Blackbushe Airport
Encyclopedia
Blackbushe Airport , in the civil parish of Yateley
in the north-east corner of the English
county of Hampshire
, comprises an airfield, much reduced in size since its heyday, a British Car Auctions
site, a kart track owned by Camberley Kart Club, and a small business park. Blackbushe Sunday Market is held on the car auction site.
Blackbushe Aerodrome has a CAA
Ordinary Licence (Number P693) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction as authorised by the licensee (Blackbushe Airport Limited). The aerodrome is licensed for night use.
for reconnaissance, defence and strike operations using Spitfire
s and Mosquito
s. It was also the home of the Free French Squadron (Lorraine).
A number of important people landed at the airport including King George VI
and Queen Elizabeth
, Supreme Allied Commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower
and Field Marshal Montgomery.
The RAF Station was closed on 15 November 1946.
In February 1947 the airfield was opened as Blackbushe Airport under the control of the Ministry of Civil Aviation. Full customs facilities were provided for both air transport operators and the private owners of light and executive aircraft.
During the next ten years, Blackbushe airport became a major base for a number of UK cargo and charter operators including Airwork Limited, Britavia and British Eagle
. These operators, and others at the airport, also specialised in the maintenance and major overhaul of various types of airliners from around the world, using the wartime "Bellman" hangars on both sides of the A30 road for this activity.
Overseas-based charter airlines often used Blackbushe for their flight to the UK, normally finding that the airfield was open for operations, even when other airports in the London area were closed by fog. The airfield's hilltop position helped in this respect. The Avro York
s of Tropic Airways of Johannesburg visited for several years.
From the early 1950s, the United States Navy
(USN) had a facility on the north-east edge of the airport which frequently handled visiting naval aircraft. These included patrol types such as the Lockheed P2V Neptune and the Martin P4M Mercator. Large USN transports that used the airport regularly were the Douglas R5D Skymaster
and Douglas R6D Liftmaster
. In 1955 USN UK-based communications and liaison aircraft of FASRON 200, previously attached to RAF Hendon, in north London, were switched to Blackbushe.
On the 31 May 1960 the airport closed.
aircraft
, including four Junkers Ju 52
s, six Douglas DC-3
s and a number of smaller planes, such as Spitfires, which were rarely seen on the tarmac. The finest was, perhaps, a Heinkel
bomber which, unfortunately, was sold in order to purchase a replacement which then crashed soon afterwards.
Later, British Car Auctions took over the airport and developed it as a centre of private, business and executive aviation.
between Camberley
and Hook
. It used to straddle both sides of the A30, with road traffic having to wait whilst airliners were towed across this busy road. The southside was used for aircraft maintenance, utilising wartime-built hangars. Today, only part of the airfield section that lay north of the A30 remains in active use. The traditional name for the flat piece of land on which it is sited is Hartford Bridge Flats. The nearest towns are Yateley
and Fleet
.
Unless looking at aerial views or maps, it is hard to visualise that this was once a significant airport for passenger and cargo charter flights for the London area.
It is one of several airfields eclipsed since 1958 by the growth of London Heathrow Airport
and London Gatwick Airport
. Currently based aircraft include several corporate helicopter
s and a dealership for Beechcraft
is established here. From 1 April 1998 The Queen's Helicopter has been based there.
On 15 July 1978, the airfield was the location for an open-air concert, the Picnic at Blackbushe, which was attended by some 200,000 people. Bob Dylan
headlined, with support from Eric Clapton
, Joan Armatrading
, Graham Parker and the Rumour
, Lake, and Merger.
The airport is now open to the general public and is very popular for walks around its perimeter and to see the wildlife in Yateley Common.
Overall, Blackbushe Airport is very significant in the UK's aviation history.
As well as there being plane accidents, there have been many fires within the forests, some natural, others, man made.
Yateley
Yateley is a suburban town and civil parish in the English county of Hampshire. It lies in the north-eastern corner of Hart District Council. It includes the settlements of Frogmore and Darby Green. It had a population of 21,011 according to the 2001 census...
in the north-east corner of the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
county of Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, comprises an airfield, much reduced in size since its heyday, a British Car Auctions
British Car Auctions
BCA Europe , is the largest vehicle remarketing business in Europe, with an annual turnover in excess of £4 billion.-History:...
site, a kart track owned by Camberley Kart Club, and a small business park. Blackbushe Sunday Market is held on the car auction site.
