Royal Air Force Fairlop or more simply RAF Fairlop is a former

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

satellite station situated near Ilford in Essex.

Fairlop Fairlop is a district in the north of Ilford, part of the London Borough of Redbridge in east London. The district consists of fields, forestry and open land providing space for sport/ activity centres (Redbridge Sport Centre), some houses, far ...

is now a district in the London Borough of Redbridge, England.

History

First World War

A site to the east of RAF Fairlop called "Hainault Farm" was used during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and saw service as a

Home Defence Flight Station. A number of airmen died at Fairlop during and shortly after the war. In 1919, Sergeant Russe J. Cound was killed and Captain Starbuck seriously injured when their plane stalled and crashed from a height of 200 feet.

Between the wars

A small flying club used another nearby site between the wars and there were plans to build a commercial airport in the Fairlop area for London, but those plans were later abandoned due to the realization that smog and haze from the residential and industrial areas nearby would be a hazard to operations. A further three sites just to the north of Fairlop and Hainault Farm were used as civilian aerodromes mid-war.

Second World War

The airfield at Fairlop was built in late 1940 when three concrete runways in an "A" pattern tilted 45 degrees anti-clockwise were constructed. The airfield became operational in September 1941 with the arrival of No. 603 (City of Edinburgh) Squadron RAF, flying Supermarine Spitfires, previously stationed at

RAF Hornchurch Royal Air Force Hornchurch or RAF Hornchurch is a former Royal Air Force Royal Air Force station, sector station in the parish of Hornchurch, Essex (now the London Borough of Havering in Greater London), located to the southeast of Romford. The a ...

. The adjacent Hainault Lodge was used as officer accommodation. In June 1944 RAF Fairlop became home to No. 24 Balloon Centre with four squadrons forming part of the balloon barrage around London. The balloons were manned by members of the

Women's Auxiliary Air Force The Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), whose members were referred to as WAAFs (), was the female auxiliary of the Royal Air Force during World War II. Established in 1939, WAAF numbers exceeded 180,000 at its peak strength in 1943, with over 2 ...

. No 24 Balloon Centre was disbanded in February 1945 and the airfield closed in August 1946.

After the wars

In 1947, plans we revived to build a commercial airport at Fairlop. At the time, it was reported that Fairlop could become the "No. 1 continental airport", but again the plans fell through. By 1950, the airfield was disused.

Squadrons

Squadrons stationed at RAF Fairlop: The following units were also here at some point: * No. 24 Balloon Centre ** No. 945/947 (Balloon) Sqn ** No. 965 (Balloon) Sqn ** No. 967 (Balloon) Sqn ** No. 970 (Balloon) Sqn ** No. 998 (Balloon) Sqn * No. 54 Training Depot Station * No. 207 Training Depot Station * No. 121 Airfield * No. 136 Airfield * No. 146 Gliding School RAF * No. 147 Gliding School RAF * No. 2709 Squadron RAF Regiment * No. 2737 Squadron RAF Regiment * No. 2797 Squadron RAF Regiment * No. 2811 Squadron RAF Regiment *

No. 2889 Squadron RAF Regiment This is a list of units of the Royal Air Force Regiment. The RAF Regiment is the ground fighting force of the Royal Air Force and is charged mainly with protecting military airfields, among other duties. First formed in 1942 to protect the airfi ...

* No. 4077 Anti-Aircraft Flight RAF Regiment * No. 4269 Anti-Aircraft Flight RAF Regiment * No. 4335 Anti-Aircraft Flight RAF Regiment

Current use

Fairlop Waters Commemorative Sculpture - 2022-11-12

The site was used for gravel extraction and became a country park known as

Fairlop Waters The London Borough of Redbridge, one of the northern peripheral London boroughs, has within its boundaries parts of two large open spaces: Epping Forest and Wanstead Flats. Apart from many smaller parks, gardens and sports grounds, the following a ...

with sailing facilities and a golf course. In November 2013 a sculpture was unveiled commemorating those who served at the Fairlop and Hainault airfields in wartime.

References

Citations

Bibliography

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External links

David Martin - RNAS, RFC and RAF Station Fairlop
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fairlop, RAF Royal Air Force stations in London History of the London Borough of Redbridge