war.
The first unit at Condover was No. 11 (Pilot) Advanced Flying Unit, of No. 21 Group Flying Training Command, flying Airspeed Oxford
s and conducting navigation and cross-country training. At various times between 1942 and 1945 Condover was visited by Supermarine Spitfire
s, Hawker Hurricane
s, Short Stirling
s and Avro Lancaster
s that either diverted to Condover, made emergency landings or overnighted at the station. In January 1945 new North American Harvard
trainer aircraft arrived at the airfield but were removed again by June the same year, when the airfield closed. The station was retained by the RAF on a care and maintenance basis until 1960 when it was sold by auction.
Avro Lancaster
bomber made an emergency wheels up landing here and the airfield was temporarily closed for essential runway repairs when the brittle concrete surfaces were damaged.
On 5 August 1942, just before the station opened Supermarine Spitfire Mark Vb No. AA 928 of No. 411 (F) Squadron, RCAF made a wheels up crash landing at Condover following a catastrophic engine failure. The formal RAF enquiry later noted: "Category B damage in a flying accident on 5 August 1942, wheels up landing following an engine failure. Failure of big end bearings in No 2 and 5 pistons. Pilot unable to select wheels down until a suitable landing ground found and then under carriage selector lever stuck and he had neither time nor height to free it. Successful recovery under difficult situation. Aircraft landed at Condover field in Shropshire, which was still under construction at the time."
On 8 May 1945 a Tiger Moth DH82A
of Training Command crash landed at Condover and was a total write off. The pilot was severely injured but survived.
(WAAF) personnel stationed at RAF Condover.
Mary Churchill, a WAAF Flight Officer during the war, recounted to the BBC in 2005:
(* Note: Donated by the Cadbury family
of Bournville
as a NAAFI canteen)
(POW) camp was established at the western end of the station and the former WAAF accommodation hutting used to house German prisoners, mostly shot down and captured Luftwaffe
airmen. The entrance to the camp site was at OS Map Ref: SJ 4908 0423 with the main camp on the northern side of the road. The German prisoners were still housed there awaiting repatriation until early 1947. The prisoners were utilised as farm labourers in the local area and several remained in the Shrewsbury area after the war and settled in the UK.
and the extension to the A5 through Shrewsbury
, but some of the airfield's perimeter track remains.
The station's technical site on the opposite side of the road is now in use as Condover Industrial Estate, utilising many of the original buildings including the parachute packing shed.
Offered for sale by auction in May 2007 the concrete-built control tower, which extends to 140 square metres, was described by officials from Shrewsbury & Atcham Borough Council as being of notable historical interest and worthy of retention under a suitable new use. An employee of the auction agents said: “The opportunity exists to explore a wide range of alternative uses for the tower, subject to planning permission, the tower is being offered together with 6.6 acres of pastureland and there are two other buildings, which are in a poorer condition but could be improved."
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
Flying Training Command airfield and air navigation training establishment between August 1942 and June 1945, unusually for both fighter and bomber crews at different times. Located on the southern outskirts of Condover
Condover
Condover is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It lies 4.7 miles south of the county town of Shrewsbury, and just east of the A49. The Cound Brook flows through the village on its way from the Stretton Hills to a confluence with the River Severn...
village in Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
, 4.9 miles (8 kilometres) south of the county town Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
.
Condover was used to train fighter pilots by the RAF and the USAAF
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
as well as pilot
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
s and air navigator
Navigator
A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation. The navigator's primary responsibility is to be aware of ship or aircraft position at all times. Responsibilities include planning the journey, advising the Captain or aircraft Commander of estimated timing to...
s from Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Although the runways have now been broken up and removed, many original station buildings still stand and the control tower is considered to be one of the best-preserved in Shropshire. After many years as a major part of a local riding school several of the buildings and land plots were offered for sale by auction during the summer of 2007.
History
The station formally opened on 21 August 1942 with three new concrete runways designed for both fighter and bomber aircraft. The airfield was originally planned as a Relief Landing Ground (RLG) and satellite to RAF AtchamRAF Atcham
RAF Atcham is a former World War II airfield in England. The field is located 5 miles E of Shrewsbury in Shropshire on the north eastern boundary of Attingham Park...
but by the time it was completed Atcham had been handed over to the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
as a fighter base, so Condover was instead established as a satellite airfield under RAF Shawbury
RAF Shawbury
RAF Shawbury is a Royal Air Force station by the village of Shawbury near Shrewsbury, Shropshire.The station at Shawbury was first used for military flying training in 1917 by the Royal Flying Corps, but it was returned to agricultural use in 1920. In 1938 it was reactivated as a training...
, also serving as an RLG for RAF Ternhill
RAF Ternhill
RAF Ternhill is a small Royal Air Force station at Ternhill in Shropshire, near the towns of Newport and Market Drayton. The station, home of Volunteer Gliding Squadron 632, was a helicopter base but is now principally used as an outpost for the tri-service helicopter training establishment at RAF...
