Joyce Green, at
Long Reach, near
Dartford
Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and
is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in ...
, was one of the first
Royal Flying Corps
"Through Adversity to the Stars"
, colors =
, colours_label =
, march =
, mascot =
, anniversaries =
, decorations ...
(RFC) airfields. It was established in 1911 by
Vickers Limited
Vickers Limited was a British engineering conglomerate. The business began in Sheffield in 1828 as a steel foundry and became known for its church bells, going on to make shafts and propellers for ships, armour plate and then artillery. Entir ...
(the aircraft and weapons manufacturer) who used it as an airfield and testing ground. At the
outbreak of World War I in 1914, the RFC followed and established a base. Subject to frequent flooding and a reputation as being unsuitable and too dangerous for training, it was eventually replaced by a more suitable site at
RAF Biggin Hill
London Biggin Hill Airport is an operational general aviation airport at Biggin Hill in the London Borough of Bromley, located south-southeast of Central London. The airport was formerly a Royal Air Force station RAF Biggin Hill, and a smal ...
.
There were two parts to Joyce Green's military operations; the RFC, and the Wireless Experimental establishment. The latter were the first to move out in 1917 (after exhaustive searching south of London) when they found an ideal site on a farmer's field near the village of
Biggin Hill
Biggin Hill is a settlement on the south-eastern outskirts of Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Kent, prior to 1965 it was also in the administrative county of Kent. I ...
; the RFC were soon to recognize the new site's suitability for flying and its strategic location, and soon followed, transferring there on 13 February 1917. The RFC took with them their
Bristol Fighters, leaving Joyce Green with only a pilots pool and ground crew.
Once the RFC had moved out of the aerodrome, Vickers continued their testing work, until moving to
Brooklands
Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. It opened in 1907 and was the world's first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing circuit as well as one of Britain's first airfields, ...
aerodrome. Following the
Armistice with Germany
The Armistice of 11 November 1918 was the armistice signed at Le Francport near Compiègne that ended fighting on land, sea, and air in World War I between the Entente and their last remaining opponent, Germany. Previous armistices ...
the airfield was closed by December 1919.
The site
Joyce Green farm, a cattle farm to the north of Dartford, lent its name to the largely uninhabited area downstream of London Bridge, located between Dartford and the River Thames. The aerodrome itself was on part of a plot once known as Franks Farm, on ground reclaimed from the Dartford salt marshes.
The only habitation in the area, apart from the odd farm, was the isolated "Long Reach Tavern", known for organized
bare-knuckle boxing
Bare-knuckle boxing (or simply bare-knuckle) is a combat sport which involves two individuals throwing punches at each other for a predetermined amount of time without any boxing gloves or other form of padding on their hands. It is a regulated ...
matches in the 19th century, notably
Tom Sayers
Tom Sayers (15 or 25 May 18268 November 1865) was an English Bare-knuckle boxing, bare-knuckle prize fighter. There were no formal weight divisions at the time, and although Sayers was only five feet eight inches tall and never weighed much mo ...
who fought there between 1851-1854, and a ferry to
Purfleet
Purfleet-on-Thames is a town in the Thurrock unitary authority, Essex, England. It is bordered by the A13 road to the north and the River Thames to the south and is within the easternmost part of the M25 motorway but just outside the Greater Lon ...
on the opposite bank of the Thames. A 'reach' is a length of a river between two bends and the longest reach on the Thames is 'Long Reach' hence the name of the Tavern. The surrounds of the tavern were to become the RFC encampment.
1:62260/1:50000 OS map sheets 171/177 : (51): OS survey grid reference: TQ 542774. County: Kent, Area : 121 acres : 1200 x 1000 yards. Slightly below sea level.
The airfield consisted of a grass landing field, slightly below sea level, criss-crossed by ditches covered with boards; a site, 1200 x 1000 yards of low-lying marshland below
mean tide level, bordered by the
River Darent
The Darent is a Kentish tributary of the River Thames and takes the waters of the River Cray as a tributary in the tidal portion of the Darent near Crayford, as illustrated by the adjacent photograph, snapped at high tide. 'Darenth' is frequen ...
to the west, the Thames to the north, the tavern's access road "Joyce Green Lane" (running north to south) to the east, and the grounds of the Joyce Green Hospitals to the south.
Further to the west of the tavern across the estuary of the River Darent was the Thames Ammunition factory. Along the river to its east was the nearby Long Reach Hospital, where the three
smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...
isolation hospital ships had been moored on the Reach; they had been scrapped in 1904 leaving just the adjacent land-based hospital facilities intact. Further to the south and east were the Dartford
salt marsh
A salt marsh or saltmarsh, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It is dominated ...
es.
Also in the area to the south were the Joyce Green and Orchard Hospitals with a small military (Army) unit attached to them. The hospitals were set up for the isolation of smallpox patients from London. Further to the south the main
A206 road
The A206 road is a road in southeast London and Kent, England.
