History of blackbushe airport the airfield was originally laid out from october 1941 onwards on an area of yateley common known as hartfordbridge flats. Aerobility charity giving disabled individuals the chance to fly an aircraft. For historical information only, do not use for navigation or aviation purposes. A private pilot licence ppl means you can fly yourself, your friends and family anywhere and pass on the joy of flight. In a statement, blackbushe airport said the jet crashed near the end of. Blackbushe airport photos, maps, books, memories francis frith. The usual airfield naming convention was used, namely that of the nearest significant habitation, in this case lasham village. Digital copies of group photographs, scrapbooks, autograph books, photo albums, newspaper clippings, letters, postcards and ephemera relating to ww2. Obtained a hop out of blackbushe on a us navy c47 bound for naples italy and rheine maine germany. Air first blackbushe school of flying flying school.
Jul, 2020 both took place on open land at the disused airfield in blackbushe airfield in northeast hampshire. The book unashamedly concentrates on the airports commercial period between 194760. Historic aviation nostalgia blackbushe 19781984 gar we. The history of lasham village itself goes back a long way. Just a simple page to showcase some of my favourite photos so i hope. Buy blackbushe by robert belcher from waterstones today.
Raf blackbushe in the second world war 19391945 the. A recent book by mike phipp about the use of flying boats from the early pre. Goldsmith still considers it the high point of his career. It covers both world war two and the transition to being londons second and third airport from 194760. The picnic at blackbushe is a deluxe 128page hardcase book in a metal flight case. In the section about dragstrips it has santa pod, long marston, blackbushe and new york dragway. A veritable photographic feast charting the history of blackbushe from around 1960 when it ceased to be londons 2nd airport through the avm bennett days, the doug arnold days and onto around the mid80sput aside a few minutes and enjoythere are currently 4 long pages worth. The governments white paper into future airport development chose to develop gatwick but kept blackbushe as a diversionary and small operators airport.
Also at the time airwork started operating former boac hermes aircraft which led to the current terminal being built to increase capacity. It continued to be used as an airport despite being registered as common land after the war. Firefighters from hartley wintney and yateley station were first called to a large fire at the airfield on sunday night july 12. Flying lesson at blackbushe airport from into the blue. Blackbushe londons second airport 1946 1960 1 viewing. The documentary evidence has been enriched by cherished recollections of a time and a place now disappeared. Military aerodrome ww2 known as hartford bridge flats. Blackbushe airport is a great place to take flying lessons. There are a whole host of aviation activities at blackbushe. Blackbushe, 5 october 1945 free czechoslovak air force. Decent cafe, run by the blackbushe pilots association themselves.
I was a us regular army soldier stationed in germany on. The book entitled blackbushe londons lost airport 19421960 by robert belcher records the history of raf hartford bridge and thence. Blackbushe londons lost airport 19421960 book blackbushe. Military aerodrome ww2 known as hartford bridge flats often abbreviated to hartford bridge later civil regional airport reverting later to civil aerodrome note. Very good runway and the landing fee was reasonable at.
Mar 11, 2016 paul filmers trip down memory lane continues as he looks back at the many vintage aircraft that visited blackbushe in the 1970s and 1980s. The airfield formally reopened again on 61062although a small number of light aircraft operated by the blackbushe aero club had remained during the closure,this time as a ga airfield. As a student pilot out of wap, blackbushe became a firm favourite great runway, easily identifiable, well priced, warm welcome during stressful cross countries. There were lots of families in the outside patio area all enjoying the fun in the sun. I returned today having gained my ppl in my very own 1th of a piper archer. Turnberry airfield carn publishing quality local history. A forced landing in the early 1950s the miles magister gaiue made a forced landing after engine failure flying out of nearby blackbushe. And for those of you who dont know blackbushe airport in surrey, it has a very rich history, from playing a huge part in ww2 as raf hartford bridge that saw the main a30 being closed as it crossed the southern perimeter of the runway can you imagine the chaos thatd cause today. October is securely handed over to history, and not bad history either so far as. A commercial pilot licence cpl means you can go on to fly airliners around the globe or enjoy one of the many careers available in general aviation.
