Turweston Aerodrome
Encyclopedia
Turweston Aerodrome located near the village of Turweston
, on the Northamptonshire
and Buckinghamshire
border, is a former Royal Air Force
World War II
bomber
training facility, now a business park
and airfield.
Turweston Aerodrome has a CAA
Ordinary Licence (Number P750) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction as authorised by the licensee (Turweston Flight Centre Limited). The aerodrome is not licensed for night use. The runway direction now commonly being used is 09/27.
and located 2 NM east of the market town of Brackley
, RAF Turweston served as a bomber training school during World War II
. Opened on 23 November 1942 it had three concrete runways and one T1 hangar. The three runways were:
It initially housed the Vickers Wellington
s and Avro Anson
s of 12 OTU until April 1943, when it began housing the B-25 Mitchell
s of 13 OTU. In May 1943 they were joined by the A-20 Bostons of No 307 FTU
, with both units remaining until closure. No 17 OTU Gunnery Flight began arriving in July 1943 with Wellingtons, and formed fully in November 1943 with a flight of Miles Martinet
s.
Other types located at Turweston included: Airspeed Oxford
; Westland Lysander
; De Havilland Mosquito
and the Hawker Hurricane
.
At the end of World War II, the RAF had a surplus of facilities, and many including Turweston were scheduled for closure. Turweston closed on 23 September 1945, but was retained by the Ministry of Defence
. The land was used for private vehicle storage and agriculture
.
In the 1950s, it was known as MTSSD TURWESTON, and was a sub-depot of COD Chilwell, housing the Army's stocks of Bren Gun Carriers. The maintenance staff consisted mainly of female civilians.
or rave
venue.
The business park is home to various businesses, including from September 2006 Broom Engineering, the manufacturers of Hesketh Motorcycles
. Turweston Aerodrome offers under 17 off-road driving lessons via Driving Ambition based in Brackley. It houses the UK sales headquarters of aircraft manufacturer, *Cirrus Design
. It is also the home of Caseright Aviation, the future of aviation maintenance.
Turweston hosts an annual Classic Vehicle Day, which in addition to aircraft, showcases vintage cars, motorbikes, tractors and farm machinery. Also run annually is the overland Fast-Track service into the British Grand Prix
, whose clients include the corporate guests of McLaren Mercedes, WilliamsF1
, Toyota F1
and BMW Sauber
.
It also hosted the Gatecrasher Summer Soundsystem festival in 2008 and 2009.
Turweston
Turweston is a village and also a civil parish within Aylesbury Vale district in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located in the north of the county, near the border with Oxfordshire and Northamptonshire, about a mile east of Brackley in the latter....
, on the Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
and Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
border, is a former Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
bomber
Bomber
A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets, by dropping bombs on them, or – in recent years – by launching cruise missiles at them.-Classifications of bombers:...
training facility, now a business park
Business park
A business park or office park is an area of land in which many office buildings are grouped together. All of the work that goes on is commercial, not industrial or residential....
and airfield.
Turweston Aerodrome has a CAA
United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority
The Civil Aviation Authority is the public corporation which oversees and regulates all aspects of aviation in the United Kingdom. The CAA head office is located in the CAA House on Kingsway in Holborn, London Borough of Camden...
Ordinary Licence (Number P750) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction as authorised by the licensee (Turweston Flight Centre Limited). The aerodrome is not licensed for night use. The runway direction now commonly being used is 09/27.
RAF Turweston
Based on 220 acres (89 ha) of land on the Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire border, just off the A43 roadA43 road
The A43 is a primary route in the English Midlands, that runs from the M40 motorway near Ardley in Oxfordshire to Stamford in Lincolnshire. Through Northamptonshire it bypasses the towns of Northampton, Kettering and Corby which are the three principal destinations on the A43 route...
and located 2 NM east of the market town of Brackley
Brackley
Brackley is a town in south Northamptonshire, England. It is about from Oxford and miles form Northampton. Historically a market town based on the wool and lace trade, it was built on the intersecting trade routes between London, Birmingham and the English Midlands and between Cambridge and Oxford...
, RAF Turweston served as a bomber training school during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Opened on 23 November 1942 it had three concrete runways and one T1 hangar. The three runways were:
- 10/28 - 2000 yard
- 04/22 - 1400 yard (later extended to 1750 yd (1,600 m))
- 16/34 - 1400 yard
It initially housed the Vickers Wellington
Vickers Wellington
The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engine, long range medium bomber designed in the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey, by Vickers-Armstrongs' Chief Designer, R. K. Pierson. It was widely used as a night bomber in the early years of the Second World War, before being displaced as a...
s and Avro Anson
Avro Anson
The Avro Anson is a British twin-engine, multi-role aircraft that served with the Royal Air Force, Fleet Air Arm and numerous other air forces prior to, during, and after the Second World War. Named for British Admiral George Anson, it was originally designed for maritime reconnaissance, but was...
s of 12 OTU until April 1943, when it began housing the B-25 Mitchell
B-25 Mitchell
The North American B-25 Mitchell was an American twin-engined medium bomber manufactured by North American Aviation. It was used by many Allied air forces, in every theater of World War II, as well as many other air forces after the war ended, and saw service across four decades.The B-25 was named...
s of 13 OTU. In May 1943 they were joined by the A-20 Bostons of No 307 FTU
FTU
FTU is an acronym for:*Florida Technological University, the former name of the University of Central Florida*Foreign Trade University, one of the largest universities in Vietnam*Frascati Tokamak Upgrade...
