Croydon Airport

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Tower and terminal building of the disused airport Croydon (September 2019)

The Croydon Airport was from 1920 to 1959 an airport in the south of London , which extends beyond the boundary of the municipalities of Croydon and Sutton stretched. It was London's main airport, the hub for mail airplanes in the British Empire and the starting point for many long-haul flights before it was replaced by the Northolt Aerodrome , London Gatwick Airport and London Heathrow Airport .

history

Development began with two adjacent airports during the First World War - the Beddington Aerodrome , one of several smaller airfields around London, which was originally used for protection against the zeppelin attacks around May 1915, and the Waddon Aerodrome from 1918, a test airfield of the nearby one National Aircraft Factory No. 1 .

After the end of the First World War, the two airfields were merged - London's first official airport was created as a gateway for all international flights to and from the capital. The opening of Croydon Airport (or Croydon Aerodrome as it was called at the beginning) took place on March 29, 1920.

The airport stimulated the growth of scheduled flights with passengers, mail and cargo, with initial destinations such as Paris , Amsterdam and Rotterdam . In 1923 there were flights to and from Berlin . Croydon Aerodrome was the base for Instone , Aircraft Transport and Travel Ltd. and Handley Page and the resulting Imperial Airways in 1924 . The “Imperial Way” still reminds of this today.

In the 1920s, the airport was expanded and adjacent roads were closed to give larger aircraft safe take-off and landing options. A new building complex was constructed on “Purley Way”, including the first flight terminal in the world built exclusively for air traffic, the Aerodrome Hotel and extensive hangars; these buildings opened on May 2, 1928.

Airmail services began in India in 1929 , East and South Africa in 1931, Australia in 1934, and Hong Kong in 1936 . However, sightseeing flights over London were also offered for a few shillings. The terminal, the ticket hall with its gallery in the typical architecture of the time and the Aerodrome Hotel were built in the Art Deco style of the 1920s and 1930s. Another eye catcher was the "Time Zone Tower", which showed the exact time in different parts of the world.

The Croydon Aerodrome became world famous and its fame also passed on to many aviation pioneers who stopped in Croydon, such as:

The aircraft most used by Imperial Airways were the Handley Page HP42 and the identically constructed HP45, four-engine biplane aircraft of the Hannibal G-AAGX and Heracles G-AAXC series. In 1938 the first four-engine monoplane , the Armstrong Whitworth Ensign (G-ADSR), went into operation.

In November 1938, the Chamberlain government decided that Imperial Airways, which served the British Empire, should be merged with British Airways , which covered the European routes. The new airline was now called British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC). British Airways only operated from Croydon from March 1937 to May 1938 before moving to the Heston Aerodrome .

When the Second World War broke out in September 1939 , Croydon Airport was closed as a civilian airport and all buildings were painted in camouflage colors. In just 48 hours, the civilian airfield became RAF Croydon . Military planes were in hangars where Air France , Sabena and KLM planes had recently been . Croydon Airport played a key role in the Battle of Britain and was attacked during the first heavy air raid over London. Factories in the vicinity were almost completely destroyed, six pilots and 60 civilians lost their lives. In 1944, Croydon became the base of the RAF Transport Command , bringing civil aviation back into place. In February 1946 the airport was returned to civilian control.

It quickly became clear that as technical developments progressed, the newly deployed types of aircraft would be larger than those used before the war, and that the servicing of European cities would become more intensive. However, Croydon had no room for further expansion and quickly became too small to meet the growing demands of aviation. Heathrow became London's main airport and in 1952 the final decision was made to close Croydon Airport. Blackbushe in Hampshire and Northolt Aerodrome in Middlesex continued to serve European destinations throughout the 1950s. Croydon's last scheduled flight took off on September 30, 1959.

today

De Havilland DH.114 Heron in front of the terminal building

The square is still partially visible today. While most of the area was built over, some of the terminal buildings are still standing on the main road, their original purpose is clearly visible. In front of the building is a De Havilland DH.114 Heron from the 1950s; a De Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth in RAF training colors was temporarily exhibited in the hall, which can be set up as a hall for festivities if necessary. A memorial commemorating the Battle of Britain stands south.

In the former tower there is a visitor center, which shows souvenirs that tell the story of the world's first international airport, such as color-coded flight routes of the time or Amy Johnson's flight bag. The visitor center is operated by the Croydon Airport Society , which has set itself the task of maintaining and preserving the history and traditions of the airport.

The two ends of Plow Lane, which was divided by the expansion of the airport, were never brought back together. Today there is parkland, playgrounds and the Roundshaw residential area, the streets of which are named after planes and airplanes.

Incidents

literature

  • Christina Scheunemann: 100 years of the Tower: How Croydon got the first control tower. In: AERO International , No. 9/2020, pp. 70-71; with photo of the wooden tower

Web links

Commons : London Croydon Airport  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Air-Britain Archive: Casualty compendium part 44 (English), March 1992, pp. 92/26.
  2. ^ Accident report DC-3 PH-TBO , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on December 7, 2017.

Coordinates: 51 ° 21 '23 "  N , 0 ° 7' 1"  W.