Croydon Airport

Croydon Airport
IATA: none – ICAO: EGCR
Summary
Airport type		Public
Serves		London, UK
Location		Croydon
Coordinates		51°21′23″N 000°07′02″W
Website		www.croydonairport.org.uk
Map
EGCR Location in Greater London
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	ft	m
NW/SE	3,900	1,200
E/W	3,600	1,100
NE/SW	3,300	1,000
Runway Details: Airfields & Aviation Memorials by Richard Flagg

Croydon Airport (ICAO: EGCR) was an airport in South London which straddled the boundary between what are now the London boroughs of Croydon and Sutton. It was the main airport for London before it was replaced by Northolt Aerodrome, London Heathrow Airport and London Gatwick Airport. The terminal building and entrance lodge are Grade II listed buildings.

History

Origins

Around May 1915, Beddington Aerodrome was opened, as one of a number of small airfields around London which had been created for protection against the Zeppelin raids during the First World War. In 1918, Waddon Aerodrome opened as a test-flight aerodrome adjoining National Aircraft Factory No. 1. The two airfields were on each side of Plough Lane (the lane running north from Russell Hill near Purley, in the accompanying old map).

Area around Croydon Airport as it was in the 1920s or 1930s

The two airfields were combined after the end of the war and on 29 March 1920 opened as Croydon Aerodrome, becoming the main gateway for all international flights in to and out of London. Plough Lane remained a public road across it, and road traffic on it was halted when necessary, at first by a man with a red flag, and later by a gate.

Penshurst Airfield was an alternative destination for airliners when Croydon was closed due to fog. One such diversion was on 24 September 1921, when a de Havilland DH.18 aircraft diverted to Penshurst. This situation lasted until Penshurst closed on 28 July 1936. It stimulated a growth in regular scheduled flights carrying passengers, mail and freight, the first destinations being Paris, Amsterdam and Rotterdam. Two flights daily from Paris were scheduled for ease of communication with London during the Paris Peace Conference. Croydon became the first airport in the world to introduce air traffic control in 1921.

Flights to Berlin's Tempelhof International Airport were added in 1923 and the airport became the operating base for Imperial Airways, remembered in the road name Imperial Way on the site today.

The airport was expanded during the 1920s, with the UK's first purpose-designed air terminal, the Aerodrome Hotel and extensive hagars built, at a cost of £267,000 (£11.9 million in today's prices). Plough Lane was closed permanently to let heavier airliners land and depart safely. The new buildings and layout entered use on 20 January 1928 and were officially opened on 2 May.

On the morning of 11 July 1936, Major Hugh Pollard, and Cecil Bebb left the airport for the Canary Islands in a de Havilland Dragon Rapide aircraft, where they picked up General Francisco Franco, taking him to Spanish Morocco and thereby helping to trigger the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War.

Imperial Airways operated the Handley Page HP42/HP45 four-engined biplanes from Croydon, as well as the Armstrong Whitworth Atlanta, the first monoplane airliners used by the airline, intended for use on the African routes. In March 1937, British Airways Ltd began operating from Croydon, moving to Heston Aerodrome in May the following year. Imperial Airways, serving routes within the British Empire, and British Airways Ltd, serving European routes, were merged by the Chamberlain government in November 1938 to become British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC).

Upon the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, the airport closed to civil aviation. It played a vital role as a fighter station during the Battle of Britain and was attacked in the first major raid over the London area. Factories in its immediate vicinity were almost destroyed with the loss of six airmen and over 60 civilians. Croydon became the base for RAF Transport Command in 1944.

Post-war civil use and final years

Aerial photograph of Croydon Airport in 1945

Following the end of the war, it was recognised that with technological advances, post-war would be larger and the use of airports serving capital cities would intensify. The urban spread of south London, and surrounding villages growing into towns, had by now enclosed Croydon Airport and left it with no room for further expansion, and it would soon be too small to meet the increasing travel demands. Heathrow was therefore designated as London's airport

The airport returned to civilian control in February 1946. A diagram in the issue of Flight dated 11 April 1946 shows 1250 yards ground run in the 170-350 direction, 1150 yards 060-240 and 1100 yards 120-300. (The numbers are degrees clockwise rotation from north.)

In 1952, it was decided to close Croydon Airport at a suitable future date. Blackbushe Airport in Hampshire and Northolt Aerodrome in Middlesex also served airlines operating European scheduled flights during the 1950s. The last scheduled flight from Croydon departed at 18:15 on 30 September 1959 at 6.15pm. The last aeroplane to leave the aerodrome was a private flight which took off at 7.45pm on that date. The airfield officially closed at 22:30 that evening.

To mark the 50th anniversary of the closing of the airport, an 11-plane flypast including 8 biplanes, took place on 27 September 2009. The aeroplanes involved were from the Tiger Club and other locations and were 5 Stampe biplanes, 3 de Havilland Tiger Moth biplanes, a Jodel S150, and two Druine D.31 Turbulent aircraft. A gold laurel leaf tribute was laid in the control tower to mark the anniversary.

The area today

Much of the site has been built over, but some of the terminal buildings near Purley Way (the A23) are still visible, clearly identifiable as to their former purpose. The former terminal building is called Airport House, and the former control tower houses a visitors' centre.

