Rochester Airport, England
Encyclopedia
Rochester Airport is a small airfield located 1.5 NM south of Rochester, Kent
, England
, with the River Medway
1.5 NM from the end of runway 34, 3.4 mi (5.5 km) from Chatham and its Historic Dockyard
and the Medway
area.
Rochester Aerodrome has a CAA Ordinary Licence (Number P846) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction as authorised by the licensee (Rochester Airport PLC).
the land at Rochester Airfield in September 1933 from the landowner as the site for a municipal airport. One month later Short Brothers
, who had started building aircraft in 1909 on the Isle of Sheppey
, asked for permission to lease the land for test flying
and thus began the privileged relationship between the local authority and the aviation industry.
In 1934-5 Short Brothers took over the Rochester Airport site when they moved some of their personnel from the existing seaplane
works. The inaugural flight into Rochester was from Gravesend
, with John Parker flying their Short Scion
, G-ACJI, powered by a Pobjoy
engine.
Pobjoy Airmotors Ltd moved to Rochester at the same time to be closer to Short Brothers, to whom they were contracted for production of aircraft engines for the Short Scion. Financial difficulties led to a capital investment by Shorts in Pobjoy and the eventual assimilation of Pobjoy.
The Air Ministry
licensed Short Brothers in 1936 to design and build a four-engined high-wing monoplane
. An initial half scale model S3, serial M4, flew at Rochester on 19 September 1938. The first prototype S29 came out of its hangar on May 14, 1939. The flight was perfect but the landing gear collapsed on touch down. Later developments led to the first 4-engined heavy bomber
to serve in the Royal Air Force
, the Short S.29 Stirling
.
In 1938, No 23 Elementary and Reserve Flying Training School (No 26 group RAF) came to Rochester. No 1 hangar
was built for the RAF and for the Royal Navy
and to house Avro
tutors. The school was managed by Shorts and they still exist fronting the Maidstone Road.
The civilian services started with flights from Rochester to Southend Airport
in June 1934 at a cost of 12 shillings (60p) for the return trip. Short Brothers continued to build seaplanes on the Esplanade
at Rochester supplying the growing market for flying boat
s. The name "Empire"
and "Sunderland"
flying boats will always remain one of the important contribution made by Medway to British Aviation.
Rochester airport was bombed heavily during the war by a wing of Dornier Do 17
s on 15 August 1940. Many 100 lb (45.4 kg) bombs scored hits on the factory and the runways. Spitfires
of No. 54 Squadron RAF from RAF Hornchurch
successfully intercepted some of the marauders. Stirling production was put back by at least a year and in the end was dispersed to other parts of the country as well as Rochester.
Shorts concentrated their work in Belfast
, leaving the Medway towns in 1946. For six years 1947-53 the RAF 24 Elementary Flying School Training School was transferred to Rochester and was renamed "Reserve Flying School". The unit was disbanded in 1953. Previous employees of Shorts joined the Shorts gliding club at Rochester and developed a prototype aircraft called the "Nimbus"
, in an attempt to keep aircraft production at Rochester.
Services to and from the continent expanded in the 1950s and 60's using Douglas DC-3
s (Dakotas
) and de Havilland Dove
s but with stringent requirement of the CAA operators had to re-locate from Rochester.
In 1979 the lease reverted to the council and after giving thorough consideration to closing the airport the General Electric Company plc comprising Marconi Electronic Systems
and instrument makers Elliot Automation
decided to take over management of the airport maintaining two runways as grass whilst releasing some land for light industrial
expansion.