Blackbushe Aerodrome has a CAA
United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority
The Civil Aviation Authority is the public corporation which oversees and regulates all aspects of aviation in the United Kingdom. The CAA head office is located in the CAA House on Kingsway in Holborn, London Borough of Camden...
Ordinary Licence (Number P693) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction as authorised by the licensee (Blackbushe Airport Limited). The aerodrome is licensed for night use.
Royal Air Force
The airport started life in 1942 as RAF Hartford Bridge, and it was used by RAF squadrons throughout the remainder of Second World WarWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
for reconnaissance, defence and strike operations using Spitfire
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
s and Mosquito
Mosquito
Mosquitoes are members of a family of nematocerid flies: the Culicidae . The word Mosquito is from the Spanish and Portuguese for little fly...
s. It was also the home of the Free French Squadron (Lorraine).
A number of important people landed at the airport including King George VI
George VI of the United Kingdom
George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death...
and Queen Elizabeth
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the queen consort of King George VI from 1936 until her husband's death in 1952, after which she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II...
, Supreme Allied Commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
and Field Marshal Montgomery.
The RAF Station was closed on 15 November 1946.
Ministry of Civil Aviation
During the next ten years, Blackbushe airport became a major base for a number of UK cargo and charter operators including Airwork Limited, Britavia and British Eagle
British Eagle
British Eagle International Airlines was a major British independentindependent from government-owned corporations airline that operated from 1948 to 1968....
. These operators, and others at the airport, also specialised in the maintenance and major overhaul of various types of airliners from around the world, using the wartime "Bellman" hangars on both sides of the A30 road for this activity.
Overseas-based charter airlines often used Blackbushe for their flight to the UK, normally finding that the airfield was open for operations, even when other airports in the London area were closed by fog. The airfield's hilltop position helped in this respect. The Avro York
Avro York
The Avro York was a British transport aircraft that was derived from the Second World War Lancaster heavy bomber, and used in both military and airliner roles between 1943 and 1964.-Design and development:...
s of Tropic Airways of Johannesburg visited for several years.
United States Navy operations
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
(USN) had a facility on the north-east edge of the airport which frequently handled visiting naval aircraft. These included patrol types such as the Lockheed P2V Neptune and the Martin P4M Mercator. Large USN transports that used the airport regularly were the Douglas R5D Skymaster
Douglas DC-4
The Douglas DC-4 is a four-engined propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960s in a military role...
and Douglas R6D Liftmaster
Douglas DC-6
The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and transport aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport near the end of World War II, it was reworked after the war to compete with the Lockheed Constellation in the long-range...
. In 1955 USN UK-based communications and liaison aircraft of FASRON 200, previously attached to RAF Hendon, in north London, were switched to Blackbushe.
On the 31 May 1960 the airport closed.
Private ownership
The airport passed into private ownership and was formally re-opened as a general aviation field on the 6 October 1962. The airport became a base for a large collection of historic World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
, including four Junkers Ju 52
Junkers Ju 52
The Junkers Ju 52 was a German transport aircraft manufactured from 1932 to 1945. It saw both civilian and military service during the 1930s and 1940s. In a civilian role, it flew with over 12 air carriers including Swissair and Deutsche Luft Hansa as an airliner and freight hauler...
s, six Douglas DC-3
Douglas DC-3
The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made...
s and a number of smaller planes, such as Spitfires, which were rarely seen on the tarmac. The finest was, perhaps, a Heinkel
Heinkel
Heinkel Flugzeugwerke was a German aircraft manufacturing company founded by and named after Ernst Heinkel. It is noted for producing bomber aircraft for the Luftwaffe in World War II and for important contributions to high-speed flight.-History:...
bomber which, unfortunately, was sold in order to purchase a replacement which then crashed soon afterwards.
Later, British Car Auctions took over the airport and developed it as a centre of private, business and executive aviation.
Description
Blackbushe is situated alongside the A30 roadA30 road
The 284 miles A30 road from London to Land's End, historically known as the Great South West Road used to provide the most direct route from London to the south west; more recently the M3 motorway and A303 road performs this function for much of the route and only parts of A30 now retain trunk...
between Camberley
Camberley
Camberley is a town in Surrey, England, situated 31 miles southwest of central London, in the corridor between the M3 and M4 motorways. The town lies close to the borders of both Hampshire and Berkshire; the boundaries intersect on the western edge of the town where all three counties...
and Hook
Hook, North Hampshire
Hook is a large village within the Hart district of northern Hampshire, England. It is situated east of Basingstoke and northeast of Southampton, on the A30 national route, just north of Junction 5 of the M3 motorway....