Length
Today it is approximately in length, although the final section is a relatively new road. Purpose of route
Its primary purpose is to link into the London Orbital motorway ...
gave access to London. It is two miles from
Dartford railway station
Dartford railway station serves the town of Dartford in Kent, England. It is down the line from . Train services from the station are operated by Southeastern and Thameslink. Southeastern also manages the station. Dartford is a major interchan ...
and 1½ miles from
Erith railway station.
The RFC buildings and camp were at the north end by the Thames, grouped to the immediate south and west of the Long Reach Tavern. The RFC had six
hangar
A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...
s in total; three aeroplane sheds, 80 x 60 feet, as a treble unit, and another three sheds, 80 x 50 feet, as a treble unit.
Vickers 1910-1919
The site was first used in 1910 by
Hiram Maxim
Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim (5 February 1840 – 24 November 1916) was an American-British inventor best known as the creator of the first automatic machine gun, the Maxim gun. Maxim held patents on numerous mechanical devices such as hair-curl ...
who in conjunction with Vickers had built a
biplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...
at Crayford, and at Joyce Green unsuccessfully attempted a test flight; without funds to continue developing his ideas, Maxim parted company with Vickers to form a new company with
Louis Bleriot Louis may refer to:
* Louis (coin)
* Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name
* Louis (surname)
* Louis (singer), Serbian singer
* HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy
See also
Derived or associated terms
* Lewis ...
and
Claude Grahame White.
Vickers were to persist with aircraft development and establishing an (Aviation Department) in 1911, and promptly built hangars and workshop facilities at Joyce Green for testing the aeroplanes constructed at their
Erith
Erith () is an area in south-east London, England, east of Charing Cross. Before the creation of Greater London in 1965, it was in the historical county of Kent. Since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Bexley. It lies nort ...
works. Vickers had factories at nearby
Bexleyheath
Bexleyheath is a town in south-east London, England. It had a population of 31,929 as at 2011.
Bexleyheath is located south-east of Charing Cross, and forms part of the London Borough of Bexley. It is identified in the London Plan as one of ...
,
Crayford
Crayford is a town and electoral ward in South East London, England, within the London Borough of Bexley. It lies east of Bexleyheath and north west of Dartford. Crayford was in the historic county of Kent until 1965. The settlement deve ...
, Erith and
Dartford
Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and
is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in ...
. The Vickers hangars and buildings were grouped at the south end of the site near to the entrance gates.
Once assembled aircraft were stripped down piece-small and moved by road from Erith, through the streets of Crayford to Joyce Green and returned the same way.
Vickers' first
monoplane
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes.
A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...
was tested at their new airfield in July 1911, using an under-license French-built rear fuselage and engine designed and made by the Frenchman Robert Esnault-Pelterie (hence R.E.P.) (the rest of the components being Vickers-built), it made its maiden flight, piloted by Captain
Herbert F. Wood, the manager of Vickers' aviation department.
[Andrews and Morgan 1988, p. 35.]
Development of the aircraft was rapid; the No. 8 monoplane was built by 1913 at the Erith factory. However the Army Manoeuvres in the autumn of 1912 proved disastrous for the type: four RFC officers were killed using monoplanes, and this led to a suspension of the type by the Military Wing.
Shortly before the war started, among the many designs initiated by the Drawing Office was one known as the 'Hydravion', based on the notion that an aeroplane should be able to take off from water as well as from land. Floats, made of
Duralumin
Duralumin (also called duraluminum, duraluminium, duralum, dural(l)ium, or dural) is a trade name for one of the earliest types of age-hardenable aluminium alloys. The term is a combination of '' Dürener'' and ''aluminium''.
Its use as a tra ...
at the Dartford works, were tested in the nearby River Darent. Archives at the company headquarters imply that the Hydravion was to be constructed at Dartford, despite the factory only producing explosives and projectiles at the time.
In 1912 Vickers commenced work on a two-seat
pusher biplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...
, the
F.B.1 (Fighting Biplane 1), it was one of the first aircraft designed to carry a machine gun, the FB5 (fighting biplane)
Gun Bus
The Vickers F.B.5 (Fighting Biplane 5) (known as the "Gunbus") was a British two-seat pusher military biplane of the First World War. Armed with a single .303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis gun operated by the observer in the front of the ...
. The company abandoned plans for float planes at the start of the war and concentrated on land-based aircraft.
Vickers No. 8 monoplane at the Erith factory 1913.
In 1914, the company's works at Crayford took over the production of Vickers aircraft. Development of variants of F.B. series continued apace. The last of these variants the F.B.5, eventually emerged as the
Gunbus; of the first batches two were sent to the RFC to be based at the airfield. Experimental work continued during the war evolving the basic Gunbus into the FB9, known as the 'Streamline Gunbus'.
During
World War I
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 ...
it produced the
Vimy
Vimy ( or ; ; Dutch: ''Wimi'') is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Located east of Vimy is the Canadian National Vimy Memorial dedicated to the Battle of Vimy Ridge and the Canadian soldiers ...
heavy bomber; the FB27 Vimy Prototype built at the Vickers
Crayford
Crayford is a town and electoral ward in South East London, England, within the London Borough of Bexley. It lies east of Bexleyheath and north west of Dartford. Crayford was in the historic county of Kent until 1965. The settlement deve ...
works was assembled and flown out of Joyce Green. The plane was found to be too large for the hangars; Vickers had to dig out the ground inside them, for them to fit. See photo, right.