In 1999 a group of aviators and local businessmen at Rochester formed a company dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the long tradition of aviation at Rochester Airport, its service to the local community and for its longer term preservation. The historic site of Rochester Airport was saved from closure for the short term by the efforts of this group of local business people, in the face of pressure by the Labour
controlled Local Council to re-zone the airport site as Industrial Development
land. Rochester Airport plc
, proposed to continue operation of the airport even though the timescale given for takeover was minuscule. They want to continue, as far as possible, the existing services provided for private, business and emergency aviation services and enhance them to bring increased economic benefit to Medway, its surrounding area, its businesses and its community. Significant voluntary work has contributed to the financial viability of Rochester Airport which has been operated on a care and maintenance basis in light of the difficulty in securing a proper lease. The airport now had a five year lease, outside of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954
, which expired in January 2009, and entered a crucial phase of negotiation with Medway Council.
On 13 January 2009 a fresh lease, with conditions, was granted to Rochester Airport Operating company. This length of lease is still insufficient to attract any real investment and, although the years of decay have been halted, no real improvements have been made for the benefit of the airport's users. The number of flying machines based there has dwindled, with 90% of the Microlight fleet relocating to Damiens Hall Airfield near Thurrock. One of the long-established flight schools has been taken over, and many of the other fixed-wing inhabitants have left for other bases.
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, England
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...
, with the River Medway
River Medway
The River Medway, which is almost entirely in Kent, England, flows for from just inside the West Sussex border to the point where it enters the Thames Estuary....
1.5 NM from the end of runway 34, 3.4 mi (5.5 km) from Chatham and its Historic Dockyard
Chatham Dockyard
Chatham Dockyard, located on the River Medway and of which two-thirds is in Gillingham and one third in Chatham, Kent, England, came into existence at the time when, following the Reformation, relations with the Catholic countries of Europe had worsened, leading to a requirement for additional...
and the Medway
Medway
Medway is a conurbation and unitary authority in South East England. The Unitary Authority was formed in 1998 when the City of Rochester-upon-Medway amalgamated with Gillingham Borough Council and part of Kent County Council to form Medway Council, a unitary authority independent of Kent County...
area.
Rochester Aerodrome has a CAA Ordinary Licence (Number P846) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction as authorised by the licensee (Rochester Airport PLC).
History
Rochester City Council compulsory purchasedEminent domain
Eminent domain , compulsory purchase , resumption/compulsory acquisition , or expropriation is an action of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent...
the land at Rochester Airfield in September 1933 from the landowner as the site for a municipal airport. One month later Short Brothers
Short Brothers
Short Brothers plc is a British aerospace company, usually referred to simply as Shorts, that is now based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Founded in 1908, Shorts was the first company in the world to make production aircraft and was a manufacturer of flying boats during the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s...
, who had started building aircraft in 1909 on the Isle of Sheppey
Isle of Sheppey
The Isle of Sheppey is an island off the northern coast of Kent, England in the Thames Estuary, some to the east of London. It has an area of . The island forms part of the local government district of Swale...
, asked for permission to lease the land for test flying
Flight test
Flight test is a branch of aeronautical engineering that develops and gathers data during flight of an aircraft and then analyzes the data to evaluate the flight characteristics of the aircraft and validate its design, including safety aspects...
and thus began the privileged relationship between the local authority and the aviation industry.
In 1934-5 Short Brothers took over the Rochester Airport site when they moved some of their personnel from the existing seaplane
Seaplane
A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...
works. The inaugural flight into Rochester was from Gravesend
Gravesend Airport
Gravesend Airport, located to the east of the town of Gravesend, Kent, England operated from 1932 until 1956. It was initially a civil airfield, and became a Royal Air Force station shortly after opening.-Civil operation:...
, with John Parker flying their Short Scion
Short Scion
The Short S.16 Scion and Scion II were 1930s British two-engine, cantilever monoplanes built by Short Brothers and by Pobjoy Airmotors and Aircraft Ltd. in Rochester, Kent between 1933 and 1937...
, G-ACJI, powered by a Pobjoy
Pobjoy Airmotors
Pobjoy Airmotors and Aircraft was a British manufacturer of small aircraft engines. The company was purchased by Short Brothers shortly before the start of World War II, production continuing until the end of the war.-History:...
engine.
