Oatlands Hill RLG, Wiltshire

Oatlands Hill RLG

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Oatlands Hill RLG

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2 x Grass Runways.
4 x Extra Over Blister Hangars (69´span).
1 x Observation Tower.
NAAFI, Sgts Mess, Officers Mess, Dining Room/Cookhouse and Sick Quarters.
Several Barrack Huts. But not a lot else!

 

653Sqn RAF Penshurst.

 

Oatlands Hill RLG

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Oatlands Hill RLG

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Oatlands Hill RLG

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Oatlands Hill RLG

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Early RAF Air Photo
History – Oatlands Hill Relief Landing Ground was opened in June 1941 as a satellite for RAF Old Sarum School of Army Co-operation1941 and used throughout the war for pilot training for No.1 School of Army Co-operation. RAF Old Sarum. The airplanes flown from here were Harvard's, Spitfires, Mustangs and Tomahawks.
1941, RAF Old Sarum's No.41 OTU (Operational Training Unit).
1942, the airfield was used as an LZ by Netheravon´s Hotspur gliders.
A detachment of 16Sqn from RAF Weston Zoyland with Mustang 1s.

Harvard.

Spitfire.

Tomahawk

Oatlands Hill RLG

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Oatlands Hill RLG

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Plan of Oatlands Hill with Site No.1 situated around the top N/W side and Site No.2 the S/W side and the airfield stretching out to the A360. The two grass runways, both in an E/W direction.

Mustang.

Auster.

 

Oatlands Hill RLG

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Oatlands Hill RLG

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Entrance to the Site No.1 off the A303
History– No.43 OTU Air Observation (Operational Training Unit) moved in from Old Sarum with Austers Is, & IIIs, Lysander III and a tiger Moth for luck. Accommodation was always a problem, training Officers were billeted in large houses in the area and Officers attending were billeted in the huts on the airfield. Other ranks at Rollestone Camp. After many complaints, all the course members were billeted at Rollestone Camp, just up the road. By March 1944 the build up for D-day continued at a pace. By May 1944 a detachment of the 47th Liaison Sqn (LS) of the US Ninth Air Force arrived. Six L-5s in attendance. These were used to fly internal mail around the UK for Army HQ´s. Added to their team was a Thunderbolt fighter, probably a well worn older model, for high speed postal communications. After D-Day most units had left and Oatlands was reduced to Care & Maintenance. By May 1946 Oatlands Hill closed and was returned to agriculture.
No.43 OTU was formed from No 1424 Flight at Larkhill on 1 October 1942 within No 70 Group to train Auster AOP pilots and observers. It operated a variety of light aircraft in this role, moving to Old Sarum on 19 November 1942, Oatlands Hill on 17 February 1944 and finally Andover on 10 August 1944.

Plan.

Auster.

Auster.

Oatlands Hill RLG

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Oatlands Hill RLG

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Site No.1
The Hand Craft hut was a Miniature rifle range. Meaning .22 rifles.

Plan.

Air Observation Post pilot Royal Artillery Officers mess kit badge.

Air Observation exorcise.

Oatlands Hill RLG

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Oatlands Hill RLG

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Site No.1
The first a temporary brick hut was the Station Sick Quarters and the Handcraft hut, the Miniature Rifle Range. There is a garage on the left by the white van, I am not sure if its wartime or not.

Plan.

 

Oatlands Hill RLG

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Oatlands Hill RLG

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Aircraft Hard Stand
This is the large aircraft dispersal or concrete hard stand now covered in animal feed. Probably used as a base , for refueling the aircraft.

13 Sqn RAF Lysander at RAF Sywell prior to going to France on a concrete pan, very like the one here. In fact when I saw this photo, I thought it was Oatlands.
Sywell Aviation Museum Facebook Page.

A plan of Shrewton's hard stand.

Refueling.

RAF Bowser.

Oatlands Hill RLG

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Oatlands Hill RLG

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Observation Tower
There was an observation tower used as a watch office/control tower, the picture is of one used pre war at RAF Netheravon.

Plan.

Another view at Netheravon..

Balloon filling to check for wind direction.

Oatlands Hill RLG

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Oatlands Hill RLG

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Observation Tower
This is the base of Observation Tower at RAF New Zealand Farm, there are four steel stanchion cut off now and I have added what I feel may have looked like.

Plan.

Oatlands Hill RLG

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Oatlands Hill RLG

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Observation Tower
I found this plan of a Braithwaite water tower that was probably the make up of the Observation Tower..

Plan.

Looking up at the Netheravon Observation tower.

 

Oatlands Hill RLG

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Oatlands Hill RLG

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Second dispersal
This looks like a dispersal or re fueling pad..

Plan.

 

Trailer fuel bowser.

Oatlands Hill RLG

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Oatlands Hill RLG

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Dispersals
I have called them dispersals but I would think they are more hard stands for refueling purposes.