This first prototype B9952 made its first flight on 30 November 1917 at Joyce Green, piloted by Capt. Gordon Bell. The company had planned to use a pair of Royal Aircraft Factory 200 hp 4d air-cooled V-12 engines, however they were not ready in time (production was later abandoned) and the plane was fitted two 200 hp
Hispano-Suiza
Hispano-Suiza () is a Spanish automotive–engineering company. It was founded in 1904 by Marc Birkigt and Damian Mateu as an automobile manufacturer and eventually had several factories in Spain and France that produced luxury cars, aircraft en ...
s instead. By April 1918 it was decided use a
Rolls-Royce Eagle
The Rolls-Royce Eagle was the first aircraft engine to be developed by Rolls-Royce Limited. Introduced in 1915 to meet British military requirements during World War I, it was used to power the Handley Page Type O bombers and a number of oth ...
engine instead. The aeroplane went into production that month and was at that point named the Vickers Vimy. Ironically, it was never used operationally in the First World War.
In 1919 Vickers moved their aircraft production from Crayford to
Brooklands aerodrome at
Weybridge
Weybridge () is a town in the Borough of Elmbridge in Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. The settlement is recorded as ''Waigebrugge'' and ''Weibrugge'' in the 7th century and the name derives from a crossing point of the ...
in
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
. The plane's main claim to fame was that on 14/15 June 1919, Captain Jack Alcock and Lieutenant Arthur Whitten-Brown in a converted Vimy (built at Weybridge), made the world's first
non-stop trans-oceanic flight, across the Atlantic. Later at the end of 1919
Ross and Keith Smith flew a Vimy all the way to Australia, thus highlighting the possibility of organising scheduled overseas longhaul flights.
Vickers would soon by December 1919 move their test facilities to
Brooklands
Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. It opened in 1907 and was the world's first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing circuit as well as one of Britain's first airfields, ...
in
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
.
Royal Flying Corps 1914–1919
The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was established in May 1912. Initially the RFC regularly visited Joyce Green for testing and reviewing prototype aircraft. After the outbreak of war in 1914, Joyce Green became an ‘air defence’ airfield to protect London from
bombing raids
Strategic bombing is a military strategy used in total war with the goal of defeating the enemy by destroying its morale, its economic ability to produce and transport materiel to the theatres of military operations, or both. It is a systematic ...
by
Zeppelin
A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp ...
s. The airfield was to house a permanent RFC unit, under No. 6 Wing, and the first occupants were No. 10 Reserve Squadron with a variety of aircraft including Henry Farman's, Vickers FB5 and FB9, DH2 and FE8 machines. The role of this unit was to receive pupils from preliminary training schools for final training for their wings. Each course consisted of about 20 pupils and lasted two or three weeks. This included time spent at
Lydd
Lydd is a town and electoral ward in Kent, England, lying on Romney Marsh. It is one of the larger settlements on the marsh, and the most southerly town in Kent. Lydd reached the height of its prosperity during the 13th century, when it was a co ...
where aerial gunnery was practised at the
Hythe
Hythe, from Anglo-Saxon ''hȳð'', may refer to a landing-place, port or haven, either as an element in a toponym, such as Rotherhithe in London, or to:
Places Australia
* Hythe, Tasmania
Canada
*Hythe, Alberta, a village in Canada
England
* T ...
range. On gaining their wings the young pilots would get a 48-hour pass before being posted to the Front.
It was decided that the aerodrome should house two FB5 Gunbuses, and they were transferred from
Netheravon
Netheravon is a village and civil parish on the River Avon and A345 road, about north of the town of Amesbury in Wiltshire, South West England. It is within Salisbury Plain.
The village is on the right (west) bank of the Avon, opposite Fit ...
. No.6 Wing was appointed to oversee operations, and the training of potential pilots.
Concurrently the erection of hangars, workshops and ground staff quarters commenced at the northern edge of the landing field alongside the Long Reach Tavern.
On Christmas Day 1914, the field was to see its first action when 2Lt M. R. Chidson and gunner Cpl Martin were in a Gunbus were sent up in pursuit of a German plane,
Friedrichshafen FF.29
The Friedrichshafen FF.29 was a German lightweight two-seat floatplane of the 1910s produced by Flugzeugbau Friedrichshafen.
Development and design
The FF.29 was designed as a lightweight floatplane, a biplane powered by a Mercedes D.II inline ...
, a single-engined, two-seater float plane belonging to See
Flieger-Abteilung I (Flyer department I) of the
Imperial German Navy
The Imperial German Navy or the Imperial Navy () was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for coast defence. Wilhel ...
