RAF Hartford Bridge / Blackbushe Airport
As one drives along the A30 between Hartley Witney and Camberley, you pass the great expanse of Blackbushe Airport. Unfortunately, today it is only a shadow of its former self. However, it was only 55 years ago that some of the world's largest airliners would land and take off from there, and 68 years ago it was known for the drone of Mosquito and Boston bombers and the unmistakable Merlin-engined Spitfire. In its relatively short career it has seen many happy and sad periods and given employment to hundreds of people from the neighbouring areas.
It all started in 1941 when plans were drawn up to build an RAF aerodrome in the area known as Hartfordbridge Flats. It was to be of standard airforce design, consisting of three all-weather runways, capable of taking the largest aircraft flying at the time. The name was to be RAF Hartfordbridge and it was to be quite unique in that the main A30 road was to dissect the southern perimeter of the field, causing many security headaches during its early life.
Although construction work was still being carried out, August 11, 1942, saw the first squadron take up residence, with the arrival of the Aero Airborne squadron from nearby Farnborough. They carried out tests on Horsa and Hotspur gliders, earmarked for any invasion of France.
It was not until the end of the year that work on the field was finished and Hartfordbridge certainly looked impressive, with its three runways, eleven hangars and a huge camp site, built to the east of the field. A small corner of north-east Hampshire was ready to go to war.
It opened under the administrative control of No. 35 Wing, Army Co-operation Command, and on December 5, the first official squadron moved in, with the arrival of 171 with their Tomahawk fighters. Unfortunately, their stay was to be short lived as the squadron was disbanded at (the end of the month and reformed as 430 Squadron, Royal Canadian Airforce. They departed on January II leaving just the glider unit from Farnborough.
On March 5, 1943, the camp Commander announced that
the A30 road would be closed along the perimeter from dusk until
dawn, with barriers manned by guards. Traffic was diverted around
the lanes of Minley. At the end of the month, the airborne flight
moved back to Farnborough, but their place was soon filled when 140
Squadron arrived with their Spitfires and Venturas, used for
photo-reconnaissance. They were followed in June by No. 16
Squadron, also on PR work, and equipped with Spitfires and
Mustangs. The month also saw a new role for the airfield, that of
diversion airfield for Bomber Command, due to the excellent weather
record. Common daily sights were now Halifax, Lancaster and
Fortress bombers, limping in over the Hampshire countryside for the
welcoming sight of runway 26 to appear.
August saw the permanent closure of the A30
and the arrival of three more squadrons, 88 and 107, who flew the
highly successful Boston medium bomber and 21 who flew Venturas.
All three squadrons formed part of No. 2 Group and attacked enemy
targets in France. No 21 Squadron departed in September lo transfer
to 
Mosquitoes,
and their place was taken by (the famous Free French, 342 Lorraine
Squadron's flying Boston’s).
The three Boston
units often flew together, and one such
mission was to attack an aircraft factory al Courcclles in Belgium.
It was October and 36 aircraft, led by Wing Cmdr. England
from 107, headed out across the North Sea.
Unknown lo him, his compass was giving a wrong reading and instead
of crossing the occupied coastline in a relatively unfortified
area, they crossed ten miles further down, right over heavy
German defence batteries. The aircraft were flying low and
line abreast and made sitting targets for the German gunners.
Within seconds, the air was utter turmoil
as tracers tore into the leading aircraft. The Boston’s at the back
watched in horror as seven aircraft plummeted to the ground,
including England’s aircraft. It was a nightmare,
and an air of despondency hung
over Hartfordbridge for several days. During
October, changes took place in the organisation of the
RAF which affected the units based at the field. No. 2 Group
Tactical Air Force had been formed and their headquarters were
moved to Hartfordbridge. In turn, the squadrons were formed into
Wings, the Boston units forming 137 Wing and the two PR units
forming 34.
Targets for the aircraft were also to change
with the discovery of the VI launching pads
being built along the French coasts. The flying bombs
could affect the planning of the invasion of France
so immediately became prime targets. They were very
small and difficult to see from the air and were given the name of
'Noball' targets. A typical sortie took place on November 25, when
342 made a low level 'Noball' attack on Mensil
Allard. The crews breakfasted at 5.30, followed by
debriefing one hour later. At 8.18 in the wintry sunshine, the air
shook as the Wright-Cyclone engines of the
24 Boston’s were started. The cockpits were
wiped and at 8.39, a green flare appeared in the sky from the
control tower and the 
aircraft took
off and headed over Aldershot towards the south coast at 250 mph.
