Starveall Farm SLG
Starveall Farm a Satellite Landing Ground (SLG) set in lovely Oxfordshire countryside.
Situated south of RAF Enstone. Starvale Farm No.1 Satellite Landing Ground came under RAF Colerne 39 MU.
Starveall Farm SLG
Starveall Farm SLG
The entrance into Starveall Farm with the hangar behind the farm buildings.
Starveall Farm SLG
1 x Super Robins hangar.
1 x cannon stop Cannon stop butts.
Several Orlit huts, pre stressed concrete construction.
Orlit hut.
Super Robins hangar.
Starveall Farm SLG
Technical area
Starveall Farm was established because the Spitfires that were being repaired at number 1 Civilian Repair Unit (CRU) at Cowley (Morris motors)
Could not be fitted with guns or radios, so they flew the 10 miles to Starveall farm, an RAF unit, where they fitted guns, aligned them in the gun butts and radios, before sending them off to squadron.
Following the outbreak of World War II, on 11 September 1939 the No.1 Civilian Repair Unit (CRU) was established at the Cowley works of Morris Motors, to be staffed by civilians under the management of the Air Ministry. On 6 October 1939, Sir Kingsley Wood (the Secretary of State for Air) officially appointed William Morris (Lord Nuffield) as Director General (Maintenance), to organise and manage the Civilian Repair Organisation (CRO), to control the CRU and participating civilian firms. (Wiki).
Spitfire at a CRU..
Morris Motors.
Storage.
Starveall Farm SLG
Super Robins Hangar
These hangars were used at Aircraft Service Units ASU's at dispersed storage and here at SLG MU, they were double length and used for preparation & servicing prior to delivery.
Starveall Farm SLG
Landing ground
Plan.
Starveall Farm SLG
Orlit hut
We found the remains of two groups of two Orlit huts here. I think these were the storage buildings for the site and not a barrack site.
Orlit huts red on plan.
Starveall Farm SLG
Orlit Hut
There are two types of Orlit hutting, this one with a flat concrete roof (very rare) or a pitched roof of reinforced concrete .
This one has two rooms, windows fitted into the wall panels, one single & one double door, concrete panels on outside walls and hollow brick tiles inside. There is also a concrete shelf on both sides of the internal adjoining wall.
Plan of hut.
Starveall Farm SLG
Orlit Hut
Original paint on the wall These may have been administrative huts. Note the green painted shelf.
Starveall Farm SLG
Orlit Hut
These may have been administrative huts. Note the green painted shelf.
Starveall Farm SLG
Orlit Hut
This one just has the base and a few uprights with the rest removed.
Starveall Farm SLG
A single toilet. I think these were wooden Elsan type toilets with a bucket.
Elsan bucket.
RAF Culmhead brick toilet.
Starveall Farm SLG
Orlit Hut
Starveall Farm SLG
Rear of the Aircraft harmonizing cannon test butts
Red circle.
Starveall Farm SLG
Aircraft harmonizing cannon test butts
Trestle under the rear tail making the plane level, ready to test the guns.
Tie down in the concrete hard stand.
Starveall Farm SLG
Aircraft harmonizing cannon test butts
Hard standing for the planes to sit on.
This is a machine gunned Spitfire and not a cannon armed version. But the same principal applied. There would be a set range that the guns harmonized to, in front of the plane.
Starveall Farm SLG
Aircraft harmonizing cannon test butts
Side view aircraft test butts There is a small two roomed lean too on the side.
Targets in the sand would be used to align the guns and small adjustment i=on the gun mountings would move the gun to it correct trajectory.
Starveall Farm SLG
Aircraft harmonizing cannon test butts
The view inside looking at the roof with very heavy concrete blocks covering three holes in the roof?? and two doors in the upper wall.
details
Mk V Hispano cannon fitted to a Spitfire Mk21.
Spitfire cannon muzzle.
Starveall Farm SLG
Aircraft harmonizing cannon test butts
My plan of how they would have worked.
Gun cleaning.
Starveall Farm SLG
Aircraft harmonizing cannon test butts
inside the butts where sand would be piled up to absorb the cannon & machine gun bullets. This sand would be cleared out and sifted to remove the bullets for re cycling and the sand put back.
details
Adjusting guns and sights.
Sockets for the danger red flag.
Starveall Farm SLG
Aircraft harmonizing cannon test butts
How it may have looked. Spitfires would have left here with their war load, radios, guns, etc. Straight to front line Squadrons and ready to fight from day 1.
20mm cannon shells.
Starveall Farm SLG
Looking at the hangar from the cannon butts side.
Starveall Farm SLG
Now back to some more huts.
The huts are in the yellow area, behind the butts area..
Starveall Farm SLG
The next two Orlit huts
These two are very complete except for some of the glass is broken.
On the door of one is the sign, CLEANSING AREA. I wonder what they cleansed?
Starveall Farm SLG
The next two Orlit huts
The CLEANSING AREA.
Starveall Farm SLG
The next two Orlit huts
Inside with original paint on the walls.
Door.
Starveall Farm SLG
The next two Orlit huts
Flight equipment store.
Starveall Farm SLG
The next two Orlit huts
Flight equipment store.
Starveall Farm SLG
The last Orlit hut
Starveall Farm SLG
The last Orlit hut
Starveall Farm SLG
Sight of another hut base in the woods.
Starveall Farm SLG