discussion WWII airfield

[wonwinglo]

***We will get this mystery airfield out of the way Duncan,then we can deal with Baldoon,no problem.

Any info on Baldoon in Wigtownshire SW Scotland ? Maintenance airfield ?

 

[Guest]

Sure thing Barry, it is a fascinating subject old airfields. Lest we forget and all that. Pity it isn`t pushed a bit more. The WW 1 aspect is intriguing for the current search.

 

[wonwinglo]

Spot on Duncan,that reminds me of this story-

Several years ago Vic Norman of Crunchie Aerobatic team fame,was sitting reading a book one summers evening,the book was about early aviation during WW1,it happened to mention the name of an airfield in the Cotswolds called RFC Rendcombe,Vic lives in the Cotswolds and thought that he had heard of the place ? he did no more but got his car out and drove a few miles down the road to a large overgrown field,investigation showed a rifle range,mortuary buildings,old nissan hits and other wooden buildings,yes this was indeed the remains of a WW1 airfield,he then set about finding the owner,the outcome was he came to some arrangement and slowly started to restore the airfield,new period type hangars emerged which served to keep his wing walking Stearmans in,a crew room etc and he had himself a piece of working aviation history.

The thing is there must be lots of disused airfields like this,most were no more than landing grounds with mobile facilities and those strange canvas Bessenou hangars ( two exist at R.A.F Halton to this day )

Having stood on windswept runways on disused airfields it is an errie sensation,lets face it people and comrades laughed,sang and died at these places,it is often said that people make a place and without that atmosphere the buildings and pubs,and such like are nothing,without the atmosphere everything has gone.

But such places are real hunting grounds for historians,we must treat them as shrines to people who gave so much for King and country.

 

[Guest]

barry what did you use to get the grid refferenc/lag-long?

unfortunatly you cant search by either in google map so im trying to scale the whole of the region looking at the lat/long numbers wizzing past!

unfortunatly i havnt had the time nor the energy to go and take the photos today i will go tomorrow.

 

[Guest]

Only pic i could find from my books etc

Sawbridgworth Lysanders

View attachment 14418

View attachment 126944

 

[Guest]

Barry

This is Bagingtons Battle Headquarters

View attachment 14419

View attachment 126945

 

[Guest]

Baginton map

here ya go barry

View attachment 14420

View attachment 126946

 

[wonwinglo]

***You know Nigel,I think that this was in existance up until a few years ago,thanks for the interesting picture I will keep that for my files.

This is Bagingtons Battle Headquarters

 

[Guest]

Here is Honiley

View attachment 14421

View attachment 126947

 

[wonwinglo]

***Great detail Nigel,the Alvis works mentioned here is still in existance,they use the buildings to restore old aero engines,the company is called CFS Aerospace,the initials stand for 'Collett,Foden,Slater' the founders who started in the comany in Malta,Collett is the chairman of the well known Air Atlantique group of companies.

On a sad note the 'Spirit of St Louis' replica that broke up in the air at an airshow at Baginton a few years ago, crashed onto one of these buildings,saw it happen,the cause was a badly welded strut attachment that had been repaired after a runaway accident,aeroplanes always bite back.

here ya go barry

 

[Guest]

Any info on Baldoon in Wigtownshire SW Scotland ? Maintenance airfield ?

Sorry mate i can find a baladoo can you give me a lat and long or if it was called by any other name

 

[Guest]

I was browsing through a cheap bookshop the other day, mostly cheap, recently out of print stuff but you never know what you may find.

Anyway picked up a nice book on the Me 109, another canal history, this time the Ouse Navigation and finally a book on WWII Yorkshire Airfields.

With this thread in mind I had to get it but what a treasure trove of interesting snippets of places I never even knew existed.

 

[Guest]

well im sure you will be pleased to know tomorrow i am getting pictures of the pill boxes, general area and runway/taxiways (if they still exist)

so they should be up about 20:30 tomorrow latest!!!

Richard

 

[Guest]

Baldoon was an estate with castle so might just have been local name. Nearest town is Wigtown a couple of miles away. Dont have co-ordinates sorry. Lots of "wooden" aircraft used it.

 

[wonwinglo]

Ah Richard ! the typically English wooden floor creaking under the weight of the books,loads of bulging shelves with out of print material,the owner just about visible through another heap of dusty tomes,you are another worthy follower of the 'Second hand bookshop' !! where would we be without them ?

Once on a wet and windswept Bridlington we stumbled across two shops of note,possibly the largest emporium of outsize underpants and vests in the world,and the bookshop with the most narrow passage between them ! just enough in fact to get down one row at a time,however should you meet another bookworm in the left hand circuit,some tricky backtracking was required.

Another victim of the world wide web,second hand bookshops are on the decline,those that exist are well worth patronising.

I have a problem which my good wife is most aware of,I am unable to go past such a shop without entering to delve into the treasures within.

Long live the old English/Sottish bookshop that exist from Lands End to John O Groats! they are one of our fast dwindling national treasures.

 

[Guest]

Strange coincidence...Wigtown is noted for its secondhand bookshops, has book-fairs with readings by authors etc. My local favourite is Leakeys in a big old church in Inverness. Got a nice home-cooking cafe too.

 

[wonwinglo]

Duncan,my parents met at Wigtown,I remember them speaking about Sunderlands in the area as well,is this the place that someone wiped the undercarriage off an Armstrong Whitworth Argosy on landing ? also a place that the Royal Aircraft Establishment used in recent years as well,are we talking about the very same place ?

 

[wonwinglo]

Just found this Duncan- Baldoon Airfield: WW2 airfield and air observer school; known as RAF Wigtown. During 1941-45, 67 lives were lost in 27 air crashes.

The other place was West Freugh which must have ben the RAE place.

 

[Guest]

West Freugh (pro Froo) was a seaplane base,closer to Stranraer. I had an ATC flight in a Sunderland from there. Still used when big Nato excercises are held,landing craft(LTC types) hovercraft and helis. Think RAE do/did some rocket research there. Dont know about the Argosy incident. Pretty hilly countryside with sea mists could have been causes of crashes in area. I was taken to Bladnoch for many years as a nipper for the annual hols by my parents during WW II. Fratenising with Italian POWs who worked on farms. Did I ever relate the tale of how my mother "captured a German spy" during this period? Your parents almost certainly danced to music played by the other "spy-catcher" Wally Hudson, the drummer in the local band. Bladnoch village is home of the furthest south Scotch whiskey distillery.

 

[Guest]

I think you need to elaborate on the "Capturing the German Spy" story!!