Following a standard airforce design, it consisted of three allweather runways, capable of taking the largest aircraft flying at the time. On 15 november 1946, the raf had moved out, and the airport was handed over to the ministry of civil aviation, becoming blackbushe airport. This new history of blackbushe airport contains a wealth of information on the. Blackbushe londons lost airport 19421960 lightwater. This site still is in hampshire, its only the postal address that lists it as surrey. Went to blackbushe for the first time this weekend.
Historic aviation nostalgia blackbushe 19781984 gar. Trade buyers can still buy online and book vehicle collections. In the 1950s it was regularly used by the parachute regiment, being so. The metropolitan area of london, england, united kingdom is served by six international airports and several smaller airports. Located on the borders of hampshire, berkshire, and surrey, blackbushe airport is perfectly located for quick access both to central london as well as to the thames. Click and collect from your local waterstones or get free uk delivery on orders over. In 1978 esteemed concert promoter harvey goldsmith put on the single biggest, paid one day concert in uk history at the blackbushe aerodrome in surrey with some estimates putting the audience figure at around 250,000. Jul 31, 2015 an eyewitness said the phenom 300 jet exploded on impact at the british car auctions site, which is based at the airfield. On 15th november 1946, the raf had moved out, and the airport was handed over to the ministry of civil aviation, becoming blackbushe airport. Raf blackbushe is a former royal air force station in hampshire, england, during the second world war. Raf hartfordbridge was provided with three all weather runways, dispersal areas, 11 bellman hangars and a large campsite for personnel to the east. Blackbushe 1940s 1970s i first visited hartfordbridge flats, as the area was originally known, in 1949, when i lived at farnborough. Jan 22, 2015 aviation history and nostalgia whether working in aviation, retired, wannabee or just plain fascinated this forum welcomes all with a love of flight. Blackbushe welcomes a variety of types of aircraft and activity including light ga, rotary, turboprop, and jet.
Apr 23, 2020 blackbushe airport grew up from the site of a world war two raf base which was built on requisitioned land. From airliners to headliners, we trace the history of the iconic airport, which has played host to several famous faces and armed forces over the. The station was renamed to raf blackbushe on 18 november 1944 and it became an airfield for the douglas dakotas of raf transport command during the 1948 airlift during the berlin blockade. Flying out of blackbushe airport, surrey an airfield steeped in ww2 history. Visited on sunday 1st may, for the third time in the last couple of years. Originally called raf hartfordbridge, it was built on the area known as hartfordbridge flats.
The london airports handle over 60% of all the uks air traffic. This new history of blackbushe airport contains a wealth of information on the operations of the various based units during world war ii, detailing operations and losses. Detailed history of all airfields and aerodromes and aviation related sites in the. The story of gatwick airport really began in 1930 when two young men who had. The raf station was closed on 15 november 1946 and in february 1947 the airfield became blackbushe airport under the control of the ministry of civil aviation. On 18th november 1944, the airfield was renamed to raf blackbushe, due to confusion over a similar area in norfolk. All operators are required to use the web booking ppr form to book their.
I too remember seeing various wwii aircraft on the site and the runway which extended southwards across the a30 resulting in the diversion whilst that road was closed during wwii. Blackbushe airport raf blackbushe, camberley historical approach and aerodrome charts airfield history. Realise that dream by obtaining your pilots licence at blackbushe aviation. Please check our latest information on opening hours and only operate in accordance with national lockdown rules why do we ask you to book out.
Welcome to the blackbushe history website, the airport that has served airmen and passengers alike for over 75 years home now history 19421946 19471960 1960now about us a brief history of raf hartford bridge and blackbushe airport part 1 raf hartford bridge. Blackbushe aviation commercial and private pilot training. The new and convenient way for you to pre book collection slots for your purchased vehicles. I can most certainly recommend that you read his fascinating and well written autobiography faster than the sun. Bca blackbushe address auction centre, blackbushe airport, blackwater, camberley, surrey, gu17 9lg phone 0333 015 0974. At the time of writing this, blackbushe is a busy and popular general aviation field,and hopefully. Search the worlds most comprehensive index of fulltext books. Lasham airfield, pronounced as lasham throughout the gliding world, was built by mcalpines in 19411942 using irish labourers and italian prisoners of war. Eglk is an operational general aviation airport in the. A most significant event in aviation history took place from here when, in march 1956 peter twiss broke for the first time ever the 1,000mph world speed record at 1,2mph in a fairey delta 2. Aerobatic spins galore in this superb flying lesson at blackbushe airport.
