RAF Hampstead Norris
Encyclopedia
RAF Hampstead Norris was an RAF Bomber Command
Operational Training Unit (OTU) station near Hampstead Norreys
in Berkshire during World War II
. The construction contract was awarded to Wimpey in May 1940 valued at £233,000. It was opened in mid 1940. Unusually the runways met at a single point, an obvious target to disable the entire airfield.
On 15 March 1945 No 13 OTU arrived with their De Havilland Mosquitoes and the airfield reverted to being a satellite of RAF Harwell
.
It became an ammunition storage depot as part of the Bramley Central Ammunition Depot
near Basingstoke after its closure in 1946.
. Three bombs fell on the runways.
On 4 March 1941 a Wellington was attacked by a German fighter as it approached to land.
The airfield was attacked on 12 May 1941 with 10 High Explosive bombs and 100 Incendiaries. One Wellington was destroyed and the flare path and the southern taxiway were damaged.
RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command controlled the RAF's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. During World War II the command destroyed a significant proportion of Nazi Germany's industries and many German cities, and in the 1960s stood at the peak of its postwar military power with the V bombers and a supplemental...
Operational Training Unit (OTU) station near Hampstead Norreys
Hampstead Norreys
Hampstead Norreys is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England.It is situated at on the River Pang, north of Newbury. As well as Hampstead Norreys itself, the parish includes the hamlets of Bothampstead, Eling and Wyld Court...
in Berkshire 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 construction contract was awarded to Wimpey in May 1940 valued at £233,000. It was opened in mid 1940. Unusually the runways met at a single point, an obvious target to disable the entire airfield.
Operational history
No 15 Operational Training Unit relocated to Hampstead Norris on 1 June 1940. The airfield hosted a number of squadrons of Wellington bombers. The airfield was used extensively as a glider training base during the latter part of the war, many glider pilots were trained here in preparation for D-Day. The base also had 33 Tiger Moths as training aircraft. The main role of the airfield was to ferry Wellingtons to Egypt, via Gibraltar and Malta.On 15 March 1945 No 13 OTU arrived with their De Havilland Mosquitoes and the airfield reverted to being a satellite of RAF Harwell
RAF Harwell
RAF Harwell was a Royal Air Force airfield in former Berkshire, England, near the village of Harwell, later the site of the Atomic Energy Research Establishment and Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. The site is now in Oxfordshire....
.
It became an ammunition storage depot as part of the Bramley Central Ammunition Depot
Bramley Camp
Bramley Camp is a British Army training camp, located south of the village of Bramley, Hampshire. Opened during World War I as a ammunition depot, the camp now serves wholly as a training facility.-Bramley Ordnance Depot:...
near Basingstoke after its closure in 1946.
Enemy action
The site was bombed on 16 September 1940 by the Luftwaffe in the Battle of BritainBattle of Britain
The Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...
. Three bombs fell on the runways.
On 4 March 1941 a Wellington was attacked by a German fighter as it approached to land.
The airfield was attacked on 12 May 1941 with 10 High Explosive bombs and 100 Incendiaries. One Wellington was destroyed and the flare path and the southern taxiway were damaged.