Trailer fuel bowser a 900gal Brockhouse Mk2 type..

 

Oatlands Hill RLG

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Oatlands Hill RLG

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The Site No.1 road
The roadway back to the Site No.1 area.

No. 315 Polish Fighter Sqn ALG Coolham. This type of aircraft, the early Mustangs were used as Army Co-operation at Oatlands.

Plan.

Air Observation Post
Denis Alfred Barnham (1920-1981)
RAF Museum.

Oatlands Hill RLG

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Oatlands Hill RLG

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RAF Air photo of Site No.1
It was very Spartan here, few buildings and at times to hold a lot of airmen.

A better plan of the station, MI (Sick Quarters).

Laing tin hut.

Handcraft Hut.

Handcraft inside.

Oatlands Hill RLG

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Oatlands Hill RLG

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Sight of an Extra Over Blister Hangar
Air Ministry Drawing Number A338008/41/08? made by Crittall Braintree Essex. Dated 1942.

Plan.

Blister hangar with curtain doors..

Oatlands Hill RLG

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Oatlands Hill RLG

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The track between the two hangars.

Plan.

Oatlands Hill RLG

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Oatlands Hill RLG

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The view over the Plain.

Plan.

Oatlands Hill RLG

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Oatlands Hill RLG

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Snow caused this damage and rusting tin.

Plan.

Oatlands Hill RLG

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Oatlands Hill RLG

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Extra Over Blister Hangar
A Blister hangar was built onto the earth floor. Sometimes a two concrete strips as foundations but mostly just straight onto hard earth floor. Large steel pins hammered into the ground to hold the foundations down. There were curtains as doors on both sides made of canvas tenting. The idea of a Blister hangar was to be used as a servicing point for aircraft and for major repairs the aircraft would be returned to its parent station.

Plan.

Blister hangar frame work.

Framework joints.

Oatlands Hill RLG

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Oatlands Hill RLG

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Extra Over Blister Hangar

Blister hangar with curtains.

Looking through the curtains.

Makers plate.

Oatlands Hill RLG

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Oatlands Hill RLG

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Extra Over Blister Hangar
Instead of fitting large expensive doors to the hangars, they added two canvas curtains. Attached at the top by a rail running around the front arch and at the bottom a steel rail with fittings to hook the bottom of the certain too. If you look carefully on an old Blister hangar site, you can often find bits and pieces left when they were removed.

Curtain frame fitting.

Curtain rings.

Ground fittings for a Blister at RAF Southrop.

Remains of a curtain.

Oatlands Hill RLG

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Oatlands Hill RLG

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Extra Over Blister Hangar
Air Ministry Drawing Number A338008/41/08? made by Crittall Braintree Essex. Dated 1942.

Steel spikes to pin down the Blister hangar.

Auster NA-2385.

Oatlands Hill RLG

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Oatlands Hill RLG

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Extra Over Blister Hangar
The side where it reaches the ground. The site was prepared (leveled) and the hangar assembled. The bottom Rail is held to the ground either by concrete foundation or just metal spikes hammered into the ground. The planes just sat on rolled hard earth, the mechanics made up their own wooden floors and benches.

 

 

Oatlands Hill RLG

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Oatlands Hill RLG

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Extra Over Blister Hangar
Curtain rail fitting.

Curtains.

Curtain rings.

Oatlands Hill RLG

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Oatlands Hill RLG

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Extra Over Blister Hangar
Stonehenge in the distance.

 

 

Oatlands Hill RLG

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Oatlands Hill RLG

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This is the lower entrance off the A360.

Plan.

Aircraft recovery.

Oatlands Hill RLG

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Oatlands Hill RLG

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Extra Over Blister Hangar 2 site of.

Oatlands Hill RLG

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Oatlands Hill RLG

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Airfield

Plan.

Auster AOP.

Auster AOP

Oatlands Hill RLG

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Oatlands Hill RLG

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Farm or part of a camp
Some say this was part of the camp and talking to a local today, he too remembers like me a wooden RAF hut which was on these foundations many years ago.

Plan.

Hutting in 'B'.

 

Oatlands Hill RLG

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Oatlands Hill RLG

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Farm or part of a camp
Nice rusty Jerry can.

WD Jerry can.

1943 version.

Oatlands Hill RLG

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Oatlands Hill RLG

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Buzzard
The day I visited I saw several Deer and four Buzzards around the woods. I used to live about four miles from here on the outskirts of Salisbury and drove by Oatlands every day to work around 1981 and in all the time I lived there I NEVER saw Buzzards in Wiltshire. It is great to see the way they have spread. c2004

 

Air Observation Post Pilot at War, ‘Above the BATTLE’ by Ronald Lyell Munro, is a very good book on the subject.

Oatlands Hill RLG

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Oatlands Hill RLG

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Stonehenge
The story goes on & on & on.

 

 

 

Oatlands Hill RLG

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Oatlands Hill RLG

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© 2013 Richard Drew