Talk:Royal Flying Corps airfields

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Military history: Aviation / British / European / World War I Start‑class

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RFC Foo

Have we any evidence that the format "RFC Foo" was actually used, it seem unlikely and not the sort of thing the Army would do as they appear to have used terms like "Larkhill Camp". MilborneOne (talk) 19:43, 5 February 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Ford Junction

Ford Junction has been removed from the list but Jefford has 148 squadron moving to Ford Junction on 1 March 1918 from Andover and 149 sqn being formed on 1 Mar 1918, only just but before the 1 April 1918. MilborneOne (talk) 16:28, 9 February 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Harling Road (Aerodrome), Norfolk

Not to be confused with Harling Road railway station, which is of course close by.

It appears there was an air base here in, World War I, and a US Army maintenance depot in WWII, both only temporary. And as is normal for RFC/RAF stations, it was named after the railway station, which in this case is named after a road. This is because it is in the middle of nowhere, south of Larling, east of Roudham, and north of East Harling. These days there is Roudham Park Industrial Estate, with a variety of businesses using the old military buildings.

What is not helpful is the variation in detail regarding the name of this air base or area.

UK Airfields offer 'Harling Road' [[1]]
ABCT offer 'Harling Road (Roudham)' [[2]]
At least one business, using the original hangars, uses postcode NR16 2QN which is 'East Harling'
As does 'Swallow Aquatics' nearby
A malt whisky distillery next door, claims a more prestigious address, NR16 2QW; 'Roudham'

Whilst some people simply call the whole area 'Harling Road'

It appears that I have, purely by accident, visited both Swallow Aquatics, and a vehicle storage business that was using one of the old hangars. On neither occasion was I aware I was at/near an old airfield. That knowledge only came to me today, thanks to Wikipedia.

One other link to the airfield history

https://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/record-details?MNF12414-Harling-Road-or-Roudham-airfield

and these units mention a variety of places with a variety of links, not necessarily correct.

At the moment, that's all I've got time for. WendlingCrusader (talk) 19:22, 12 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

WendlingCrusader Action stations 1; military airfields of East Anglia 1939-1945 makes no mention of Harling Road, however, Halley states that detachments from Number 75, 88 and 94 squadrons were at Harling Road at some point.^[1] But really, what I wanted to do was to clear up an oft told anecdote that RAF stations are named after the nearest railway station - they are not. RAF bases in Lincolnshire, Yorkshire and East Anglia were built where the land was flat, and some degree of planning was used so that some could be located near to a railhead to aid airmen travelling between stations, so the bases at Scorton and Topcliffe in Yorkshire were quite near to their respectively named railheads - however, no railway stations existed with names the same as Dishforth, Linton-on-Ouse, Acaster Malbis, Catfoss, Lindholme, Tholthorpe, Wombleton etc. In their detailed history of RAF Manston, Joe Bamford and John Williams state that

“

It was common practice for the service to name air stations after the nearest railway station, and if that had been the case, then RNAS Manston would probably have been called RNAS Birchington.^[2]

”

Although it is original research, I remember Birchington being the railhead for Manston when I went there in 1997, being picked up by the GD flight staff. But the point here is that the RNAS (pre RAF days), might have so-named their stations after the nearest railhead, but the RAF did not; they named their stations/bases after the parish or nearest village to the station headquarters as the airfield perimeter could be several miles long.^[3]^[4] Some RAF Bases were named after geographical locations (RAF Akeman Street, RAF Hells Mouth etc), whilst Valley and Mona were so named as it was thought that the Welsh names of the locality would be difficult for non-Welsh speakers to pronounce. Brize Norton seems to have been named after a local village because it was thought that RAF Carterton would be easily confused with RAF Cardington; Cardington was a kitting and initial reception centre, so they didn't want hundreds of airmen turning up at the wrong base. The nearest railway station to Brize Norton, Bampton, was renamed to Brize Norton and Bampton railway station after the RAF station had opened.^[5]

I think if we look at the "big-name" stations such as Cranwell, Marham, Cottesmore, Wittering, Lyneham, Binbrook, Lossiemouth, Kinloss, Leuchars, Coningsby, Waddington, Odiham, Benson, Northolt, Coltishall, Honington, Finningley, Halton, High Wycombe, Valley, Brize Norton.... then only a handful could be said to have had a railway station of that name nearby (though Cranwell, Halton and Manston all had their own rail links). Of course I have cherry-picked this list myself, as plenty of RAF stations are near to a railway station of the same name, but for every RAF station we can list with a name the same as a railway station, there is another named after somewhere which has never had a railway station. Sorry to be a pain. Regards. The joy of all things (talk) 17:12, 14 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Martyn Chorlton in his book, Forgotten Aerodromes of World War I, states that Harling Road was at Roudham, and that during WWI it hosted 51 Sqn, 94 Sqn, 88 Sqn, 89 Sqn, 75 Sqn, and 151st Aero Sqn USAAS.^[6] The joy of all things (talk) 17:20, 14 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

@The joy of all things Goodness me - that is a fantastic response, which has given me much food for thought. Most of it off-topic, or at least not specifically about Harling Road.