, based at
Zeebrugge
Zeebrugge (, from: ''Brugge aan zee'' meaning "Bruges at Sea", french: Zeebruges) is a village on the coast of Belgium and a subdivision of Bruges, for which it is the modern port. Zeebrugge serves as both the international port of Bruges-Zeeb ...
in Belgium. Unfortunately the gun jammed over
Purfleet
Purfleet-on-Thames is a town in the Thurrock unitary authority, Essex, England. It is bordered by the A13 road to the north and the River Thames to the south and is within the easternmost part of the M25 motorway but just outside the Greater Lon ...
, and the gunner (having forgotten his gloves) found his hands too cold could not clear the mechanism, thus leaving the German free to drop two bombs on
Cliffe railway station. Nevertheless, the Gunship did chase the German aircraft as far as the
Nore
The Nore is a long bank of sand and silt running along the south-centre of the final narrowing of the Thames Estuary, England. Its south-west is the very narrow Nore Sand. Just short of the Nore's easternmost point where it fades into the cha ...
sandbank. At the time the German plane was mistaken as a
Taube monoplane it being an aircraft type that people knew (in the same way that Second World War German pilots always claimed to have been shot down by a Spitfire, when it was probably a Hurricane).
The airfield soon proved unpopular, being situated primarily on marshland.
Early in 1915, the construction of the Royal Flying Corps base at Joyce Green was completed and No.10 Reserve Squadron moved in. Equipped with
Henry Farman
Henri Farman (26 May 1874– 17 July 1958) was a British-French aviator and aircraft designer and manufacturer with his brother Maurice Farman. Before dedicating himself to aviation he gained fame as a sportsman, specifically in cycling and moto ...
, Vickers FB5 and FB9, DH2 and FE8 aeroplanes, the squadron's main function was to receive pupils from preliminary training schools for final training and qualifications for their wings. There were many accidents and quite a few trainee pilots were killed. The Long Reach Tavern, was closed, the Salmon family were moved out, and the RFC took it over as a canteen and used it for sleeping quarters.
On 19–20 January 1915 the Imperial German Navy mounted the first airship raid on Britain. Three Zeppelins (L3, L4 and L6) were despatched; one was forced to turn back with engine difficulties 90 miles from the English coast. The remaining airships bombed Great Yarmouth and King's Lynn, killing 2 civilians of Yarmouth and injuring 3, and killing 2 and injuring 13 civilians of King's Lynn. These were the first British Military casualties due to air attack.
The first night air defence sorties are flown by the Royal Flying Corps (RFC). Following the attack by Zeppelins L3 and L4, two Vickers FB5 Gunbuses of No.7 Squadron were ordered to take-off from Joyce Green and patrol over the southern outskirts of London, without result.
James Thomas Byford McCudden VC DSO (and Bar), MC (and Bar), Croix de Guerre, one of the most highly decorated air aces in the First World War, arrived at Joyce Green in March 1917 to take up the appointment of Wing Fighting Instructor. McCudden had shot down fifty-seven German aeroplanes by the time he was 22. His job involved teaching combat duties to the more advanced pupils.
In mid April 1915, No. 39 Home Defence Squadron was formed bringing together all units and detachments detailed for anti-Zeppelin raid duties in the London area.
In October 1915 a BE2c was posted here, and the machine fitted with a bomb rack. On October 13 the station would put up five aircraft against Zeppelins L13, L14, L15, and L16; two would land safely after the action. In particular 2/Lt
Claude Ridley took off from Joyce Green in a BE2c and spotted the airship for a brief moment in searchlights. He fired off 20 rounds at extreme range but then lost sight of the airship.
Dartford played an important role in the defence of London. Anti-aircraft guns were sited on the
River Brent
The River Brent is a river in west and northwest London, England, and a tributary of the River Thames. in length, it rises in the Borough of Barnet and flows in a generally south-west direction before joining the Tideway stretch of the Thame ...
,
Dartford Heath
Dartford Heath Common is an area of open heathland situated to the south-west of Dartford, Kent, England, covering around of open space. Dartford Heath is classified as lowland heath and is one of only two substantial heathland blocks remaining i ...
and the Dartford Marshes, and dozens of searchlights and listening posts were erected in the district. The total number of air raids in or near Dartford (1914–18) was thirty-seven. Despite large numbers of high explosive and incendiary bombs dropped on the area, no-one was killed in Dartford as a direct result of these air raids.
Zeppelins generated enough fear that the lord mayor of London offered a £500 prize to the first pilot or gun crew to shoot one down on British soil, an award claimed by members of an anti-aircraft gun emplacement sited on the Brent at Dartford. The gun crew played an important part in bringing down Zeppelin L15.
The units and detachments under No.19 reserve squadron around London for anti-zeppelin defence were reorganized on 15 April 1916 as the No.39 Home Defence Squadron. Zeppelin operations moved to the north of London leaving Joyce Green on the southern perimeter.
On 22 March 1917 McCudden arrived to instruct advanced students (including Mannock) on combat techniques. McCudden would return here two more times in his career in Nov 1917 and Apr 1918.