Pobjoy Airmotors Ltd moved to Rochester at the same time to be closer to Short Brothers, to whom they were contracted for production of aircraft engines for the Short Scion. Financial difficulties led to a capital investment by Shorts in Pobjoy and the eventual assimilation of Pobjoy.
The Air Ministry
Air Ministry
The Air Ministry was a department of the British Government with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964...
licensed Short Brothers in 1936 to design and build a four-engined high-wing monoplane
Monoplane
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with one main set of wing surfaces, in contrast to a biplane or triplane. Since the late 1930s it has been the most common form for a fixed wing aircraft.-Types of monoplane:...
. An initial half scale model S3, serial M4, flew at Rochester on 19 September 1938. The first prototype S29 came out of its hangar on May 14, 1939. The flight was perfect but the landing gear collapsed on touch down. Later developments led to the first 4-engined heavy bomber
Heavy bomber
A heavy bomber is a bomber aircraft of the largest size and load carrying capacity, and usually the longest range.In New START, the term "heavy bomber" is used for two types of bombers:*one with a range greater than 8,000 kilometers...
to serve in the Royal Air Force
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...
, the Short S.29 Stirling
Short Stirling
The Short Stirling was the first four-engined British heavy bomber of the Second World War. The Stirling was designed and built by Short Brothers to an Air Ministry specification from 1936, and entered service in 1941...
.
In 1938, No 23 Elementary and Reserve Flying Training School (No 26 group RAF) came to Rochester. No 1 hangar
Hangar
A hangar is a closed structure to hold aircraft or spacecraft in protective storage. Most hangars are built of metal, but other materials such as wood and concrete are also sometimes used...
was built for the RAF and for the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
and to house Avro
Avro
Avro was a British aircraft manufacturer, with numerous landmark designs such as the Avro 504 trainer in the First World War, the Avro Lancaster, one of the pre-eminent bombers of the Second World War, and the delta wing Avro Vulcan, a stalwart of the Cold War.-Early history:One of the world's...
tutors. The school was managed by Shorts and they still exist fronting the Maidstone Road.
The civilian services started with flights from Rochester to Southend Airport
London Southend Airport
London Southend Airport or Southend Airport is a regional airport in the district of Rochford within Essex, England.During the 1960s, Southend was the third-busiest airport in the United Kingdom. It remained London's third-busiest airport in terms of passengers handled until the end of the 1970s,...
in June 1934 at a cost of 12 shillings (60p) for the return trip. Short Brothers continued to build seaplanes on the Esplanade
Esplanade
An esplanade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The original meaning of esplanade was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide clear fields of fire for the fortress' guns...
at Rochester supplying the growing market for flying boat
Flying boat
A flying boat is a fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a float plane as it uses a purpose-designed fuselage which can float, granting the aircraft buoyancy. Flying boats may be stabilized by under-wing floats or by wing-like projections from the fuselage...
s. The name "Empire"
Short Empire
The Short Empire was a passenger and mail carrying flying boat, of the 1930s and 1940s, that flew between Britain and British colonies in Africa, Asia and Australia...
and "Sunderland"
Short Sunderland
The Short S.25 Sunderland was a British flying boat patrol bomber developed for the Royal Air Force by Short Brothers. It took its service name from the town and port of Sunderland in northeast England....
flying boats will always remain one of the important contribution made by Medway to British Aviation.
Rochester airport was bombed heavily during the war by a wing of Dornier Do 17
Dornier Do 17
The Dornier Do 17, sometimes referred to as the Fliegender Bleistift , was a World War II German light bomber produced by Claudius Dornier's company, Dornier Flugzeugwerke...
s on 15 August 1940. Many 100 lb (45.4 kg) bombs scored hits on the factory and the runways. Spitfires
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...
of No. 54 Squadron RAF from RAF Hornchurch
RAF Hornchurch
RAF Hornchurch was an airfield in the south of Hornchurch in what is now the London Borough of Havering. Known as Sutton's Farm during the First World War, it occupied of the farm of the same name and was situated east north-east of Charing Cross...
successfully intercepted some of the marauders. Stirling production was put back by at least a year and in the end was dispersed to other parts of the country as well as Rochester.