The De Havilland Heron outside Airport House

A De Havilland Heron (a small propeller-driven British airliner of the 1950s), is displayed outside Airport House on struts flanking the entry path (as of November 2009). The Heron is painted as G-AOXL of Morton Air Services, which was the aircraft that flew the last passenger flight from Croydon on 30 September 1959. A Tiger Moth in RAF training scheme livery is suspended within the preserved booking hall, which functions as a dining room when required. A memorial to those lost in the Battle of Britain stands slightly to the south.

RAF Battle of Britain memorial

Although Croydon has long ceased operation, the two cut ends of Plough Lane have never been reunited, but the area between has been developed instead into parkland, playing fields, and the Roundshaw residential estate with its roads aptly named after aviators and aircraft. All that remains of the runways is a small area of tarmac (in Roundshaw Park just west of Purley Way), which can be viewed using Google Maps, and the area is used primarily by walkers, model aircraft enthusiasts, and locals playing football. The church on the Roundshaw estate has a cross on its outside wall that was made from the cut down propeller of a Spitfire based at Croydon during the Second World War.

The area is still known as Croydon Airport for transport purposes and was the location for Croydon Water Palace.

In recognition of the historical significance of the aerodrome, two local schools (Waddon Infants School and Duppas Junior School) have merged and became The Aerodrome School from September 2010.

In at least one recently-made movie, fictional events set at Croydon Airport were filmed near Manchester at Barton Airport, whose distinctive control tower will show.

The buildings

The Aerodrome Hotel and the terminal building including its grand booking hall were built in the neo-classical geometrical design typical of the early 20th Century. A further item that would have caught the eye of visitor and traveller alike was the time zone tower (now sadly lost) in the booking hall with its dials depicting the times in different parts of the world. Croydon Airport's Aerodrome Hotel is part of Croydon Vision 2020 regeneration plan.

The Airport Hotel survives as the independent Hallmark Hotel.

Aviators, pioneers and aircraft

The aerodrome was known the world over, its fame being spread by the many aviators and pioneers who touched down at Croydon, such as:

• Alan Cobham, who flew from Croydon to Cape Town and back in 1925-6;
• Charles Lindbergh, who flew into Croydon in 1927 shortly after completing the first solo trans-Atlantic flight;
• Bert Hinkler, who made the first flight from Croydon to Darwin, Australia in 1928;
• Charles Kingsford Smith, who beat Hinkler's record;
• Amy Johnson, the first woman to fly from Croydon to Australia, later to return to Croydon to a jubilant welcome.
• Winston Churchill, who took extensive flying lessons at Croydon and was nearly killed during a crash at take-off in 1919.
• Tom Campbell Black, who with C. W. A. Scott won the MacRobertson London to Melbourne Air Race [1] in 1934;
• Juan de la Cierva, the Spanish inventor of the autogyro, who died in an aviation accident on 9 December 1936.

Accidents and incidents

• On 15 March 1923, Farman F.60 Goliath F-AEIE of Compagnie des Messageries Aériennes overran the runway on landing and collided with a building. The aircraft was later repaired and returned to service.
• On 22 January 1924, Goliath F-GEAO of Air Union was destroyed by fire following an accident when landing.
• On 24 December 1924 (1924 Imperial Airways de Havilland DH.34 crash), Imperial Airways de Havilland DH.34 G-EBBX crashed and caught fire shortly after take-off from Croydon, killing the pilot and all seven passengers.
• On 19 May 1934, a Wibault 280 of Air France crash-landed on a cricket pitch adjacent to Croydon Airport due to running out of fuel. Only one of the ten people on board was injured.
• On 31 May 1934 an Air France aircraft carrying newspapers to Paris crashed after hitting the mast of an aircraft radio navigation beacon that had been erected off the end of the white-line takeoff path, killing the two crew.
• On 9 December 1936 (1936 KLM Croydon accident), A KLM Douglas DC-2 crashed on take off at Croydon Airport on a flight to Amsterdam. The accident killed 15 out of 17 on the DC-2
• On 25 January 1947 (1947 Croydon Dakota accident), a Spencer Airways Douglas Dakota failed to get airborne on a flight to Rhodesia. The aircraft struck another parked and empty aircraft, killing 11 passengers and the pilot.

References

• Bob Learmonth, Joanna Nash,Douglas Cluett (ed) (1977). "The First Croydon Airport 1915-1928)", London Borough of Sutton Libraries and Arts Services. ISBN 0-9503224-3-1
• Douglas Cluett, Joanna Nash, Bob Learmonth (1980). "Croydon Airport 1928 - 1939, The Great Days", London Borough of Sutton Libraries and Arts Services, first published 1980. ISBN 0-9503224-8-2
• Charles C. Dickson.(1983) "Croydon Airport Remembered", London Borough of Sutton Libraries and Arts Services. ISBN 0-907335-12-8
• Douglas Cluett, Joanna Bogle (Nash), Bob Learmonth (1984). Croydon Airport and The Battle for Britain, London Borough of Sutton Libraries and Arts Services. ISBN 0-907335-11-X

External links

• Old Ordnance Survey map of the area as in the 1920s: see the word "Aerodrome" between the two roads going north-northwest from Purley; the westerly of those two roads is Plough Lane.
• Croydon Airport web site from Croydon Airport Society
• History of Croydon Airport web page from Croydon Online
• Various photos from Control Towers website
• Chart of Croydon Airport from The Air Pilot, published by Air Ministry, London, 1934.
• Croydon Control Tower
• Flypast over Croydon Airport - Sunday 27th September 2009 on YouTube
• Demotix - Croydon Airport 50th Anniversary Flypast photos