RAF Chipping Norton
Opened as an RLG (Relief Landing Ground).
15 SFTS (Service Flying Training School) arrived by July 1940 and reequipped with North American Harvard's. 20 Harvard's & 27 Airspeed Oxfords.
By November 1941 Chipping Norton came under 6 SFTS , which changed to 6 (P) AFU. (P standing for 'Pilot'). The airfield closed to flying in 1945 and was disposed of in 1950, thereafter returning to agricultural use. Part of the perimeter track still remains and on our visits 2009, as did the firing range, two M&E plinths, some airfield buildings and two air raid shelters.
6 SFTS started life at RAF Netheravon.
Harvard.
Crews training on the Harvard.
Oxford.
RAF Chipping Norton
RAF Chipping Norton
RAF Chipping Norton
5 x Blister hangars.
2 x Bellman hangars.
2 x grass/Sommerfeld Track runways.
Over 1000 RAF personnel and 187 WAAF.
6 SFTS.
RAF Chipping Norton
Technical Site
Opposite this gate is a very good car park for dog walkers, convenient.
Plan.
There would have been a Picket Post here to sign in and out of the camp, also a sort of police post.
Bedford Queen Mary would have come in and out of this gate, with bringing new aircraft and taking away damaged planes..
RAF Chipping Norton
Technical Site
details
A Tilly, these were a great utility vehicles and would have been driving all over the airfield.
Heavy lorries arriving with spares.
RAF Chipping Norton
Technical Site
32 Man blast shelter.
Plan.
32 man blast shelter plan.
RAF Chipping Norton
Airfield Site.
A - Control Tower.
B - Twin Turret trainer.
C - Sub-site 5 (domestic).
D - 5 x Blister hangars (Extra Over type 69ft), the southerly one is an Over Blister 65ft).
E - 2 x Bellman Hangars.
F - 25yd Machine Gun Butts.
Main site where the control tower and most of the class rooms and training rooms. There would have been possibly a triple Link trainer building, to train pilots, night flying skills.
details
Link trainer, designed in America in the 1920's by an organ manufacturer.
Triple Link trainer building plan 4188/42.
Over Blister hangar.
Over Blister hangar.
Over Blister hangar foundations.
RAF Chipping Norton
Technical Site
Static water supply.
These were filled with water and a mobile fire pump could be brought up and immediately start pumping water on a fire.
details
A concrete static tank at RNAS Charlton Horethorne.
Fire pump.
RAF Chipping Norton
Technical Site
Unknown object??
RAF Chipping Norton
Technical Site
There were two Romney huts here, one the main store and the other the main workshops.
details
Romney hut from Pete Dorward's website, now unfortunately closed down..
WAAF's in the main store dishing out the goods.
Working in a main workshop..
WAAF's in the main workshop.
Inside a Romney hut at RAF Chilbolton. it to was used as a store..
RAF Chipping Norton
Technical Site
Romney huts, tubing supports run over in a half loop and are supported on the foundations with washers screwed to the concrete. Then wooden stringer run the full length and the corrugated sheets are screwed to the wood.
Romney supports.
RAF Chipping Norton
Technical Site
The site of the two Romney huts.
Plan.
The actual two Romney huts in situ, I managed to save this and few more from a website that no longer exists.
Another from the website.
RAF Chipping Norton
Technical Site
M&E Plinth.
Plan.
Part of a ring main cable.
RAF Chipping Norton
Technical Site
M&E plinth.
The soil pipe was used to take electrical cable down underground.
entrance where there would have been a steel gate. Single or double whichever was needed.
Hinge
Inside.
Gates.
RAF Chipping Norton
Technical Site
Air raid shelter entrance.
Plan.
RAF Chipping Norton
Technical Site
Inside the air raid shelter, unsure of the type, its not a Stanton!
Inside with small brick piles to take a bench for sitting on when inside under a sustained bombing attack. The airfield was attacked several times in 1940.
RAF Chipping Norton
Technical Site
Rubble of some lost building.
RAF Chipping Norton
Technical Site
More brick rubble, a bit of wall.
LBC seems a typical brick make in the war.
RAF Chipping Norton
Technical Site
A second air raid shelter.
RAF Chipping Norton
Technical Site
Site of two Bellman hangars.
The Bellman was extensively used just before the war, it was a fully transportable hangar. Meaning it could be assembled and if needed dis-assembled and re built in another airfield. Ideal for a training station, not high or wide enough
for heavy bombers. It had one more problem and that was. It was not as strong as it could be in high winds and snow. Although many still remain to this day. Later it was superseded by the T2 hangar.
Plan.
Bellman hangar.
Inside a Bellman hangar.
RAF Chipping Norton
Technical Site
Aircraft servicing/refueling area. There were two of these areas.
Plan.
A Canadian Harvard being refueled.
900gal Brockhouse Mk2 petrol trailer.
RAF Chipping Norton
Airfield Site
Perimeter track.
Plan.
RAF Chipping Norton
25yd Machine gun butte 127/41.
details
25yd Machine gun butte 127/41.
RAF Chipping Norton
25yd Machine gun butte 127/41.
