Bicester Airfield
| Bicester Airfield | |
|---|---|
|
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| Characteristics | |
| ICAO code | EGNW |
| Coordinates | |
| Height above MSL | 79 m (259 ft ) |
| Transport links | |
| Distance from the city center | 15 km northeast of Bicester |
| Street |
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| Basic data | |
| opening | September 1916 |
| operator | Windrushers Gliding Club |
| Runways | |
| 06/24 | grass |
| 13/31 | grass |
| 18/36 | grass |
The Bicester Airfield is a former military airfield on the northeastern outskirts Bicesters the county of Oxfordshire , England . The Ministry of Defense still owns part of the site and the British Army uses it for training purposes. Today, however, the main use is the civil use as a glider flying area by several air sports clubs, one of which is also the owner of the civilian area. Large parts of the airfield are still as they were in the 1930s, so it is a listed building. The local "Chiltern Classic Flight" offers flights with DHC-1 Chipmunk . The Bomber Heritage Command (BCH) association would like to build a museum at the site (as of 2012).
history
RAF Bicester
Today's Aerodrome is a former military airfield of the Royal Air Force , which they called Royal Air Force Station Bicester ( RAF Bicester for short ). The first flight in Bicester took place in 1911. Regular flight operations were not started until five years later. The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) used the 0.73 km² facility from January 1917 by the 118th Squadron , a night bomber squadron . Two years after the end of the First World War , the Aerodrome was closed in 1920.
After a three-year reactivation period, RAF Bicester was reopened as a bomber station in early 1928, including Vickers Virginias , Boulton Paul Sidestrands , Hawker Horsleys , Hawker Harts and Bristol Blenheims . The facility has been continuously expanded during these years.
In 1939 there were two Blenheim squadrons, a Spitfire and an Avro Anson squadron. The main task of the base was flight training, operational flights were not carried out by Bicester. Aircraft production began in Bicester in 1939, and Handley Page Halifax took off from here in autumn 1939 on its maiden flight. RAF Bicester became the headquarters of the 7th Group, a second training group for Bomber Command , in July 1940 . The 13th Operational Training Unit was based in RAF Bicester as a flying unit . This was transferred to the Fighter Command in June 1943 and was subsequently equipped with Spitfire and Mosquito . In the final phase of the Second World War , cargo glider teams also started in RAF Bicester for missions on the European mainland. Regular military flight operations ended at the end of 1944.
The airfield has been used as a glider airfield since 1956 , initially also by the RAF and already the current owner of the airfield. Both the RAF and the British Army continued to use parts of the area for military purposes: the 1st regiment of the Royal Logistics Corps , which was previously based in Gütersloh, has been stationed in the Saint David's Barracks since summer 2015 .
Web links
- The Wartime Memories Project - RAF Bicester
- Windrushers Gliding Club - Bicester Airfield history
- WW2 Airfields of Oxfordshire - Bicester
- RAF Museum - Vickers Virginia
- Controltowers.co.uk - Bicester
- VR York (Halifax bomber information)
- Bomber Command Heritage - Vision for vibrant Heritage / Education Center at the former RAF Bicester aerodrome
- Group Captain Hughie Edwards VC 105 Squadron