RAF Ternhill
Encyclopedia
RAF Ternhill is a small Royal Air Force
station at Ternhill
in Shropshire
, near the towns of Newport
and Market Drayton
. The station, home of Volunteer Gliding Squadron
632, was a helicopter base but is now principally used as an outpost for the tri-service helicopter
training establishment at RAF Shawbury
. Training flights use the airfield (as do gliders
at the weekends) but many of the buildings and some local Ministry of Defence
housing (much of which was sold off, some people queueing for days to buy a property) are now part of the army base known as Clive Barracks (after Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive
). In the 1950s and 1960s, buildings which were originally used as airfield dispersals were renamed RAF Stoke Heath and used to house third line servicing facilities. Wireless- 291 MU - engine and rescue MUs. In the 1950s Tern Hill was the home of No 6 Flying Training School and in 1954 was equipped with Percival Provost T1 piston engine training aircraft. It was one of the RAF stations that provided the first stage of the, then, new Provost/Vampire pilot training programme.
bombers activated two bombs within the accommodation barracks at Tern Hill. At that time the 2nd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment
and the 1st Battalion, The Duke Of Wellingtons Regiment
were located at the base. A sentry spotted two men behaving suspiciously and raised the alarm, the barracks were evacuated shortly before the bombs exploded therefore preventing certain loss of life. One of the accommodation blocks was destroyed in the blast (which was reported to have been heard 20 mi (32.2 km) away in Shrewsbury). The bombers escaped by hijacking a car from a house down the road from the barracks.
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
station at Ternhill
Ternhill
Ternhill is a village in Shropshire, England, notable for its Royal Air Force training base which was the site of a bombing by the Provisional IRA on 20th of February 1989 in which one person was injured...
in Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
, near the towns of Newport
Newport, Shropshire
Newport is a market town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England. It lies some north of Telford and some west of Stafford sitting on the Shropshire/Staffordshire border...
and Market Drayton
Market Drayton
Market Drayton is a small market town in north Shropshire, England. It is on the River Tern, between Shrewsbury and Stoke-on-Trent, and was formerly known as "Drayton in Hales" and earlier simply as "Drayton" ....
. The station, home of Volunteer Gliding Squadron
Volunteer Gliding Squadron
Volunteer Gliding Squadrons are Royal Air Force Flying Training Units , operating military Viking TX.1 and Vigilant T.1 gliders to train Air Cadets from the Combined Cadet Force and the Air Training Corps....
632, was a helicopter base but is now principally used as an outpost for the tri-service 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...
training establishment at RAF Shawbury
RAF Shawbury
RAF Shawbury is a Royal Air Force station by the village of Shawbury near Shrewsbury, Shropshire.The station at Shawbury was first used for military flying training in 1917 by the Royal Flying Corps, but it was returned to agricultural use in 1920. In 1938 it was reactivated as a training...
. Training flights use the airfield (as do gliders
Glider (sailplane)
A glider or sailplane is a type of glider aircraft used in the sport of gliding. Some gliders, known as motor gliders are used for gliding and soaring as well, but have engines which can, in some cases, be used for take-off or for extending a flight...
at the weekends) but many of the buildings and some local Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
housing (much of which was sold off, some people queueing for days to buy a property) are now part of the army base known as Clive Barracks (after Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive
Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive
Major-General Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, KB , also known as Clive of India, was a British officer who established the military and political supremacy of the East India Company in Bengal. He is credited with securing India, and the wealth that followed, for the British crown...
). In the 1950s and 1960s, buildings which were originally used as airfield dispersals were renamed RAF Stoke Heath and used to house third line servicing facilities. Wireless- 291 MU - engine and rescue MUs. In the 1950s Tern Hill was the home of No 6 Flying Training School and in 1954 was equipped with Percival Provost T1 piston engine training aircraft. It was one of the RAF stations that provided the first stage of the, then, new Provost/Vampire pilot training programme.
IRA bomb attack
On 20 February 1989, two IRAIrish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
bombers activated two bombs within the accommodation barracks at Tern Hill. At that time the 2nd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment
2nd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment
The Second Battalion, The Parachute Regiment is a battalion-sized formation of the British Army's Parachute Regiment and subordinate unit within 16th Air Assault Brigade whose Commanding Officer was Lieutenant Colonel Joseph O'Sullivan....
and the 1st Battalion, The Duke Of Wellingtons Regiment
Duke of Wellington's Regiment
The Duke of Wellington's Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army, forming part of the King's Division.In 1702 Colonel George Hastings, 8th Earl of Huntingdon, was authorised to raise a new regiment, which he did in and around the city of Gloucester. As was the custom in those days...
were located at the base. A sentry spotted two men behaving suspiciously and raised the alarm, the barracks were evacuated shortly before the bombs exploded therefore preventing certain loss of life. One of the accommodation blocks was destroyed in the blast (which was reported to have been heard 20 mi (32.2 km) away in Shrewsbury). The bombers escaped by hijacking a car from a house down the road from the barracks.