Firing point.
RAF Chipping Norton
Airfield
Two grass runways with Sommerfeld tracking overlay, making a very cheap harder surace runway.
Sommerfeld tracking..
Remains of Sommerfeld tracking at RAF Southrop.
Sommerfeld tracking being used on Omaha Beach.
Oxford pilot.
Oxford cockpit.
Pilot & instructor.
RAF Chipping Norton
Petrol Instillation (Aviation) 24,000gal.
It looks like a 15425/40 at RAF Bibury.
Plan.
Petrol pump at RAF Thruxton.
15425/40 which is RAF Bibury with a concrete plinth for the pump..
RAF Chipping Norton
Perimeter track tarmac.
Water stand pipe.
RAF Chipping Norton
More airfield, this would have been buzzing with noisy Harvard's and lumbering Oxfords.
The Harvard has a distinctive noise from its propeller blade tips. Like nothing else.
RAF Chipping Norton
Flying the North American Harvard II (T-6G Texan)
RAF Chipping Norton
M&E plinth.
RAF Chipping Norton
Airfield site
The perimeter track to the control tower, or where it was.
details
Control tower.
RAF Chipping Norton
Airfield site
Perimeter track.
details
RAF Chipping Norton
Airfield site
A nice aerial view of the airfield,
The tower and CH.
Signal square.
Old Sarum.
RAF Chipping Norton
Airfield site
Watch Office for Bomber Stations and OTU's 13726/41 built 1941/42.
Terry Halford gave me three pictures of the tower many years ago.
Thank you Terry.
details
The website is now closed but I managed to get to it on WayBackmachine.
RAF Chipping Norton
Airfield site
A few years ago this was a watch office 13726/41.
It still has the ladder, I am sure somebody from could put it back together.
Reinforcement rods showing through.
Ground floor plan.
First floor plan.
13726/41
RAF Chipping Norton
Airfield site
Side view of the watch office 13726/41.
RAF Chipping Norton
Airfield site
The course could last approximately 16 weeks. Students began with 8 weeks of intermediate flying sessions. It was followed by advanced training, including night flying training in a flight simulator called the Link trainer.
Plan.
RAF Chipping Norton
Airfield site
Double turret instruction building.
This is a double turret instructional building 10833/42, page 70, British Airfield Buildings Second World War has one very like it.
Plan.
Lancaster turret.
RAF Chipping Norton
Airfield site
Double turret instruction building.
Air Gunner.
RAF Chipping Norton
Airfield site
Double turret instruction building
Inside a turret.
Four .303 Browning machine guns
Cleaning the guns.
RAF Chipping Norton
Airfield site
Double turret instruction building.
The water tank came from one of the ablutions, latrine or bathhouses.
Painted blue wall.
Where the water tank would have lived.
RAF Chipping Norton
Airfield site
1941/2 the whole airfield was up graded with a new watch office, instructional site and dispersed accommodation. The hangars were also added.
Plan
Temporary brick hut.
Laing hut.
RAF Chipping Norton
Site No.5
A temporary brick barrack hut. This site is not on the 2298/50 plan.
Plan.
Plan.
.
RAF Chipping Norton
Drawing No.2
Chipping Norton.
RAF Chipping Norton
Communal Site.
150 - Officers Mess - ????/42
151 - Officers Bath House - ???4/42 .
152 - Sergeants Mess - ????/??.
153 - Sergeants Ablutions - ????/??
154 - Dining Hall (for (for 729)
- ????/??
155 - Ration Store - ????/??.
156 - NAAFI - ????/??.
157 - Grocery & Local Produce & PO - ????/??.
158 - Airmens Ablutions - ????/??.
159 - Airmens Latrines - ????/??.
160 - Decontamination Centre - 13842/40.
161 - Fuel Compound - 675/41.
162 - Standby Set House - 10883/41.
163 - Airmens Latrine - 10077/42.
164 - 30,000 gal HL Tank 20/41.
165 - Static Tank EWS
166 -
Static Tank EWS
167 - Airmens Ablutions & Gas Decontaminations - 649?/42.
The plan is a very bad print from Hendon and this is the best so far I can get out of it.
Sick Quarters.
190 - Sick Quarters - 11567/42.
191 - Sick Quarters Annexe - 3938/42.
192 - Ambulance Garage & Mortuary - 660/42.
193 - Orderlies Quarters - 2965/42.
194 - Orderlies Abl & Lats Drying room - 9226/41.
230 - Picket Post - 1580/41.
WAAF Site.
300 - WAAF Off Mess - 3674/2.
301 - Sick Qts - ?
302 - Dinning Room - 12602/41.
304
- Sgts & Airwom - 9278/42.
305 - Sgts A/wmns Lats - 927/42.
306 - Fuel Compound - 9103/41.
Site1.
200a - Off Qtrs - 668/41.
201a - Off Lats - 669/41.
210a(to)c - Sgt Qtrs
- 668/41.
213a - Sgt Lats - 669/41.
220a(to)e - Amn Barracks -
668/41.
222a - Amn
Lats - 669/41.
230 - Picket Post - 669-41
.
RAF Chipping Norton