Shorts concentrated their work in Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, leaving the Medway towns in 1946. For six years 1947-53 the RAF 24 Elementary Flying School Training School was transferred to Rochester and was renamed "Reserve Flying School". The unit was disbanded in 1953. Previous employees of Shorts joined the Shorts gliding club at Rochester and developed a prototype aircraft called the "Nimbus"
Short Nimbus
-See also:...
, in an attempt to keep aircraft production at Rochester.
Services to and from the continent expanded in the 1950s and 60's using 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 (Dakotas
C-47 Skytrain
The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota is a military transport aircraft that was developed from the Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in front line operations through the 1950s with a few remaining in operation to this day.-Design and...
) and de Havilland Dove
De Havilland Dove
The de Havilland DH.104 Dove was a British monoplane short-haul airliner from de Havilland, the successor to the biplane de Havilland Dragon Rapide and was one of Britain's most successful post-war civil designs...
s but with stringent requirement of the CAA operators had to re-locate from Rochester.
In 1979 the lease reverted to the council and after giving thorough consideration to closing the airport the General Electric Company plc comprising Marconi Electronic Systems
Marconi Electronic Systems
Marconi Electronic Systems , or GEC-Marconi as it was until 1998, was the defence arm of The General Electric Company . It was demerged from GEC and acquired by British Aerospace on November 30, 1999 to form BAE Systems...
and instrument makers Elliot Automation
Elliott Brothers (computer company)
-Elliott Brothers Ltd:Elliott Brothers Ltd was an early computer company of the 1950s–60s in the United Kingdom, tracing its descent from a firm of instrument makers founded by William Elliott in London around 1804. The research laboratories were based at Borehamwood, originally set up in...
decided to take over management of the airport maintaining two runways as grass whilst releasing some land for light industrial
Light industry
Light industry is usually less capital intensive than heavy industry, and is more consumer-oriented than business-oriented...
expansion.
In 1999 a group of aviators and local businessmen at Rochester formed a company dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the long tradition of aviation at Rochester Airport, its service to the local community and for its longer term preservation. The historic site of Rochester Airport was saved from closure for the short term by the efforts of this group of local business people, in the face of pressure by the Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
controlled Local Council to re-zone the airport site as Industrial Development
Industry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
land. Rochester Airport plc
Public limited company
A public limited company is a limited liability company that sells shares to the public in United Kingdom company law, in the Republic of Ireland and Commonwealth jurisdictions....
, proposed to continue operation of the airport even though the timescale given for takeover was minuscule. They want to continue, as far as possible, the existing services provided for private, business and emergency aviation services and enhance them to bring increased economic benefit to Medway, its surrounding area, its businesses and its community. Significant voluntary work has contributed to the financial viability of Rochester Airport which has been operated on a care and maintenance basis in light of the difficulty in securing a proper lease. The airport now had a five year lease, outside of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954
Landlord and tenant act 1954
The Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 is an act of the United Kingdom Parliament extending to England and Wales. Part II of the act is a statutory code governing business tenancies. Part I of the act, which deals with the protection of residential tenancies, is now largely superseded.Part II of the...
, which expired in January 2009, and entered a crucial phase of negotiation with Medway Council.
On 13 January 2009 a fresh lease, with conditions, was granted to Rochester Airport Operating company. This length of lease is still insufficient to attract any real investment and, although the years of decay have been halted, no real improvements have been made for the benefit of the airport's users. The number of flying machines based there has dwindled, with 90% of the Microlight fleet relocating to Damiens Hall Airfield near Thurrock. One of the long-established flight schools has been taken over, and many of the other fixed-wing inhabitants have left for other bases.