They crossed the French coast and were greeted by heavy ack-ack
which bought down one of the machines. The rest continued,
flying low over the Picardy landscape until the target was
located. The aircraft
went in using delayed action bombs and as they climbed
away, huge explosions were seen on and around the target. By 10.40,
all of Hartfordbridge were awaiting the arrival of the French
squadron, and ground crews and control staff were scanning the
skies for the first small black dots to appear. At the end of the
runway, the ambulances and fire engines were parked, their
engines gently ticking over. Using
glasses, the Runway Officer was the first person to spot the
Boston’s, at about 1,500 feet to the south over Aldershot.
The aircraft landed
in pairs, and (the welcoming
committee dispersed). Mensil Allard, would not
launch its flying bombs for several months.
By 1944, over 3,000 airmen were based
at the field. In February, 107 Squadron
departed to Lasham and their place was filled in May by 226
Squadron equipped with the highly successful Mitchell bomber.
During this period an Airforce Construction
Unit also moved in to install a system known as 'FIDO'. This
was a very simple but effective fog dispersal.
Pipes were laid down both sides
of runway 26 and these were fed by a large fuel container. The
pipes contained small holes at regular intervals, and if the field
was shrouded in mist or fog, petrol was pumped through the system
and the holes had self igniting mechanisms built in
causing the petrol to ignite, the heat created would cause the fog
to rise and disperse.
As D-Day approached there was an air of excitement over the field and this reached a climax on April 18, with a visit by General Eisenhower, who addressed the camp and was shown the workings of the FIDO. The Boston units were now being fitted with special smoke laying equipment in readiness for the invasion and the Solent would often disappear in minutes as the aircraft exercised in that area.
When 34 Wing departed to Northolt in May, 322 Sqdn.
arrived with their late Spitfire marks, used for high altitude
interception. Their patrol area was Hampshire and the Isle of
Wight, and on May 14 they made their first kill, when they shot
down a Junkers 188 over Alton Early June saw no operations, then on
the 5th, Group Captain MacDonald Camp Commander, called the entire
base together. "Gentlemen, as from the minute, it forbidden
to leave the field and there is ban on all telephone calls and
telegrams All mail will be censored and anybody
disobeying these orders will
be court martialled. The airfield is now on
standby. Any questions?” There was an excited
hush. Immediately orders were sent out to have
black and white stripes painted on all aircraft, the
famous invasion stripes; any aircraft without them was an enemy
plane. Smoke canisters were fixed onto the
Boston’s D-Day has arrived. In the early hours of the morning
the Boston’s took off and laid smoke in front of
the English and America
invasion forces, causing them to be hidden from
the numerous enemy shore batteries. During the Overlord campaign
all squadrons were kept busy attacking German positions and, due to
the early morning mist, FIDO was used on several occasions in order
for the aircraft to get airborne.
On June 12, Queen Wilhelmina and Prince Bernhard were visitors to
the field where they spent considerable time with 322 Squadron
which was a Dutch unit.
The number of flying bombs landing in Southern
England started to rise again, so 322 were given a new mission — to
try to destroy the rockets in the air. At their first attempt they
shot down two, but due to lack of time over the Channel, they moved
their base to West Malling. The Boston and Mitchell’s again turned
to 'Noball' targets, the Mitchell’s being helped by 'Gee'
navigational radar aid.
July 14 saw one of the most important days ever at the airfield, with a visit from the King and Queen to decorate some of the crews. They toured the airfield and everyone was surprised by their natural friendliness and complete absence of ceremonial. The ground crews of 342 Lorraine Sqdn., were even more surprised as the Queen spoke to them in perfect, fluent French. The Royal party left after taking tea in 2 Group Headquarters, with everyone having a day to remember and cherish for many years.
By August, the Boston and Mitchell’s were carrying out night intruder missions, single aircraft attacking targets in France, in front of the Allied invasion forces. On such a night, 12 Boston’s carried out a raid in the Falaise area of France, but only five aircraft returned in the morning. Crewmen sat around the mess waiting for the other aircraft to appear, but it was like a death watch. Fellow men that had been drinking with friends the night before were now just limp bodies, scattered around the French countryside.
September saw the wing attacking targets in Holland
and for the first time, on the 28th, the target was Germany, when
they attacked a railway junction and marshalling yards.
October saw 137 Wing depart to France but
their place was filled by the arrival of 138 Wing, 2nd Tactical
Airforce, consisting of 107, 305 and 613 squadrons, flying
Mosquitoes. The wing carried out night intruder operations over
Belgium and France, and again with the Allied forces pushing
forward, they were able to move to France in November. The
following day, a new wing arrived, 136, containing 418 and 605
squadrons, again equipped with Mosquitoes. During December,
the airfield changed its name to Blackbushe, due to there being a
Hartfordbridge in Norfolk, and some confusion had occurred over
this.
