RAF Warwick

RAF Warwick is a former Royal Air Force relief landing ground located 1.7 miles (2.7 km) south west of Warwick, Warwickshire, England. RAF Warwick was opened on a large grass field called Tournament field[2] in December 1941 and was closed on 4 February 1946.[1]

RAF Warwick
IATA: none ICAO: none
Summary
Airport type	Military
Owner	Air Ministry
Operator	Royal Air Force
Location	Warwick, Warwickshire
Built	1940 (1940)
In use	1941-1946 (1946)
Elevation AMSL	164 ft / 50 m
Coordinates	52°15′43″N 001°36′27″W
Map
RAF Warwick Location in Warwickshire
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 02/20 3,283 1,000 Grass
Operating dates.[1]

History

The first unit to use the station was No. 1 Flying Instructors School (FIS) operating Airspeed Oxfords and Avro Tutors which taught flying instructors. The main base was RAF Church Lawford but Warwick and RAF Hockley Heath were satellites where aircraft were dispersed. 1FIS was previously No. 2 Central Flying School RAF but changed to the current name on 13 January 1941. On 27 October 1942 1FIS was disbanded and turned into No. 18 (Pilots) Advanced Flying Unit RAF ((P)AFU).[3]

No. 18 (P)AFU flew Oxfords and Boulton Paul Defiants mainly from RAF Church Lawford but Warwick and other stations were used as satellites. The unit operated between 27 October 1942 and 29 May 1945.[3]

Accidents and incidents

RAF Warwick had its fair share of accidents with a number listed between 1942 and 1945. These are just a small number of examples:

Date	Incident	Reference
2 January 1942	Avro Tutor K3246 of No. 2 Central Flying School RAF hit a tree during a forced landing.	[4]
12 July 1942	Airspeed Oxford N4768 of No. 1 Central Flying School RAF crashed on overshoot.	[4]
29 December 1943	Bristol Beaufighter T3366 of No. 63 Operational Training Unit RAF swung on take off.	[5]
20 January 1944	Airspeed Oxford NM234 of No. 18 (Pilots) Advanced Flying Unit stalled after take off.	[6]
5 April 1945	Airspeed Oxford AT728 of No. 18 (Pilots) Advanced Flying Unit suffered a collapsed undercarriage when landing.	[7]

Current use

The relief landing ground has been changed since the closure of the station with most of the hangars and all of the buildings demolished,[2] this includes the building of Aylesford School and Sixth Form College[1] and the creation of a business park called Tournament Fields.[8]

References

1. "Warwick". Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
2. "RAF Warwick RLG, Warwickshire". Atlantik Wall. Archived from the original on 30 December 2011. Retrieved 29 April 2012.
3. "Military flying units in the south west Midlands". Aviation Archaeology. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
4. "Military aircraft crashes in the south west Midlands - 1942". Aviation Archaeology. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
5. "Military aircraft crashes in the south west Midlands - 1943". Aviation Archaeology. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
6. "Military aircraft crashes in the south west Midlands - 1944". Aviation Archaeology. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
7. "Military aircraft crashes in the south west Midlands - 1945". Aviation Archaeology. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
8. "Tournament Fields". Sackville Properties. Retrieved 29 April 2012.

External links

• Aviation Archaeology - Flying units within the south-west Midlands