RAF Oakley
Encyclopedia
RAF Oakley was a World War II
three-runway airfield between Oakley
and Worminghall
, Buckinghamshire
. It was located in a flat, damp wooded area.
's satellite, the land at Field Farm had been requisitioned by the War Office, and the airfield built. Oakley was ready before its parent so, when it opened on 27 May 1942, so it became RAF Bicester's second satellite. August 1942 saw it switched to its intended status and when 11 OTU (Operational Training Unit) moved to Westcott in September 1942, Oakley became that unit's satellite where it placed some of its Vickers Wellington
lcs. In autumn 1943, Hercules-engined Wellingtons came increasingly into use and the OTU's air gunnery training section was located at Oakley. Conversion training for bomber crews was Oakley's primary role, which continued to the end of the war during the final year of which most personnel were trained for overseas squadrons.
s landed with repatriated POWs on the following day and more throughout the month, until by the end of April, 72 Dakotas had brought 1,787 PoWs. Operation EXODUS was in full swing and May 1945 was even busier with 443 Avro Lancaster
s, 103 Dakotas, 51 Halifax
es, 31 B-24 Liberator
s, 3 Stirling
s, 3 Hudson
s, and 2 Flying Fortresses bringing 15,088 personnel. The airfield will be remembered by many a prisoner of war who, after release from the Continent, first stood upon the soil of freedom as he stepped on to Oakley.
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...
three-runway airfield between Oakley
Oakley, Buckinghamshire
Oakley is a village and civil parish in Aylesbury Vale district in Buckinghamshire, England of about 400 households with a population of 1,059 people and an area of...
and Worminghall
Worminghall
Worminghall is a village and civil parish in the Aylesbury Vale district of Buckinghamshire, England. The village is near the boundary with Oxfordshire and about west of Thame.The village toponym is derived from Old English meaning 'Wyrma's nook of land'...
, Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
. It was located in a flat, damp wooded area.
World War II usage
Intended as RAF WestcottRAF Westcott
RAF Westcott was a World War II Royal Air Force station in Buckinghamshire. It was used by 11 OTU during the war, along with its satellite station RAF Oakley...
's satellite, the land at Field Farm had been requisitioned by the War Office, and the airfield built. Oakley was ready before its parent so, when it opened on 27 May 1942, so it became RAF Bicester's second satellite. August 1942 saw it switched to its intended status and when 11 OTU (Operational Training Unit) moved to Westcott in September 1942, Oakley became that unit's satellite where it placed some of its Vickers Wellington
Vickers Wellington
The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engine, long range medium bomber designed in the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey, by Vickers-Armstrongs' Chief Designer, R. K. Pierson. It was widely used as a night bomber in the early years of the Second World War, before being displaced as a...
lcs. In autumn 1943, Hercules-engined Wellingtons came increasingly into use and the OTU's air gunnery training section was located at Oakley. Conversion training for bomber crews was Oakley's primary role, which continued to the end of the war during the final year of which most personnel were trained for overseas squadrons.
Operation Exodus
After the end of hostilities in Europe, orders were received on 2 May 1945 that 300 repatriated prisoners of war were arriving by air at 11:00. All arrangements were made for their reception, and the provision of refreshments laid on in the Social Club. The arrival was, in fact, postponed to later in the day. Seven DakotaDouglas DC-3
The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made...
s landed with repatriated POWs on the following day and more throughout the month, until by the end of April, 72 Dakotas had brought 1,787 PoWs. Operation EXODUS was in full swing and May 1945 was even busier with 443 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, 103 Dakotas, 51 Halifax
Handley Page Halifax
The Handley Page Halifax was one of the British front-line, four-engined heavy bombers of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. A contemporary of the famous Avro Lancaster, the Halifax remained in service until the end of the war, performing a variety of duties in addition to bombing...
es, 31 B-24 Liberator
B-24 Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...
s, 3 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, 3 Hudson
Lockheed Hudson
The Lockheed Hudson was an American-built light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built initially for the Royal Air Force shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and primarily operated by the RAF thereafter...
s, and 2 Flying Fortresses bringing 15,088 personnel. The airfield will be remembered by many a prisoner of war who, after release from the Continent, first stood upon the soil of freedom as he stepped on to Oakley.
Closure
Oakley closed to flying in August 1945, but remains very visibly a wartime airfield, whose main runway remains largely intact like a 'T2' hangar retaining its wartime black finish. Temporary brick wartime buildings stand alongside and Oakley holds one special feature, a well-preserved 'B1' hangar.Trivia
- RAF Oakley was the fictional air force base in England in the film Pearl HarborPearl Harbor (film)Pearl Harbor is a 2001 American action drama war film directed by Michael Bay and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Randall Wallace, who wrote the screenplay...
, which was actually filmed at Badminton HouseBadminton HouseBadminton House is a large country house in Gloucestershire, England, and has been the principal seat of the Dukes of Beaufort since the late 17th century, when the family moved from Raglan Castle, which had been ruined in the English Civil War...
. - A hangar at RAF Oakley was actually used as a film set in the James BondJames BondJames Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
film OctopussyOctopussyOctopussy is the thirteenth entry in the James Bond series, and the sixth to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film's title is taken from a short story in Ian Fleming's 1966 short story collection Octopussy and The Living Daylights...
in 1983, for the opening sequence (scripted as being in a Latin AmericaLatin AmericaLatin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
n country) in Roger Moore'sRoger MooreSir Roger George Moore KBE , is an English actor, perhaps best known for portraying British secret agent James Bond in seven films from 1973 to 1985. He also portrayed Simon Templar in the long-running British television series The Saint.-Early life:Moore was born in Stockwell, London...
penultimate appearance as Bond. The hangar, which with the use of computer technology was destroyed by a missile in the film, is now a warehouse used by Natural Building Technologies, a merchant of building materials. - RAF Oakley was used in the filming of an episode of Midsomer MurdersMidsomer MurdersMidsomer Murders is a British television detective drama that has aired on ITV since 1997. The show is based on the books by Caroline Graham, as originally adapted by Anthony Horowitz. The lead character is DCI Tom Barnaby who works for Causton CID. When Nettles left the show in 2011 he was...
from 2003, 'Talent for Life', in which Honor BlackmanHonor BlackmanHonor Blackman is an English actress, known for the roles of Cathy Gale in The Avengers and Bond girl Pussy Galore in Goldfinger .-Early life:...
drives along the runway with her male passenger friend.