The new year, 1945, saw the Mosquitoes flying deeper into Germany,
in front of the advancing Second British Army. In February, the
wing took part in Operation Charlton, attacking enemy troop and
transport targets in Germany. The operation was highly successful
in that many enemy targets were destroyed, but a disaster for the
Blackbushe aircraft, as eight failed to return to base. The wing
moved out at the end of March to a European field in readiness for
the final push. No. 2 Group Tactical Airforce also departed
and handed the airfield over to Transport Command.
Three squadrons arrived in March and April, 167, 301 and 162,
flying Warwick’s, Anson’s, Dakota’s and Mosquitoes, used for
carrying passengers, mail and cargo to European destinations.
September saw an important milestone when the first civilian air
service operated from Blackbushe. The operator was Danish Airlines,
and they flew passenger-carrying Fortresses and Focke-Wulf Condors
to Copenhagen and Stockholm. A new era had been born.
On October 5, 1945, the first major air disaster was to hit
Blackbushe. A Czechoslovakian Air Force Liberator took off with
repatriated Czech civilians, on its way to Prague. Seconds after
take off, the aircraft crashed, killing 23 on board.
The year 1946 saw less military flying and
during March and April, the Transport Command squadrons moved out.
The A30 was re-opened again and the airfield suddenly became
quiet.
As mentioned earlier, Blackbushe was ideally situated both for road
and rail, with stations at Fleet and Camberley
giving fast trains to London. The actual airport facilities were
also of a very high standard, and over the next years, groups of
independent airlines started to move in. The
late forties saw
the arrival of Britavia, Westminster
Airways, Airwork ' and Silver
City. These companies
specialised in charter flights
and flew fleets of Lancastrians (passenger carrying
Lancaster bombers), DC-3's and Bristol Freighters. By
the end of the decade, aircraft movements had risen to 11,000 a
year with 16,000 yearly passengers passing through.
The early 1950s saw further expansion, with Air
Contractors running scheduled services to the Channel Isles and in
1952, the arrival of Eagle Airways, the country's largest
independent carrier. They flew DC-3's and twin-engined Viking
airliners. Passengers were now being flown to all parts of Europe
on their package holidays, and even bigger airliners were to be
used with the arrival of the great four-
engined Hermes airliner, used by both Britavia and Airwork. These aircraft flew mainly servicemen and their families on behalf of the government, but also few charters to Africa and Australia. Two other major uses were made of the airport, one as a diversion aerodrome for London Airport and secondly as the home for visiting aircraft during Farnborough display week, when up to 200 different aircraft from ail over the world could be seen on the tarmac, ranging from air force jets to airliners. Facilities were being updated all of the time with extensions to the runways and terminal buildings and better runway lighting and landing systems installed.
In June, 1953, Eagle started regular weekly scheduled services to Belgrade using their Vikings and followed this with scheduled flights to Copenhagen. Airwork had begun their Safari Colonial Coach Service, which was actually an aircraft which called at numerous towns and cities between Blackbushe and Salisbury, Rhodesia, taking several days for the journey.
The independent activities continued to expand, and by 1955 the airport was handling 36,000 movements per year with a huge increase in passenger handling. The year also saw the arrival of the military again, but this time from over the Atlantic, with the United States Navy setting up base as a communications headquarters, the squadron known as Fasron 200. They were equipped with
Beech Expediters and the old faithful Dakotas, but the field was also used as a stopping off point for numerous other U.S. Naval planes, ranging from carrier-based jets to the modern DC-7's and Super Constellations. November and December saw the Hungarian revolution and many independent airliners were chartered to bring back refugees from Austria. Blackbushe became a centre for these movements. The aircraft would fly out with medical supplies and blankets and return with as many refugees as could be fitted into the aircraft. Eagle alone bought back 1,200 on thirty-six flights.
November was also to see the first major civilian crash at the airport, when a Britavia Hermes carrying 82 passengers, all families of servicemen, crashed into woods as it came into land during the night. The plane carved an avenue through the pine trees, and before coming to rest, had completely slewed round, to face the direction from which it had come. The passengers stumbled out of the wreckage and frantic mothers had to be restrained from re-entering the plane to look for missing children. Four young children and three crew members were killed, but it was a miracle that there were so few, and this was attributed to the aircraft's rear facing seats and giant wings which helped to cushion the impact.