Later in Autumn 1917 the threat came from
Gotha bomber
''Gothaer Waggonfabrik'' (''Gotha'', GWF) was a German manufacturer of rolling stock established in the late nineteenth century at Gotha. During the two world wars, the company expanded into aircraft building.
World War I
In World War I, Got ...
s which had started raiding London. The Gotha had been based at
Ostend
Ostend ( nl, Oostende, ; french: link=no, Ostende ; german: link=no, Ostende ; vls, Ostende) is a coastal city and municipality, located in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerk ...
as early as the spring of 1917. In one week that year, the German planes passed over Dartford three nights in succession; the Brent guns firing nearly a thousand rounds at the raiders.
63 TS were moved to
Redcar
Redcar is a seaside town on the Yorkshire Coast in the Redcar and Cleveland unitary authority in the county of North Yorkshire, England. It is located east of Middlesbrough.
The Teesside built-up area's Redcar subdivision had a population of ...
on 13 February 1919, and the aerodrome was left only a pilots pool; and ground crew mainly composed of USAAF personnel on final training duties awaiting deployment to France.
Wireless Testing Park
In 1914 the RFC took over the
Marconi Company
The Marconi Company was a British telecommunications and engineering company that did business under that name from 1963 to 1987. Its roots were in the Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company founded by Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi in 1897 ...
experimental section at
Brooklands
Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. It opened in 1907 and was the world's first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing circuit as well as one of Britain's first airfields, ...
in Surrey (formed in early 1911) and turned it into a wireless training school for pilots and engineers; under the command of Major Charles Prince, a former a Marconi engineer. The existing regulations had been that all communications work for the RFC had to be undertaken by the
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...
. This resulted in conflicts of interest and views between the two organisations and things rapidly came to a head, and a decision was taken to separate the two bodies, resulting was that in August 1915 most of the wireless research work was sent to Woolwich, and the RFC wireless staff were despatched to a new site at Joyce Green.
The move was at first welcomed, as despite its pre-war success the Brooklands aerodrome was unsuitable for training and testing due to close proximity of high obstacles and electrical interference.
The Wireless Testing Park moved to this busy airfield in August 1915 on a convoy of trucks. Training, testing and wireless experiments, and work started. immediately while around them young men practised war, throwing flour bombs as they tried to make their cumbersome Henry Farman Trainers fly. The first ground to air upward message was sent in 1915 at the aerodrome by Major Prince, calling Captain J. M. Furnival as he circled the field in his aircraft.
'Hello Furnie. If you can hear me now it will be the first time speech has ever been communicated to an aeroplane in flight.' 'Hello Furnie if you can hear me dip your wings". The aeroplane, at its top speed of 50 mph, responded with 'an obedient lurch.'
Despite ongoing bureaucratic difficulties the team successfully and developed a practical aircraft telephony set towards the end of 1915; the Mark One weighing only 20 lbs (9 kg). This being the first operational air to ground wireless telephony equipment in the world. Prince made a report:
‘It seemed almost beyond hope to achieve really practical wireless telephony from an aeroplane, but the difficulties have been overcome, and the new set is by no means a toy, or only of scientific interest. A new and amazing power is conferred by it.’
By May 1916, 306 aircraft and 542 ground stations were equipped with spark wireless and crystal set receivers.
Also, despite Princes best attempts, four-fifths of the work for the RFC was officially still undertaken by the Royal Engineers Signals Experimental Establishment. Only one RFC officer was allowed on the premises at any one time, and he was unable to bring any influence to bear the designs and equipment they produced. Of a dozen new sets the RFC submitted to the Wireless Testing Park, all were subjected to damning comments such as ‘a monument of incompetence’ ‘hopelessly bad design’ and ‘a primitive attempt to get round real difficulties’.
As time progressed it became ever more apparent that the field of aviation radiophonics was too different from that of the army that the two services required to be separated.
Reasons why Joyce Green was replaced by Biggin Hill
Air Vice Marshal
Air vice-marshal (AVM) is a two-star air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes u ...
Gould Lee wrote in his book "Open Cockpit", chapter 17: ‘To use this waterlogged field for testing every now and then was reasonable and to take advantage of it as an emergency landing ground for Home Defence forces was credible, but to employ it as a flying training station was folly and as a
Camel
A camel (from: la, camelus and grc-gre, κάμηλος (''kamēlos'') from Hebrew or Phoenician: גָמָל ''gāmāl''.) is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. C ...
training station was lunacy. A pupil taking off with a choked or failing engine had to choose, according to wind direction, between drowning in the Thames (half a mile wide at this point), or crashing into the Vickers
TNT
Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...
works, or hitting one of their several high
chimney stack
A chimney is an architectural ventilation structure made of masonry, clay or metal that isolates hot toxic exhaust gases or smoke produced by a boiler, stove, furnace, incinerator, or fireplace from human living areas. Chimneys are typ ...
s, or sinking into a vast
sewage farm
Sewage farms use sewage for irrigation and fertilizing agricultural land. The practice is common in warm, arid climates where irrigation is valuable while sources of fresh water are scarce. Suspended solids may be converted to humus by microbes an ...