Mostly british ww2 but still love modern aircraft too. If you are a business jet user, using blackbushe is quicker, more convenient, and more costeffective than all of the other london airports. This is a history of raf hartford bridge and blackbushe airport, hampshire england. The book covers the airports full history from world war two to the present day. Formatted at 1024 x 768 res, lower res will result in some formatting errors in page display. Raf hartford bridge was opened on 7th november 1942. On 18 november 1944, the airfield was renamed to raf blackbushe, due to confusion over a similar area in norfolk. Blackbushe airport threatened by common land ruling bbc. Read about the airports history in world war two, including all aircrew losses and important missions carried out from this once quiet corner of hampshire.
Just to show how cosmopolitan it had all become, the americans took over the control of the airfield on 5 march 1944, and it became the hq of the 84th fighter wing of the u. The war years, a brief history of the airfield under its original name and at war. Residents battle flames at blackbushe airfield as two fires. Social and military history of ww2 and social and political history of western european states in the 20th century. The food was very good, with great service from friendly staff. Together, they make the busiest airport system in the world by passenger numbers and the secondbusiest by aircraft movements. One account states that air vicemarshall donald bennett acquired blackbushe in the early to mid 1960s and set up fairtravel to build, under license the piel emeraude, called the fairtravel linnet, and often tookoff and landed on a section of peritrack near the hangar rather than use the main runways. In his book flying and ballooning john fabb has a photograph captioned, a balloon at the royal military academy, sandhurst. Of these approximately 40% were killed in flying or training accidents. The market now stands on a site that was the original blackbushe airfield. Whilst blackbushe was not the closest airfield to where i grew up, it was the most interesting airport in a wide area of the west london suburbs and my father would sometimes stop here if we were driving along the a30 on the way to somewhere else. If you have any unwanted photographs, documents or items from the first or second world war, please do not destroy them.
Portsmouth,southampton and bournemouth airports in 1962,blackbushe in. The following organisations are either based at, use andor have at least potentially significant connections with the airfield as at 01092011. Blackbushe 75 the parachute regimental association. It seems the name blackbushe was adopted at the end of ww2 when it became a transport command station in march 1945. There have been many books on the complex subject of blackbushe started but this is the first one to have been finished. The picnic at blackbushe 1978 the archive,a history. In 2018, the six airports handled a total of 177,054,819 passengers. Mar 02, 2021 raf hartford bridge blackbushe goes to war 1942 1946 1 viewing. Dec 02, 2014 blackbushe sunday market is in a prime location alongside the a30 near camberley in surrey and just a stones throw from the m3 motorway. The book then goes on to cover the operations, trials and tribulations of the various independent.
Sorry, we have no books of blackbushe airport we have no photos of blackbushe airport, therefore we have published no local books of this location. In the 1950s it was regularly used by the parachute regiment, being so close to aldershot. We would like to obtain digital copies of any documents or photographs relating to ww2 you may have at home. The station was renamed to raf blackbushe on the 18 november 1944 and it became a base for the dakotas of raf transport command during the 1948 airlift during the berlin blockade. Our superb long runway and open countryside makes this an ideal airfield for the beginner and with our unique range of courses and products, it makes blackbushe an excellent location at which to learn to fly. Residents battle flames at blackbushe airfield as two. The personal records make this book the most comprehensive collection of. Its a very well maintained airfield with plenty of parking and easy access to the fuel bay. Blackbushe airport has served the nation for almost eighty years. Our cancellation policy means you will still receive a full refund. Aug 04, 2016 one of the biggest events in rock history took place at the airfield on july 15 1978, when more than 200,000 attended the picnic at blackbushe concert, which featured bob dylan, eric clapton and. Located on the borders of hampshire, berkshire and surrey, blackbushe airport is perfectly located for quick access both to central london as well as to the thames valley, and south of england. This site aims to preserve the history of this once great airport and show it to the world. Blackbushe airport threatened by common land ruling.
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