Stapleford Aerodrome is an operational
general aviation
General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...
aerodrome
An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...
in the
Epping Forest
Epping Forest is a area of ancient woodland, and other established habitats, which straddles the border between Greater London and Essex. The main body of the forest stretches from Epping in the north, to Chingford on the edge of the London ...
district of
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Gr ...
, England, near the village of
Abridge
Abridge is a village in Essex, England. It is on the River Roding, southwest of the county town of Chelmsford. The village is in the district of Epping Forest and in the parliamentary constituency of Brentwood and Ongar. It is part of the civ ...
. It is about south of
North Weald Airfield
North Weald Airfield is an operational general aviation aerodrome, in the civil parish of North Weald Bassett in Epping Forest, Essex, England. It was an important fighter station during the Battle of Britain, when it was known as the RAF Sta ...
and north of
Romford
Romford is a large town in east London and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Havering. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Historically, Romford ...
.
The airfield is just within the
M25, close to the junction with the
M11.
Stapleford Aerodrome has a
CAA Ordinary Licence (Number P472) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction as authorised by the licensee (Herts & Essex Aero Club Limited).
History
The 1930s
Stapleford opened as Essex Aerodrome in 1933 as a base for
Hillman's Airways
Hillman's Airways was a 1930s British airline that later became part of British Airways.
The company was formed in November 1931 as Hillman's Saloon Coaches and Airways Limited by Edward Henry Hillman who was a coach operator in Essex. His pre ...
, which provided a service to Paris and other European cities using
De Havilland
The de Havilland Aircraft Company Limited () was a British aviation manufacturer established in late 1920 by Geoffrey de Havilland at Stag Lane Aerodrome Edgware on the outskirts of north London. Operations were later moved to Hatfield in He ...
DH.84 Dragon and
DH.89 Dragon Rapide biplanes
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 a ...
.
Amy Johnson
Amy Johnson (born 1 July 1903 – disappeared 5 January 1941) was a pioneering English pilot who was the first woman to fly solo from London to Australia.
Flying solo or with her husband, Jim Mollison, she set many long-distance records du ...
was one of the Hillman Airways pilots. After running into financial difficulties, Hillman was bought up by Whitehall Security Corporation Ltd and merged with three other airlines that they already owned to form
British Airways Ltd
British Airways Ltd was a British airline company operating in Europe in the period 1935–1939. It was formed in 1935 by the merger of Spartan Air Lines Ltd, United Airways Ltd (no relation to the US carrier United Airlines), and Hillman's ...
. Operations began in 1936, but after 4 months all flights were moved to
Heston Aerodrome
Heston Aerodrome was an airfield located to the west of London, England, operational between 1929 and 1947. It was situated on the border of the Heston and Cranford areas of Hounslow, Middlesex. In September 1938, the British Prime Minister, Ne ...
, leaving just a small number of private aircraft.
The RAF took an interest in the airfield in 1937, and in 1938
No. 21 Elementary and Reserve Flying Training School RAF was established at Stapleford. Training was provided by
Reid and Sigrist Ltd, under contract to the
Air Ministry. One of the most famous students was
J.E. "Johnnie" Johnson who became the
RAF
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) and ...
's top scoring pilot and reached the rank of
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 ...
.
Second World War
The airfield was requisitioned shortly after the start of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
as RAF
Stapleford Tawney
Stapleford Tawney is a village and civil parish in the Epping Forest district of Essex, England. Stapleford Tawney is approximately west-southwest from Chipping Ongar and southwest from the county town of Chelmsford.
History
Historically Stapl ...
. A long perimeter track and dispersal points were built and some accommodation buildings were erected. By the end of March 1940 the airfield was ready to become a satellite station for
RAF North Weald
North Weald Airfield is an operational general aviation aerodrome, in the civil parish of North Weald Bassett in Epping Forest, Essex, England. It was an important fighter station during the Battle of Britain, when it was known as the RAF St ...
.