, or killing himself and numerous patients in a large isolation hospital, or being electrocuted in an
electrical substation
A substation is a part of an electrical generation, transmission, and distribution system. Substations transform voltage from high to low, or the reverse, or perform any of several other important functions. Between the generating station and ...
with acres of
pylons and cables; or trying to turn and get back to the aerodrome. Unfortunately, many pupils confronted with disaster tried the last course and span to their deaths.’
Jimmy McCudden VC in his book "Flying Fury" described the airfield (where he and others like of
Mick Mannock
Edward Corringham "Mick" Mannock (24 May 1887 – 26 July 1918) was a British flying ace in the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force during the First World War. Mannock was a pioneer of fighter aircraft tactics in aerial warfare. At the time ...
VC spent much time) as a "quiet little spot near Dartford", below sea level at the side of the Thames. The Corp resided in a wooden barrack block, and the actual airfield (grass runways) were located almost next to the River Thames, where many pilots lost their lives by drowning.
The Wireless Radio Unit found the foul weather, incessant mist, the state of the ground, the cold, and damp at Joyce Green non conducive to the best research. Numerous accidents, several fatalities and the planned formation of the Royal Air Force in 1918, led to the Wireless Testing Park eventually being moved in February 1917 to Biggin Hill.
Joyce Green can't take all the blame for pilot losses however, the Sopwith Camel was a demanding plane of all but the most experienced pilot, and had had a fearsome reputation for spinning out of control during tight turns, causing the deaths of many young pilots during their training period. Also as the war progressed the quality of new students progressively declined aggravating matters, with virtually no safety measures in place, one half of all pilots in training were killed at the many training bases.
US Army Air Service 1917-1919
Prior to its eventual closure, the airfield hosted some of the earliest elements of the
US Army Air Service
The United States Army Air Service (USAAS)Craven and Cate Vol. 1, p. 9 (also known as the ''"Air Service"'', ''"U.S. Air Service"'' and before its legislative establishment in 1920, the ''"Air Service, United States Army"'') was the aerial warf ...
to arrive in Europe. Three flights of the
8th Aero Squadron
The 8th Aero Squadron was an Air Service, United States Army unit that fought on the Western Front during World War I.
The squadron was assigned as a Corps Observation Squadron, performing short-range, tactical reconnaissance over the IV Corps, ...
USAAS arrived on 24 Dec 2017, soon to be dispersed elsewhere, leaving a ground unit which eventually departed in May 2018 for Thetford.
None of the many
USAS squadrons in the UK were flying units. When squadrons arrived from the States, pilots were attached to British units for further training and some were attached to operational squadrons in France. The ground crews were attached to British training units to learn maintenance procedures. A considerable number of USAS squadrons were construction squadrons and had no flying or maintenance personnel; they were charged with aerodrome construction.
Ground crew from the
149th Aero Squadron an Instructional flying squadron (Pursuit), were here in May 2018. The squadron was established 7 December 1917, and assigned to the
American Expeditionary Force
The American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.) was a formation of the United States Army on the Western Front of World War I. The A. E. F. was established on July 5, 1917, in France under the command of General John J. Pershing. It fought alon ...
(AEF) from 5 March 1918. It was transferred to France to the 3d Air Instructional Center at
Issoudun Aerodrome
Issoudun Aerodrome was a complex of military airfields in the vicinity of Issoudun, Centre, France. They were used during World War I as part of the Third Air Instructional Center, American Expeditionary Forces for training United States airmen ...
, and demobilized March 1919. One of the aircrew Private Carroll H. Bunch, an aerial photographer, took several photographs of the field and facilities when the squadron was based there.
Ground crew elements of the 159th Aero Squadron a Day Bombardment) squadron, were here sometime between 15 March, and 25 October 1918. The squadron was established 7 December 1917, and assigned to the American Expeditionary Force (AEF), it was transferred to France from Codford on 2 November.
Closure
After a
Whitsun
Whitsun (also Whitsunday or Whit Sunday) is the name used in Britain, and other countries among Anglicans and Methodists, for the Christian High Holy Day of Pentecost. It is the seventh Sunday after Easter, which commemorates the descent of the Ho ...
public display in May 1919, Vickers began pulling out for Brooklands in earnest.
Following the
Armistice with Germany
The Armistice of 11 November 1918 was the armistice signed at Le Francport near Compiègne that ended fighting on land, sea, and air in World War I between the Entente and their last remaining opponent, Germany. Previous armistices ...
Joyce Green was declared surplus to requirements in October 1919 and was restored to agricultural use by Dec. All of the hangars had been dismantled by 1939.
The Long Reach Tavern would eventually close in 1957, and was demolished in the late 1950s.
Role of Operations
Royal Flying Corps / Royal Air Force: resident units and aircraft
Wing chain of command
Notes:
*Units and location marked with an * were ground units and non-flying stations.
*HD = Home Defence
*NLG = Night Landing Ground
*RAS = Reserve Aeroplane Squadron: when the squadrons of the RFC went to France in 1914, the remaining machines were grouped into the original Reserve Aeroplane Squadron, which became a training unit. When further such units were formed, numbering was introduced.