. Although it had a large layout for a satellite field it remained mostly under utilised throughout its existence during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
The airfield's three runways, two short and one long runway for heavier bomber aircraft were poorly constructed and the station closed for runway repairs on more than one occasion during the three year span of its operational career. There were ten hangars erected, a single Type T1 and 9 prefabricated blister type. Airmen and WAAF personnel were accommodated in prefabricated Quonset
Quonset
Quonset may refer to:*Quonset Point, a peninsula North Kingstown, Rhode Island**Naval Air Station Quonset Point**Quonset State Airport*Quonset hut, a military structure* Quonset Hut Studio, an early recording studio in Nashville, Tennessee...
hutting and the officers were housed in the nearby magnificent Elizabethan manor house
Manor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
, Condover Hall
Condover Hall
Condover Hall is an elegant Grade I listed three story Elizabethan sandstone building, described as the grandest manor house in Shropshire, standing in a conservation area on the outskirts of Condover village, Shropshire, England, four miles south of the county town of Shrewsbury.A Royal manor in...
, that had been commandeered by the War Office
War Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...
for the duration of the war.
The first unit at Condover was No. 11 (Pilot) Advanced Flying Unit, of No. 21 Group Flying Training Command, flying Airspeed Oxford
Airspeed Oxford
The Airspeed AS.10 Oxford was a twin-engine aircraft used for training British Commonwealth aircrews in navigation, radio-operating, bombing and gunnery during the Second World War.-Design and development:...
s and conducting navigation and cross-country training. At various times between 1942 and 1945 Condover was visited by Supermarine Spitfire
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
s, Hawker Hurricane
Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd for the Royal Air Force...
s, Short Stirling
Short Stirling
The Short Stirling was the first four-engined British heavy bomber of the Second World War. The Stirling was designed and built by Short Brothers to an Air Ministry specification from 1936, and entered service in 1941...
s and Avro Lancaster
Avro Lancaster
The Avro Lancaster is a British four-engined Second World War heavy bomber made initially by Avro for the Royal Air Force . It first saw active service in 1942, and together with the Handley Page Halifax it was one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, the RCAF, and squadrons from other...
s that either diverted to Condover, made emergency landings or overnighted at the station. In January 1945 new North American Harvard
T-6 Texan
The North American Aviation T-6 Texan was a single-engine advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces, United States Navy, Royal Air Force and other air forces of the British Commonwealth during World War II and into the 1950s...
trainer aircraft arrived at the airfield but were removed again by June the same year, when the airfield closed. The station was retained by the RAF on a care and maintenance basis until 1960 when it was sold by auction.
Notable incidents
Only three months after the station opened a Pathfinder forcePathfinder (RAF)
The Pathfinders were elite squadrons in RAF Bomber Command during World War II. They located and marked targets with flares, which a main bomber force could aim at, increasing the accuracy of their bombing...
Avro Lancaster
Avro Lancaster
The Avro Lancaster is a British four-engined Second World War heavy bomber made initially by Avro for the Royal Air Force . It first saw active service in 1942, and together with the Handley Page Halifax it was one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, the RCAF, and squadrons from other...
bomber made an emergency wheels up landing here and the airfield was temporarily closed for essential runway repairs when the brittle concrete surfaces were damaged.
On 5 August 1942, just before the station opened Supermarine Spitfire Mark Vb No. AA 928 of No. 411 (F) Squadron, RCAF made a wheels up crash landing at Condover following a catastrophic engine failure. The formal RAF enquiry later noted: "Category B damage in a flying accident on 5 August 1942, wheels up landing following an engine failure. Failure of big end bearings in No 2 and 5 pistons. Pilot unable to select wheels down until a suitable landing ground found and then under carriage selector lever stuck and he had neither time nor height to free it. Successful recovery under difficult situation. Aircraft landed at Condover field in Shropshire, which was still under construction at the time."
On 8 May 1945 a Tiger Moth DH82A
De Havilland Tiger Moth
The de Havilland DH 82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and was operated by the Royal Air Force and others as a primary trainer. The Tiger Moth remained in service with the RAF until replaced by the de Havilland Chipmunk in 1952, when many of the surplus aircraft...
of Training Command crash landed at Condover and was a total write off. The pilot was severely injured but survived.
RAF Condover memories
By the end of 1944 there were 660 RAF and several hundred Women's Auxiliary Air ForceWomen's Auxiliary Air Force
The Women's Auxiliary Air Force , whose members were invariably referred to as Waafs , was the female auxiliary of the Royal Air Force during World War II, established in 1939. At its peak strength, in 1943, WAAF numbers exceeded 180,000, with over 2,000 women enlisting per week.A Women's Royal Air...
(WAAF) personnel stationed at RAF Condover.