Straight up I can see that I inadvertently wrote (named after the nearest railway station) 'as is normal' when I should have put, as was often the case... mea culpa.

And as former train spotter, aircraft spotter, and sewage works operative, I am well-placed to understand that basic geography means that in many cases railway stations and airfields simply do not mix. Take RAF Hemswell, which if my memory isn't playing tricks, is located high up on Hemswell Cliff, meaning it could only have been connected to the national rail network if somebody had constructed a rack-and-pinion branch line. Twenty years back we nearly bought one of the Officers houses arranged very prettily around Lancaster Green (DN21 5TQ) - it may even have been the Group Captains palace; a fabulous three storey affair with four small windowless(?) bedrooms on the third floor, for the serving staff. And this was built to RAF specifications in 1935! I don't think my OH has ever forgiven me for suggesting it wasn't quite 'us'. You should check it out - that entrance hall and staircase is to die for! [[3]]

The kicker - RAF Hemswell (built from scratch in 1935) was built on the same land that was also RFCS Harpswell in 1918/19. And Harpswell wasn't on the railway network either. So, a double fail!

But there is something else about these later built airfields (Hemswell, Brize Norton, both circa 1935); the MOD were getting wise to the idea of long-range aerial reconnaissance, and maybe there is also an element of not naming an airfield after its immediate location. Or maybe I'm clutching at straws. I may also be coloured by the story associated with the airfield associated with my username. The USAAF bomber base at RAF Wendling in Norfolk was absolutely centred all over the village of Beeston, which of course doesn't have its own railway station. Or rather, it does, as in Beeston railway station, serving the much more well-known suburb of Nottingham, and boasting a throughput of some ½million passengers per annum. So even if Beeston village in Norfolk had a railway station, it would have been a huge fail, which somehow brings us neatly back to Brize Norton & Bampton. You say, correctly, that the railway station was renamed after the airfield, but you omit the fact that Bampton, like Beeston above, already suffered from being confused with another more famous place with the same name, namely Bampton (Devon) railway station. So that was never an option for the RAF, and the railways must have thanked their stars when Hitler and the RAF gave them every reason to change the troublesome name of their Oxfordshire station!

But as you rightly observe, we are all capable of cherry-picking - I just couldn't resist the two gert big plums that you dropped in my lap!

At some point, somebody is going to ask; 'what has sewage got to do with anything?'. But I'll wait for that somebody to ask before digging myself into an even deeper hole.

WendlingCrusader (talk) 11:20, 15 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

References

^ Halley, James J. (1980). The squadrons of the Royal Air Force. Tonbridge: Air-Britain. p. 358. ISBN 0851300839.
^ Bamford, Joe; Williams, John (2013). A detailed history of RAF Manston 1916-1930 : the men who made Manston. Stroud: Fonthill Media. p. 105. ISBN 9781781550946.
^ Finn, C. J., ed. (2004). A brief history of the Royal Air Force AP 3003. London: HMSO. p. 376. OCLC 883181451.
^ Philpott, Ian M. (2005). The Trenchard years: 1918 to 1929. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Aviation. p. 212. ISBN 1844151549.
^ Mitchell, Victor E.; Smith, Keith; Lingard, Richard (April 1988). Branch Line to Fairford. Midhurst: Middleton Press. 70. ISBN 0-906520-52-5.
^ Chorlton, Martyn (2014). Forgotten airfields of World War I. Manchester: Crécy. p. 147. ISBN 9780859791816.

[1] Halley, James J. (1980). The squadrons of the Royal Air Force. Tonbridge: Air-Britain. p. 358. ISBN 0851300839.

[2] Bamford, Joe; Williams, John (2013). A detailed history of RAF Manston 1916-1930 : the men who made Manston. Stroud: Fonthill Media. p. 105. ISBN 9781781550946.

[AP3003-3] Finn, C. J., ed. (2004). A brief history of the Royal Air Force AP 3003. London: HMSO. p. 376. OCLC 883181451.

[4] Philpott, Ian M. (2005). The Trenchard years: 1918 to 1929. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Aviation. p. 212. ISBN 1844151549.

[5] Mitchell, Victor E.; Smith, Keith; Lingard, Richard (April 1988). Branch Line to Fairford. Midhurst: Middleton Press. 70. ISBN 0-906520-52-5.

[6] Chorlton, Martyn (2014). Forgotten airfields of World War I. Manchester: Crécy. p. 147. ISBN 9780859791816.

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