Six months later, on May 1, 1957, a far worse crash
was to shake the local communities. An Eagle Viking, carrying
troops and their equipment, took off at 10.15 p.m., and almost
immediately the pilot called the tower to report engine problems
and that he was turning to land again. The plane skimmed over the
A30 and with a deafening explosion, tore into the woods. First eye
witnesses reported two passengers in a bad way as they staggered
out of the wreckage. The airport and local brigades were quickly on
the scene, but so intense was the blaze, that by the time it had
been stifled by foam, only a charred skeleton remained. Stretcher
bearers carried out one body after another, and as dawn broke,
there was an eerie, desolate scene of twisted and contorted metal
amid torn up undergrowth. Of the 35 on the plane, there were only
two survivors.
There were to be other crashes at the airport, but luckily no-one else was killed. British European Airways lost two Viscounts in 48 hours, when they both crashed on the runway during crew training, one catching fire and being totally destroyed.
Blackbushe had also been used for film
work, with major films such as 'No Highway’ and ‘Through
the Eye of a Needle” being made there, plus many 'B'
films. It was during the filming of one of these that there
was a very embarrassing moment.
The film concerned a bank robbery and the
getaway was to be in an aircraft, instead of the
normal car. However, the gang had an argument and one of
them was thrown from the door of the aircraft
followed by
hundreds of the bank notes. A Viking airliner was used for
the scene, minus its passenger door, and as it flew low over the
runway, a dummy would be thrown out to represent the gang
member. Of course, all this was unknown to the general
public, and imagine the scene as those driving down the A30 saw a
body come flying out of a plane. One car swerved straight off the
road and the driver had to be taken to the terminal building to
calm down.
The late 1950s heard a new noise over the airport,
the jet engines of the Comet airliners. B.O.A.C. flew the aircraft
in on a regular basis for crew training and the noise caused many
sleepless hours for the local residents. When Heathrow was
fogbound, regular visitors to the airport were B.O.A.C., Pan-Am,
S.A.S., B.E.A. and many more, with the latest trans-atlantic
aircraft, such as Bristol Britannia’s and Douglas DC-7's. However,
clouds were looming on the horizon. Gatwick airport had been built
at great expense, but the independent operators were hardly using
it, preferring Blackbushe and other smaller fields. With the lease
coming up for renewal on Blackbushe, this was not granted and
consequently the independents would now have to move. In 1960,
Blackbushe Airport was closed and fixtures and fittings were auctioned off. Parts of the runway were dug up and the whole area looked a sorry sight. The airport remained closed for a few years, but slowly the odd private aircraft landed and a flying club was formed. Many political battles took place as to whom the land actually belonged and it was not until the 1970s that the airport was bought by Mr. Doug Arnold. Slowly he started to build up a collection of old aircraft and often, when driving down the A30, one thought one was seeing the ghosts of wartime aircraft as Spitfires, Mitchell’s and even a Mosquito could be seen parked on the field or flying. However, even these are going now, for the field has again been sold, this time to British Car Auctions.
The story did not end there as BCA had no intention of closing the airport and just running the auction centre, they had plans to upgrade the airport and invest some considerable amounts of money. Firstly they resurfaced 50% of the runway, installed a new lighting system with precision approach path indicators( PAPI) installed two navigation aids, Non directional Beacon (NDB) and distance measuring equipment (DME) bought a new fire appliance to replace the decrepit old one and also licensed a grass runway.
These improvements were used by the now growing BCA Aviation, the fleet consisted of two Beech 200 Super King Airs, one Augusta 109 helicopter and one Cessna 182, they were also used by the two Blackbushe based flying schools, Three Counties Aero Club and Blackbushe School of Flying, which were growing stronger each year. The two main hangars that were owned by the airport were leased to the then, Air Hanson (now Premi-Air) this company bought many new and interesting fixed and rotary wing air craft to Blackbushe. The Beech Starship and MD500 Notar were just two of many.
In 1992 permission was granted to refurbish the old
terminal building and replace the Shed that was called the tower.
At the same time the car park was resurfaced and marked with bays
giving the whole place a much more professional feel. The control
building was also 
replaced with a more modern Portacabin. The new tower
and building is as we see it today is very smart and fits the
airports need perfectly. Blackbushe has continued to grow
under its new owners and still caters for an ever changing market
from the smallest flex wing micro light to the BAE 146, Blackbushe
airport can accommodate them all. More recently Blackbushe has had
a new home base operator move in, the newly formed Blink Aviation
with its smart new Cessna Citation Mustang jets. This company
is one of the first jet taxi company’s utilising the new very light
jets (VLJ), Blackbushe has once again become very busy with
small jets going to and from Europe.