RAF Wellesbourne Mountford
Encyclopedia
RAF Wellesbourne Mountford was a Royal Air Force
station located in Wellesbourne
, Warwickshire
, England
, 3.3 NM east of Stratford-on-Avon.
RAF Wellesbourne Mountford was operational from 1941 to 1964. The airfield was bought by the Government
from the Littler family in 1940 and returned in 1965.
Please Note: The runway lengths are estimates using data from the current measures of the runaways of Wellesbourne Mountford Airfield
and distances from an old diagram of the airfield.
s. A large J hangar was constructed in the 1940/1 and a further 4 T2 hangars were built afterwards. The five hangars are currently used as factories on a industrial estate which is located on the South East section of the airfield.
is parked. However there are three concrete stands outside the perimeter which are currently used for mobile homes.
Post-war
Should be 1942 not 1941
attacked a Vickers Wellington
with three bombs. This was not the only raid that attacked RAF Wellesbourne Mountford during World War Two.
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...
station located in Wellesbourne
Wellesbourne
Wellesbourne is a large village and civil parish in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of the UK. In the 2001 census the parish, which also includes the village of Walton, had a population of 5,691 Wellesbourne is a large village and civil parish in the county of Warwickshire,...
, Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, 3.3 NM east of Stratford-on-Avon.
RAF Wellesbourne Mountford was operational from 1941 to 1964. The airfield was bought by the Government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
from the Littler family in 1940 and returned in 1965.
Please Note: The runway lengths are estimates using data from the current measures of the runaways of Wellesbourne Mountford Airfield
Wellesbourne Mountford Airfield
Wellesbourne Mountford Airfield is located in Wellesbourne, Warwickshire, England, east of Stratford-on-Avon.It was formerly RAF Wellesbourne Mountford Royal Air Force station, operational from 1941 to 1964...
and distances from an old diagram of the airfield.
Hangars
The airfield had five hangarHangar
A hangar is a closed structure to hold aircraft or spacecraft in protective storage. Most hangars are built of metal, but other materials such as wood and concrete are also sometimes used...
s. A large J hangar was constructed in the 1940/1 and a further 4 T2 hangars were built afterwards. The five hangars are currently used as factories on a industrial estate which is located on the South East section of the airfield.
Runways
There were three runways in a conventional "A" pattern with an access road connecting the runways together round the outside which also was connected to a number of stands scattered throughout the airfield. The majority of the stands were ripped up for civilian construction projects around 1970/80 and there is only one remaining concrete stand within the current airfield which is where the Avro VulcanAvro Vulcan
The Avro Vulcan, sometimes referred to as the Hawker Siddeley Vulcan, was a jet-powered delta wing strategic bomber, operated by the Royal Air Force from 1956 until 1984. Aircraft manufacturer A V Roe & Co designed the Vulcan in response to Specification B.35/46. Of the three V bombers produced,...
is parked. However there are three concrete stands outside the perimeter which are currently used for mobile homes.
Squadrons
No.22 Operational Training Unit was formed on 14 April 1941, part of No.6 Group Bomber Command. The squadron trained aircrews from commonwealth countries such as Canada.Departments based at RAF Wellesbourne Mountford
Wartime- No. 3 Glider Training School July 1945
Post-war
- School Of Photography 1948 - 1964
- Airfield Construction BranchAirfield Construction Branch RAF-Predecessor organisation:Having gained consent from the French authorities in 1939 to establish Flying Training Schools in France, the next step was to construct aerodromes. The RAF approached the army, and were rebuffed. As a consequence No 1 Air Ministry Works Unit was established...
1951 - 1964 - School Of Education 1950 - 1952
Allied Raids
- On 30 May 1941 aircraft from Wellesbourne attacked CologneCologneCologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
4 crews from Wellesbourne were lost - On 1 June 1941 aircraft from Wellesbourne attacked EssenEssen- Origin of the name :In German-speaking countries, the name of the city Essen often causes confusion as to its origins, because it is commonly known as the German infinitive of the verb for the act of eating, and/or the German noun for food. Although scholars still dispute the interpretation of...
and all crews from Wellesbourne returned safely - On 25 June 1941 aircraft from Wellesbourne attacked BremenBremenThe City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...
2 crews from Wellesbourne were lost
Should be 1942 not 1941
Attacks
On 10 May 1941 a Heinkel He 111Heinkel He 111
The Heinkel He 111 was a German aircraft designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter in the early 1930s in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. Often described as a "Wolf in sheep's clothing", it masqueraded as a transport aircraft, but its purpose was to provide the Luftwaffe with a fast medium...
attacked a 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...
with three bombs. This was not the only raid that attacked RAF Wellesbourne Mountford during World War Two.