RAF Wing

RAF Wing
Near Wing, Buckinghamshire in England
RAF Wing
Shown within Buckinghamshire
Coordinates 51°54′11″N 000°44′54″W / 51.90306°N 0.74833°W / 51.90306; -0.74833Coordinates: 51°54′11″N 000°44′54″W / 51.90306°N 0.74833°W / 51.90306; -0.74833
Type Royal Air Force station
Site information
Owner Air Ministry
Operator Royal Air Force
Site history
Built 1941 (1941)/2
In use 1941-1956 (1956)
Airfield information
Elevation 143 metres (469 ft) AMSL
Runways
Direction Length and surface
00/00  Asphalt
00/00  Asphalt
00/00  Asphalt

Royal Air Force Station Wing or more simply RAF Wing is a former Royal Air Force bomber training station, situated just west of the village of Wing, in the Aylesbury Vale district of Buckinghamshire, established on the site of a small aerodrome.

Motto

The motto written on the Navigation Section at Wing was “MAN IS NOT LOST”. Someone had written graffiti underneath this: “But occasionally is completely unaware of his exact location".[1]

History

Construction

Construction included five hangars for the aircraft, two runways, offices, a canteen, rest rooms, blast shelters, radio and telegraph rooms, training blocks, church, gym, squash court, rugby and football field, tailors, barbers, shoemakers, Post Office, a cinema, and stores.[1]

Thirteen sites of living quarters were erected, each with up to 20 Nissen huts, some toilets, and one or two air-raid shelters. Members of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force had their own site closer to Wing village, much of which can still be seen today. There was also a hospital close to Cublington that is still standing.[2][1]

Operations

RAF Wing airfield opened on 17 November 1941, although the upgraded runways were not finished and the first flight did not occur until March 1942. The station was used primarily as a training facility, but some operational missions were also flown from there. No. 26 Operational Training Unit RAF for Bomber Command was formed at Wing 15 January 1942 as a 2/3 status unit within No. 7 Group, equipped with Vickers Wellingtons to train night bomber crews.[3]

The two operational squadrons were No. 268 Squadron RAF and No. 613 Squadron RAF. 613 squadron was the first to join on 1 March 1943 with North American Mustang's[4] and 268 joined a day later with the same type of aircraft and left on 6 March 1943[5] with 613 Squadron leaving one day later going to RAF Bottisham.[4]

In April and May 1945, RAF Wing served as a gateway for tens of thousands of men returning from duty in Europe.[6]

Nearby activity

RAF dog handlers were at the Hawker Aircraft Factory on Langley Airfield. The airmen cycled to local pubs in Wing, Stewkley, Cheddington and Cublington in the evenings or to local train stations on their days off so they could go home and see their families. Often entertainment was put on at the airfield as well, such as dancing. There were also weekly dances at Wing village hall.[2][1]

Closure

RAF Wing was closed 4 April 1956.[7]

London Airport

In the late 1960s the former airfield was considered for the site of the third London Airport following a publication of a report by the Roskill Commission.[8] Wing was considered to be ideally situated for access from all parts of the country and only fifty miles from London.[8] Within a few days of Wing being identified as a possible site a local airport resistance association was formed to oppose the airport.[9] A public inquiry was opened at Aylesbury on 14 July 1969 that followed a protest by 2,000 anti-airport supporters through Aylesbury.[10]

RAF units and aircraft

Unit Dates Aircraft Variant Notes
No. 268 Squadron RAF 1943 North American Mustang I Based for a few days in March 1943[5]
No. 613 Squadron RAF 1943 North American Mustang I Based for a few days in March 1943[4]
No. 26 Operational Training Unit RAF 1942-1946 Vickers Wellington Also operated a wide range of training and support aircraft, for example the Avro Anson, carried out operational sorties in 1942.[11]
No. 60 Group Communications Flight 1945-1946 Vickers Wellington Also operate a DH Tiger Moth and a DH Moth Minor
No. 60 Group Radar Nav Aids Test Flight 1945 Vickers Wellington X [12]
No. 282 Maintenance Unit RAF 1952-1954 None Explosives Storage - Operated from 1952-1954 as a sub-site, transferred to the USAF in 1954.[13]

Modern day

Chicken houses have been built on the runway alignments as the former airfield returned to agriculture.[1][7]

Incidents

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "War in the air - Wing". Buckinghamshire County Council. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
  2. 1 2 Brooks 2000, p. 00.
  3. ↑ "No 26 Operational Training Unit". Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 Jefford 1988, p. 100.
  5. 1 2 Jefford 1988, p. 81.
  6. 1 2 3 "Wing in the Military - WWII". Alex Coles. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
  7. 1 2 "Wing". Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
  8. 1 2 ARTHUR REED Air Correspondent. "Foulness and Wing most likely airports." Times [London, England] 4 Mar. 1969: 1. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 20 Feb. 2014.
  9. ↑ "£16,500 for 'no airport' campaign." Times [London, England] 10 Mar. 1969: 2. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 20 Feb. 2014.
  10. ↑ BYRON ROGERS. "2,000 march in airport protest." Times [London, England] 14 July 1969: 2. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 20 Feb. 2014.
  11. ↑ Sturtivant 2007, p. 202
  12. ↑ Sturtivant 2007, p. 161
  13. ↑ Sturtivant 2007, p. 184
  14. ↑ Editors, "A Real Contender", Database, Aeroplane, Berry's Hill, Cudham, Kent, UK, December 2010, No. 452, Volume 38, Number 12, pages 65–66.
  15. ↑ "Leslie Arthur Southam". Trafford War Dead. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
  16. ↑ "History of the Museum". Dumfries and Galloway Aviation Museum. Retrieved 18 February 2014.

Bibliography

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