This page has been created to give an idea of the scale of Military activities which were taking place exactly 65 years ago to the date of our 2009 Gathering at Nesscliffe.
At his time efforts were being directed towards the build up prior to the invasion. The general public would have seen signs of increased activity, but would not be aware of enormous logistical task that was involved. What will appear here generally, will concern just two dates in history, but hopefully it will give readers and idea of the scale of events; it should be remembered that VE Day was still a year in the future.
It is too easy to forget that it was 1933 when the National Socialists came to power, and the rise of Third Reich saw a great part of Europe subjugated in just 5 years, with little or no resistance
One of the ideals or promises made to the German people, was a better existence and that certainly had a wide appeal. Our natural defence of living on an island helped again, and it is significant that Churchill could say 'We stood alone'. We had won the Battle of Britain and forced Hitler to postpone his invasion of Britain. With the vital work at Bletchley Park, we had also achieved major success in the Battle of the Atlantic, thus keeping our supply lines open. The RAF had been joined by the USAAF, and we were now able to strike deep into the Reich and attack war production. And the 8th Army had achieved a rout in North Africa and had then landed in Sicily and our Armies were pushing upwards through Italy.
The BEF had had to make a rapid exit from Dunkirk in 1940, and it was to be 1944, with the help of Commonwealth Forces and the Americans, that we could return and attempt to reverse the German dominance.
RAF Activity in Shropshire
The following is a brief synopsis of RAF activity within the County of Salop; it gives an idea of home based aircraft and therefore some idea of the numbers of personnel who were based within the County. Add to this the effect of visiting aircraft, aircraft overflying on cross country exercise, navigational errors on return from ops, the effects of weather and generally aircraft in transit, the County airspace was extremely busy.
Satellite landing grounds (SLGs)
Hodnet: was used by 27 MU based at RAF Shawbury; used for storage of Master and Martinet aircraft.
Weston Park: used by 29 MU based at RAF High Ercall for aircraft dispersal. Weston was also used as a satellite of RNAS Hinstock (HMS Godwit) Airspeed Oxfords of 780 Sqn were the main users.
Relief Landing Grounds (RLGs)
Bridleway Gate: this RLG was closed to flying on 10/1/44 and taken over by 245 MU. Used as a fuel store for D-Day invasion. Fuel stored in jerry cans and 5 gallon drums, 327,502 cans stored by end of March 1944.
In May 1944, RAF Tilstock was given permission to use this site for parachute and container dropping exercises.
Bratton: was used by Miles Masters of 5 (P) AFU from RAF Tern Hill. Oxfords of 780 Sqn also used site for Instrument Training.
Chetwynd: was in use for simulated night flying by 5(P) AFU (Pilots Advanced Flying Unit) from Tern Hill.
Airfields
Atcham: used by 495th Fighter Training Group. Spitfire and P39 aircraft used, with P47 Thunderbolts replacing P39s.
Condover: was in use by Oxfords of 11 (P) AFU.
High Ercall: home to 60 OTU (Operational Training Unit) from 17/5/42 until March 1945. Unit was merged with 13 OTU. 60 OTU provided specialist night fighter training. At formation main equipment was Mosquitos, with a few Austers and an Oxford.
A much longer term resident was 29MU, which by 31/12/45 had 1,527 HP Halifaxes on charge; all being scrapped by 1950.)
Hinstock: this was a Naval Air Station and home to 758 Sqn (Naval Advanced Instrument Flying School) with Oxfords and Ansons. The RN named the base HMS Godwit. A total of 65 aircraft were on charge. Hinstock is also recorded as being to home to Lancaster NG232.
Montford Bridge: this was a satellite of RAF Rednal, and was used by 61 OTU for night flying with Spitfires. For a brief period in May 1944, 5 Piper Cubs of UA Army 83rd Artillery Division were here, and also a flight of Oxfords of 6 AACU (Anti Aircraft Co-op Unit, later 577 Sqn) were here until mid 1944.
Peplow: originally intended as an RLG for Tern Hill, the field was developed as a Bomber OTU base, and became home to 83 OTU, with an initial complement of 40 Wellingtons, 4 Masters and 1 Oxford.
The OTU was involved in a Nickel raid on 17/10/43 when 11 aircraft were used, with the number of operations increasing towards D-Day. Air Sea Rescue missions were also flown.
It is recorded that there were many skirmishes between Airmen and Sailors from Hinstock on the late bus back from Market Drayton.
During April and May 1944, Capt Edwin Swales of the SAAF was in training at Peplow. He was posted to 582 (Pathfinder) squadron at Little Staughton in Huntingdonshire. Whilst flying a Lancaster as Master Bomber on 23/2/45 in a raid on Pforzheim, his aircraft was crippled by a fighter attack. The first attack lost one engine and knocked out the rear turret, a second attack saw the loss of another engine, but he remained over the target until he was satisfied that the attack had been achieved.
The aircraft was no longer able to maintain altitude and speed, but Swales was able to bring the aircraft back over allied territory, and remained at the controls until the crew had baled out. Swales was found dead at the controls of the crashed aircraft. He was awarded the V.C.
Rednal: home to 61 OTU for fighter training with Spitfires. Ranges at Llanbedr were used by this Unit. This was multi national Unit and could benefit from the odd 'spar' with a Thunderbolt from Atcham.
Prior to D-day, a number of Military Hospitals were established in Shropshire, to receive casualties from the invasion. It was planned that Rednal would receive personnel flown in by C47 from Normandy. During August 1944, 1,750 were received.
Shawbury: was home to 27 MU and generally had over 200 aircraft on charge. At end of WWII, the base was used for storage and scrapping of Mosquito, Wellington, Lancaster and Spitfire types. The beginning of 1944 saw 11(P) AFU transferred away taking 132 Oxford, 4 Ansons and 1 Tutor, witht he base then becoming the Central Navigation School with a mixture of Wellington and Stirling aircraft.
In late 1944, Shawbury received Lancaster PD328 'Aries' which became the first British aircraft to fly around the world.
Sleap: was a satellite of Tilstock and was intially home to C Flight of 83 OTU. Folloiwing the transfer of this OTU to 38 (Airborne Forces) Group, Glider Towing courses followed.
When 1665 HCU arrived at Tilstock all Whitley Tugs and Horsa Gliders were moved to Sleap. Expertise enabled a full scale exercise in April 1944, when 9 Whitley/Horsa combinations took off at 45 second intervals for a short cross country, and then returned to achieve a ground concentration in preparation for the D-Day landings.
(Late in 1944 31 USAAF B17s were diverted to Sleap because of bad weather over their home base.)
Tern Hill: 24 MU based here and used for repair of Spitfire and Lancaster aircraft, usually at the rate of 10 per month. By mid 1944 Spitfire repairs had moved elsewhere. 5 (P) AFU was also based here with 145 Miles Masters on charge.
Tilstock: home to 81 OTU from 1/6/42, and by 1943 has a complement of 54 Whitleys. Became a 38 Group base on 1/1/44, and when 1665 HCU moved the OTU moved to Sleap.
1665 HCU was equipped with Stirling IIIs, and March/April 1944 saw the first time a Stirling was used as a Glider Tug.
(There is a recorded incident of a Stirling landing after circuits and bumps, overshooting the runway, rolling through a fence, travelling along the A49, before turning back through the fence to rejoin the perimeter track. The culprit is said to have remained anonymous)
NOTE: - This page will be changed periodically; it is by no means an exhaustive diary of events, and is no way intended to be an authoriative statement of events.