, with both units remaining until closure. No 17 OTU Gunnery Flight began arriving in July 1943 with Wellingtons, and formed fully in November 1943 with a flight of Miles Martinet
Miles Martinet
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Amos, Peter. and Brown, Don Lambert. Miles Aircraft Since 1925, Volume 1. London: Putnam Aeronautical, 2000. ISBN 0-85177-787-0....
s.
Other types located at Turweston included: Airspeed Oxford
Airspeed Oxford
The Airspeed AS.10 Oxford was a twin-engine aircraft used for training British Commonwealth aircrews in navigation, radio-operating, bombing and gunnery during the Second World War.-Design and development:...
; Westland Lysander
Westland Lysander
The Westland Lysander was a British army co-operation and liaison aircraft produced by Westland Aircraft used immediately before and during the Second World War...
; De Havilland Mosquito
De Havilland Mosquito
The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito was a British multi-role combat aircraft that served during the Second World War and the postwar era. It was known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews and was also nicknamed "The Wooden Wonder"...
and the Hawker Hurricane
Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd for the Royal Air Force...
.
At the end of World War II, the RAF had a surplus of facilities, and many including Turweston were scheduled for closure. Turweston closed on 23 September 1945, but was retained by the Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
. The land was used for private vehicle storage and agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
.
In the 1950s, it was known as MTSSD TURWESTON, and was a sub-depot of COD Chilwell, housing the Army's stocks of Bren Gun Carriers. The maintenance staff consisted mainly of female civilians.
Turweston Aerodrome
For some time prior to 1994 the airfield was in use as a gliding training airfield at weekends only. Turweston Aerodrome re-opened for business in 1994, having been rebuilt as a combined airfield, aero-club, flight school and rally track. The new conference facilities were opened in 2004, and the location has also served as a danceDance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
or rave
Rave
Rave, rave dance, and rave party are parties that originated mostly from acid house parties, which featured fast-paced electronic music and light shows. At these parties people dance and socialize to dance music played by disc jockeys and occasionally live performers...
venue.
The business park is home to various businesses, including from September 2006 Broom Engineering, the manufacturers of Hesketh Motorcycles
Hesketh Motorcycles
Hesketh Motorcycles is a British motorcycle manufacturer, based in Daventry and Easton Neston.The company was formed by Alexander, 3rd Lord Hesketh, in 1980, then after his two ventures went bust from 1984 onwards, the marque has been maintained and improved by Broom Engineering, now based at...
. Turweston Aerodrome offers under 17 off-road driving lessons via Driving Ambition based in Brackley. It houses the UK sales headquarters of aircraft manufacturer, *Cirrus Design
Cirrus Design
The Cirrus Aircraft Corporation is an aircraft manufacturer that was founded in 1984 by Alan and Dale Klapmeier to produce the VK-30 kit aircraft....
. It is also the home of Caseright Aviation, the future of aviation maintenance.
Turweston hosts an annual Classic Vehicle Day, which in addition to aircraft, showcases vintage cars, motorbikes, tractors and farm machinery. Also run annually is the overland Fast-Track service into the British Grand Prix
British Grand Prix
The British Grand Prix is a race in the calendar of the FIA Formula One World Championship. It is currently held at the Silverstone Circuit near the village of Silverstone in Northamptonshire...
, whose clients include the corporate guests of McLaren Mercedes, WilliamsF1
WilliamsF1
Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited, trading as AT&T Williams, is a British Formula One motor racing team and constructor. It was founded and run by Sir Frank Williams and Patrick Head...
, Toyota F1
Toyota F1
Panasonic Toyota Racing was a Formula One team owned by Japanese car manufacturer Toyota and based in Cologne, Germany. Toyota announced their plans to participate in F1 in 1999, and after extensive testing with their initial car, dubbed the TF101, the team made their debut in 2002...
and BMW Sauber
BMW Sauber
BMW has been involved in Formula One in a number of capacities since the inauguration of the World Drivers' Championship in . The company entered occasional races in the 1950s and 1960s , before building the BMW M12/13 inline-four turbocharged engine in the 1980s...
.
It also hosted the Gatecrasher Summer Soundsystem festival in 2008 and 2009.