. It used to straddle both sides of the A30, with road traffic having to wait whilst airliners were towed across this busy road. The southside was used for aircraft maintenance, utilising wartime-built hangars. Today, only part of the airfield section that lay north of the A30 remains in active use. The traditional name for the flat piece of land on which it is sited is Hartford Bridge Flats. The nearest towns are Yateley
Yateley
Yateley is a suburban town and civil parish in the English county of Hampshire. It lies in the north-eastern corner of Hart District Council. It includes the settlements of Frogmore and Darby Green. It had a population of 21,011 according to the 2001 census...
and Fleet
Fleet, Hampshire
Fleet is a town and civil parish in the Hart district of Hampshire, England, located 37 miles south west of London. It is part of Hart District. The 2007 population forecast for Fleet was 31,687.-History:...
.
Unless looking at aerial views or maps, it is hard to visualise that this was once a significant airport for passenger and cargo charter flights for the London area.
It is one of several airfields eclipsed since 1958 by the growth of London Heathrow Airport
London Heathrow Airport
London Heathrow Airport or Heathrow , in the London Borough of Hillingdon, is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom and the third busiest airport in the world in terms of total passenger traffic, handling more international passengers than any other airport around the globe...
and London Gatwick Airport
London Gatwick Airport
Gatwick Airport is located 3.1 miles north of the centre of Crawley, West Sussex, and south of Central London. Previously known as London Gatwick,In 2010, the name changed from London Gatwick Airport to Gatwick Airport...
. Currently based aircraft include several corporate helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
s and a dealership for Beechcraft
Beechcraft
Beechcraft is an American manufacturer of general aviation and military aircraft, ranging from light single engine aircraft to business jets and light military transports. Previously a division of Raytheon, it has been a brand of Hawker Beechcraft since 2006....
is established here. From 1 April 1998 The Queen's Helicopter has been based there.
On 15 July 1978, the airfield was the location for an open-air concert, the Picnic at Blackbushe, which was attended by some 200,000 people. Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
headlined, with support from Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
, Joan Armatrading
Joan Armatrading
Joan Anita Barbara Armatrading, MBE is a British singer, songwriter and guitarist. Armatrading is a three-time Grammy Award-nominee and has been nominated twice for BRIT Awards as Best Female Artist...
, Graham Parker and the Rumour
Graham Parker
Graham Parker is a British rock singer and songwriter, who is best known as the lead singer of the popular British band Graham Parker & the Rumour.-Early career :...
, Lake, and Merger.
The airport is now open to the general public and is very popular for walks around its perimeter and to see the wildlife in Yateley Common.
Overall, Blackbushe Airport is very significant in the UK's aviation history.
Accidents and Incidents
- On 20 January 1956, Vickers ViscountVickers ViscountThe Vickers Viscount was a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs, making it the first such aircraft to enter service in the world...
G-AMOM of British European AirwaysBritish European AirwaysBritish European Airways or British European Airways Corporation was a British airline which existed from 1946 until 1974. The airline operated European and North African routes from airports around the United Kingdom...
crashed on take-off when the training pilot mishandled the controls for the starboard engines when simulating an engine failure on take-off. - On 1 May 1957 Vickers VC.1 VikingVickers VC.1 VikingThe Vickers VC.1 Viking was a British twin-engine short-range airliner derived from the Vickers Wellington bomber and built by Vickers Armstrongs Limited at Brooklands near Weybridge in Surrey. In the aftermath of the Second World War, the Viking was an important airliner with British airlines...
– G-AJBO operated by Eagle Aviation Limited crashed after engine failure1957 Blackbushe Viking accidentThe 1957 Blackbushe Viking accident occurred on 1 May 1957 when an Eagle Aviation twin-engined Vickers VC.1 Viking registered G-AJBO crashed into trees near Blackbushe Airport, located in Hampshire, England, on approach following a suspected engine failure on take-off...
near the airport, five crew and 29 passengers died.
As well as there being plane accidents, there have been many fires within the forests, some natural, others, man made.