*RS = Reserve Squadron: the RAS was re-tiled RS in January 1916 and by July of that year was classified as either Elementary (for initial training) or Higher (for type specialisation). 10 RS was one of the latter, being dedicated to turning out pilots for 'pusher' scouts, DH2 and FE8.
*TDS = Training Depot Station: these were introduced during the autumn of 1917 in an attempt to streamline the training system. Hitherto, pilots had undertaken elementary training at one station and moved to another for higher training - a waste of time and resources. TDS provided all-through training and had type specialisations.
*TS = Training Squadron: the RS were re-designated TS on 31 May 1917, to more accurately reflect their role. That coincided with 10 TS switching bases with 63 TS, as a response to the Gotha raids on SE England - 63 TS had Sopwith Pups and DH5s as part of its equipment and was given temporary HD duty.
*The Wireless Testing Park had arrived as a nucleus from Brooklands and was an out-station of the Signals Experimental Establishment at
Woolwich
Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich.
The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained throu ...
.
*No. 63 TS was given temporary HD duty during the summer of 1917.
*The Pool of Pilots comprised a concentration of pilots awaiting posting to units at home and overseas.
* Above three tables are from the National Archives. The six-part RAF Quarterly Survey of Stations, Autumn 1918 (AIR 1/452/15/312/26 & AIR 1/453/15/312/26).
Some notable officers who served at the aerodrome
*
Mick Mannock
Edward Corringham "Mick" Mannock (24 May 1887 – 26 July 1918) was a British flying ace in the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force during the First World War. Mannock was a pioneer of fighter aircraft tactics in aerial warfare. At the time ...
*
James McCudden
James Thomas Byford McCudden, (28 March 1895 – 9 July 1918) was a British flying ace of the First World War and among the most highly decorated airmen in British military history.
Born in 1895 to a middle class family with military traditions ...
*
Harry Goode
*
Albert Gregory Waller
*
Selden Herbert Long
*
A. S. G. Lee
*Herman W von Poellnitz ("Von Pip")
*G. R. McCubbin who shot down
Max Immelmann
Max Immelmann (21 September 1890 – 18 June 1916) '' PLM'' was the first German World War I flying ace.Shores, 1983, p. 10. He was a pioneer in fighter aviation and is often mistakenly credited with the first aerial victory using a synchr ...
*G. W. Mapplebeck
Gallery
File:River Darent and Thames meet. Confluence 2 - geograph.org.uk - 195213.jpg, Where the rivers Darent and Thames meet
File:RFC Joyce Green Aerodrome 6th Wing 31 Aug 1917 IWM AT Nash.jpg, RAF Aerial photograph of the Aerodrome in August 1917
File:RFC Joyce Green Aerodrome vertical aerial photograph 28th Feb 1918 by a machine from 36TDS IWM IMG 4919.jpg, RAF Aerial photograph of the Aerodrome on 28 Feb 1918
File:RFC Joyce Green Aerodrome site plan autumn 1918.jpg, RFC Site plan 1918, (not showing the drainage ditches or Joyce Green Lane)
File:Vickers plane on way to Joyce Green at Dartford.jpg, Dismantled Vickers Vimy on its way to Joyce Green outside "The Bear and Ragged Staff", Crayford
File:RFC Joyce Green ditch boards and Vimy.jpg, Ditch boards at Joyce Green, with a Vickers Vimy
File:RFC Joyce Green - Pay parade in the station yard behind the Long Reach Tavern 1917.jpg, Pay parade in the station motor vehicle yard, behind the Long Reach Tavern 1917
File:RFC Joyce Green - Long Reach Tavern with RFC hangars in the background 1929.jpg, Long Reach Tavern with the RFC hangars in the background, note the Thames riverside mile marker post
File:Long Reach Tavern c. 1936-7.jpg, The Tavern on 6 August 1939 when the Mauretania
Mauretania (; ) is the Latin name for a region in the ancient Maghreb. It stretched from central present-day Algeria westwards to the Atlantic, covering northern present-day Morocco, and southward to the Atlas Mountains. Its native inhabitants, ...
sailed past. The RFC are long gone; note the Thames mile post markers
The dashed line on the plan from the RAF Quarterly Survey of Stations, Autumn 1918, indicates the aerodrome boundaries - as it does on all the plans in TNA AIR1 452 and 453. The RFC/RAF buildings were mainly on the northern boundary, in and around Long Reach Tavern. The Vickers buildings to the far south. The plan was drawn on existing 25 mile to the inch OS maps, so existing surrounding buildings show, e.g. Outside the base is the Joyce Green hospital in the far SE corner. The Orchard Hospital to its immediate left.
Accidents and incidents
Some notable accidents and incidents involving military aircraft:
The first fatalities occurred on 13 January 1913 when a new biplane design, converted from a
Vickers No.6 Monoplane, on a test flight, came down in the River Thames. The Vicker's pilot, Leslie McDonald, and his mechanic, Harry English, were drowned. The publican of the Tavern (and retired waterman) Richard Salmon (1843-1915), witnessed the accident and gave evidence at the inquest in Dartford. The Coroner concluded that the accident had occurred as a result of a sudden loss of power to the engine.