Mary Churchill, a WAAF Flight Officer during the war, recounted to the BBC in 2005:
- "I was posted to various stations as a relief officer for a while and then settled at the satellite station of RAF Shawbury, Shropshire named RAF Condover. There were only 9 WAAF Officers stationed there with over 200 girls in various trades. The WAAFs were billeted in a hutted camp, very widely dispersed — we had bikes to get round from our living quarters to the working areas and on to the aerodrome. When we were Duty Officers we had to report to the C.O. in the mornings for instructions and dip our hands in a bag and pull out a time disc. This was the time we had to go up to the aerodrome and see if the WAAF were doing their duties — during night flying time.
- I met my future husband there at the Cadbury’s Caravan *. He was a pilot and at the time Condover was a Training School for Navigation personnel. We had intakes from Canada, South Africa, Australia as well as from the UK.
(* Note: Donated by the Cadbury family
Egbert Cadbury
Air Commodore Sir Egbert Cadbury DSC, DFC was a First World War pilot who shot down two Zeppelins over the North Sea: L21 on 28 November 1916, and L70 on 6 August 1918: the latter while flying a De Havilland DH.4 with Robert Leckie as Observer/Gunner.The son of George Cadbury and Dame Elizabeth...
of Bournville
Bournville
Bournville is a model village on the south side of Birmingham, England, best known for its connections with the Cadbury family and chocolate – including a dark chocolate bar branded "Bournville". It is also a ward within the council constituency of Selly Oak and home to the Bournville Centre...
as a NAAFI canteen)
POW camp
During the latter part of the war a Prisoner of WarPrisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
(POW) camp was established at the western end of the station and the former WAAF accommodation hutting used to house German prisoners, mostly shot down and captured Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
airmen. The entrance to the camp site was at OS Map Ref: SJ 4908 0423 with the main camp on the northern side of the road. The German prisoners were still housed there awaiting repatriation until early 1947. The prisoners were utilised as farm labourers in the local area and several remained in the Shrewsbury area after the war and settled in the UK.
Present day
For the past forty years most of the airfield has been used for grazing by horses from the nearby Berriefield stables and riding school, with its cross country competition course. A large number of the original buildings remain, including the old control tower, a hangar and various ruins. The main runways were torn up and used as hard-core ballast during the building of the M54 motorwayM54 motorway
The M54 is a 23 mile east-west motorway in the English counties of Shropshire and Staffordshire. It is also referred to as the Telford Motorway, after the road's primary westbound destination, the new town of Telford...
and the extension to the A5 through Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
, but some of the airfield's perimeter track remains.
The station's technical site on the opposite side of the road is now in use as Condover Industrial Estate, utilising many of the original buildings including the parachute packing shed.
Offered for sale by auction in May 2007 the concrete-built control tower, which extends to 140 square metres, was described by officials from Shrewsbury & Atcham Borough Council as being of notable historical interest and worthy of retention under a suitable new use. An employee of the auction agents said: “The opportunity exists to explore a wide range of alternative uses for the tower, subject to planning permission, the tower is being offered together with 6.6 acres of pastureland and there are two other buildings, which are in a poorer condition but could be improved."
RAF units and aircraft
| Unit | Dates | Aircraft | Variant | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 5(Pilots) Advanced Flying Unit | Feb 1944 - January 1945 January 1945 - June 1945 |
Miles Master Miles Master -See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Amos, Peter and Don Lambert Brown. Miles Aircraft Since 1925, Volume 1. London: Putnam Aeronautical, 2000. ISBN 0-85177-787-0.... North American Harvard T-6 Texan The North American Aviation T-6 Texan was a single-engine advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces, United States Navy, Royal Air Force and other air forces of the British Commonwealth during World War II and into the 1950s... |
Based at RAF Ternhill RAF Ternhill RAF Ternhill is a small Royal Air Force station at Ternhill in Shropshire, near the towns of Newport and Market Drayton. The station, home of Volunteer Gliding Squadron 632, was a helicopter base but is now principally used as an outpost for the tri-service helicopter training establishment at RAF... used Condover as a Relief Landing Ground |
|
| No. 11(Pilots) Advanced Flying Unit | May 1942 - Feb 1944 | Airspeed Oxford Airspeed Oxford The Airspeed AS.10 Oxford was a twin-engine aircraft used for training British Commonwealth aircrews in navigation, radio-operating, bombing and gunnery during the Second World War.-Design and development:... |
Based at RAF Shawbury RAF Shawbury RAF Shawbury is a Royal Air Force station by the village of Shawbury near Shrewsbury, Shropshire.The station at Shawbury was first used for military flying training in 1917 by the Royal Flying Corps, but it was returned to agricultural use in 1920. In 1938 it was reactivated as a training... used Condover as a Relief Landing Ground |
See also
- CondoverCondoverCondover is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It lies 4.7 miles south of the county town of Shrewsbury, and just east of the A49. The Cound Brook flows through the village on its way from the Stretton Hills to a confluence with the River Severn...
- Condover HallCondover HallCondover Hall is an elegant Grade I listed three story Elizabethan sandstone building, described as the grandest manor house in Shropshire, standing in a conservation area on the outskirts of Condover village, Shropshire, England, four miles south of the county town of Shrewsbury.A Royal manor in...
- Condover airfield photographs