Sleap Airfield
Encyclopedia
Sleap Airfield is located 10 NM north of Shrewsbury
, Shropshire
, England
.
Sleap Aerodrome has a CAA
Ordinary Licence (Number P641) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction as authorised by the licensee (Shropshire Aero Club Limited).
equipped with Whitley
bomber aircraft.
From 1 January 1944 Sleap was assigned to the RAF's No.38 Group, Airborne Forces. 81 OTU's Whitleys towed Horsa
heavy troop-carrying gliders on training missions and the Horsas made practice formation landings at Sleap to simulate the attacks to come on German-occupied territory. Vickers Wellington
s replaced the Whitleys from November 1944 and by January 1945 the strength was 51 T.Xs, being used to train Transport Command air crews. The RAF finally released Sleap in 1964, but the location is still used as a relief airfield by nearby RAF Shawbury
for Squirrel helicopter training.
The Shropshire Aero Club members' bar (also a cafe open to the public) at Sleap is named after Bayston Hill
born Flight Lieutenant
Eric Lock
the World War II
Battle of Britain
pilot who was the highest scoring British-born pilot in the battle with sixteen and a half victories during the epic battle. There is also a museum of wartime relics.
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...
, 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...
, 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...
.
Sleap Aerodrome has a CAA
United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority
The Civil Aviation Authority is the public corporation which oversees and regulates all aspects of aviation in the United Kingdom. The CAA head office is located in the CAA House on Kingsway in Holborn, London Borough of Camden...
Ordinary Licence (Number P641) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction as authorised by the licensee (Shropshire Aero Club Limited).
RAF Sleap
Sleap is an ex-RAF airfield, which was opened in April 1943, and used by RAF advanced flying training units. Initially it was the base for No.81 OTU within No. 93 Group of RAF Bomber CommandRAF 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...
equipped with Whitley
Armstrong Whitworth Whitley
The Armstrong Whitworth A.W.38 Whitley was one of three British twin-engine, front line medium bomber types in service with the Royal Air Force at the outbreak of the Second World War...
bomber aircraft.
From 1 January 1944 Sleap was assigned to the RAF's No.38 Group, Airborne Forces. 81 OTU's Whitleys towed Horsa
Airspeed Horsa
The Airspeed AS.51 Horsa was a British World War II troop-carrying glider built by Airspeed Limited and subcontractors and used for air assault by British and Allied armed forces...
heavy troop-carrying gliders on training missions and the Horsas made practice formation landings at Sleap to simulate the attacks to come on German-occupied territory. 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...
s replaced the Whitleys from November 1944 and by January 1945 the strength was 51 T.Xs, being used to train Transport Command air crews. The RAF finally released Sleap in 1964, but the location is still used as a relief airfield by nearby 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...
for Squirrel helicopter training.
The Shropshire Aero Club members' bar (also a cafe open to the public) at Sleap is named after Bayston Hill
Bayston Hill
Bayston Hill is a large village and civil parish in central Shropshire, England. It is south of the county town Shrewsbury and located on the main A49 road, the Shrewsbury to Hereford road....
born Flight Lieutenant
Flight Lieutenant
Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many Commonwealth countries. It ranks above flying officer and immediately below squadron leader. The name of the rank is the complete phrase; it is never shortened to "lieutenant"...
Eric Lock
Eric Lock
Flight Lieutenant Eric Stanley Lock DSO, DFC & Bar was a fighter ace of the Royal Air Force during World War II. Lock became the RAF's most successful British-born pilot during the Battle of Britain, shooting down 16.5 German aircraft...
the 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...
Battle of Britain
Battle 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...
pilot who was the highest scoring British-born pilot in the battle with sixteen and a half victories during the epic battle. There is also a museum of wartime relics.