The incident didn't deter Richard from flying as he later experienced a joyride from the aerodrome, at age 69/70.
Captain Gilbert William Mapplebeck
DSO (22) (Gibb Mapplebeck) 1892-1915. was posted to No 2 Reserve Air Squadron in August 1915 to carry out flight tests. On 24 August Mapplebeck (a recognized ace) after taking off in a
Morane-Saulnier N
The Morane-Saulnier N, also known as the Morane-Saulnier Type N, was a French monoplane fighter aircraft of the First World War. Designed and manufactured by Morane-Saulnier, the Type N entered service in April 1915 with the ''Aéronautique Mili ...
“Bullet” climbed to 80 feet and then entered a sharp right-hand turn. The plane stalled and spun into the ground. Mapplebeck was killed.
Noel Pemberton-Billing MP asked questions in Parliament and it was investigated in 1916. Billing claimed that the plane was of a type condemned by the French air force and that there was a problem with the safety belt. The verdict of the Board of Inquiry on 25 August concluded that the French had indeed in large part taken the plane out of service, and that it would have been negligent to put an inexperienced pilot in such a machine, however Mapplebeck was an ‘expert’ so it was not negligent; the crash was caused by ‘an unfortunate error of judgment on the pilot’s part’, and “that the accident was due to the machine ‘spinning’ on a heavily banked turn, the pilot not having sufficient height to regain control before hitting the earth.”
Major Ernest Frederic Unwin (35), died 22 March 1916 in a B.E.2c, 10 RS, hit a tree on a night approach and caught fire, at Joyce Green.
Capt Bert James (22) RAF, was killed at Joyce Green May 1918, within sight of the airfield as witnessed by Carroll Bunch.
2Lt Edwin John Leslie Lonnen (27) killed 16 August 1916 in Vickers FB.9 5273, 10 RS, at Joyce Green. Stalled in turn and nose dived.
Lt Harold Staples Brewster (22) (Canadian) killed 6 December 1916 in a D.H.2 A4988, 10 RS, Joyce Green, Nose dived and crashed, at Dover.
Lt Henry Richard Deighton Simpson (20), RFC (American) killed 20 December 1916 in a Vickers F.B.16A, Vickers Ltd. Crashed on test - 'excessive strain on machine', at Joyce Green.
Lt. Sydney Esmond O’Hanlon Mid. MC. (23) 63 Squadron, killed 29 January 1918. While instructing on 29 January 1918, another aircraft gone out of control, hit O'Hanlon's Sopwith Pup, and he was seriously injured. Died on 3 February.
Vickers test pilot
Harold Barnwell, (39) flying solo in a
Vickers F.B.26 Vampire, ''B1484'' crashed at Joyce Green, when he attempted a spin without sufficient altitude for recovery. Pilot KWF.
Partial list of incidents
Legacy
North Kent Nomads Flying Club
One of the fields is used by this Large
Radio Controlled Model Aircraft club.
Wells Fireworks Factory
In 1938 a long-established English firework maker Joseph Wells and Sons Limited acquired land between the Orchard Hospital and what was the Aerodrome. A part of the aerodrome site was included; where the RAF Officers mess had been located near the main gate. Wells had been originally established in 1837 at
Earlsfield
Earlsfield is an area within the London Borough of Wandsworth, London, England. It is a typical London suburb and comprises mostly residential Victorian terraced houses with a high street of shops, bars, and restaurants between Garratt Lane, Al ...
and
Camberwell
Camberwell () is a district of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross.
Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles and a common of which Goose Green is a remnant. This e ...
in London. To meet increasing demands and compliance with the requirements of the
Explosives Act 1875
The history of fire safety legislation in the United Kingdom formally covers the period from the formation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801 but is founded in the history of such legislation in England and Wales, and Sco ...
, they had opened a new factory at
Honor Oak Park
Honor Oak Park railway station serves the suburban area of Honor Oak in the London Borough of Lewisham. It is down the line from , between and .
The station is operated by London Overground, with London Overground and Southern trains servi ...
in 1878, just north of the
railway station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
.
They also opened a factory in 1915 at
Colchester
Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian.
Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...
to supplement Honor Oaks' production. Colchester was closed in 1938 when the new factory was built at Joyce Green, Dartford. The Honor Oak factory was closed in 1947 and the construction sheds from the old factory were transported to the Joyce Green site. Wells carried on production of fireworks until the family sold the site in 1968.
References
Bibliography
*
External links
List of RFC/RAF Personnel 1915-18 at the airfield, including personnel from Nos 2, 3RS, 16, 27, 32, 62, 80 and 103 Squadrons
{{DEFAULTSORT:Joyce Green, RAF
Royal Air Force stations in Kent
Royal Flying Corps airfields
Royal Flying Corps airfields in Kent
Borough of Dartford
History of Kent