The first squadron to make regular use of Stapleford was
No. 151 Squadron, making patrols from the base from August 1940. Six aircraft were lost and two pilots, including squadron leader Eric King, killed in action on 30 August. After a short stay, the squadron was moved to
RAF Digby
Royal Air Force Digby otherwise known as RAF Digby is a Royal Air Force station located near Scopwick and south east of Lincoln, in Lincolnshire, England. The station is home to the tri-service Joint Service Signals Organisation, part of the ...
,
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...
, but one aircraft struck a crane after takeoff and burst into flames. The pilot, Pilot Officer Richard Ambrose, was killed; he is buried in Epping cemetery.
No. 46 Squadron arrived in September, having lost all their
Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by ...
fighters when the aircraft carrier was sunk while evacuating the squadron from Norway.
Other units to use Stapleford included the secret No. 419 Flight, formed in August 1940 as the operational air-arm of the
Special Operations Executive
The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a secret British World War II organisation. It was officially formed on 22 July 1940 under Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton, from the amalgamation of three existing secret organisations. Its p ...
(SOE). They were intended to use
Armstrong Whitworth Whitley
The Armstrong Whitworth A.W.38 Whitley was a British medium bomber aircraft of the 1930s. It was one of three twin-engined, front line medium bomber types that were in service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) at the outbreak of the World War II, ...
s to drop agents and supplies behind enemy lines.
Westland Lysander
The Westland Lysander is a British army co-operation and liaison aircraft produced by Westland Aircraft that was used immediately before and during the Second World War.
After becoming obsolete in the army co-operation role, the aircraft's ...
s would be used to pick up agents as well as other important people. Because of heavy
Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German '' Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegera ...
attacks on North Weald, the flight moved to Stapleford on 4 September. The Whitley was a rather large aircraft to use Stapleford's grass runways. Only two operations were carried out from Stapleford; one to
Brest and the other to
Fontainebleau
Fontainebleau (; ) is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the ''arrondissement'' ...
. The flight then moved to
RAF Stradishall
Royal Air Force Stradishall or more simply RAF Stradishall is a former Royal Air Force station located north east of Haverhill, Suffolk and south west of Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England. Part of the site remains in use as Stradishall Train ...
, Suffolk, on 9 October.
Other squadrons at Stapleford were
No. 242 Squadron and the RAF's oldest,
No. 3 Squadron and, in 1941, a new Air Sea Rescue squadron was formed at Stapleford –
No. 277 Squadron.
In March 1943, Stapleford was taken out of
Fighter Command
RAF Fighter Command was one of the commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It served throughout the Second World War. It earned near-immortal fame during the Battle of Britai ...
and placed under the command of No. 34 Wing of the
Army Co-operation Command.
Stapleford played an important part in the preparations for
D-Day and many units arrived.
On 20 November 1944 a
V-2
The V-2 (german: Vergeltungswaffe 2, lit=Retaliation Weapon 2), with the technical name ''Aggregat 4'' (A-4), was the world’s first long-range guided ballistic missile. The missile, powered by a liquid-propellant rocket engine, was develope ...
rocket landed in the middle of the airfield leaving a crater 60 feet in diameter. On 23 January 1945 another rocket landed on the airfield camp site killing 17 personnel and injuring 50. A number of the personnel are buried in the church cemetery at North Weald.
Stapleford's wartime role ended in 1945, with the last personnel leaving before
VE Day
Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945, marking the official end of World War II in Europe in the Easter ...
.
A memorial at the airfield recalls those who died.
The following units were also here at some point:
Post-war
In 1946, Stapleford Aerodrome was taken over 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 head ...
. 869 Mechanical Equipment Squadron RE was the only plant unit in the UK and held a large inventory of bulldozers, scrapers, road rollers, cranes, excavators, draglines and all the plant items that the army had acquired – most of it worn out. The newest of the equipment was used throughout the UK in clearing minefields (armoured bulldozers) and constructing shooting ranges etc. The unit name was changed to Number 1 Plant Park Squadron RE and moved to Bordon, Hampshire, in September 1948.
In 1953
Roger Frogley and his brother Buster transferred the Herts and Essex Aero club from
Broxbourne
Broxbourne is a town and former civil parish, now in the unparished area of Hoddesdon, in the Broxbourne district, in Hertfordshire, England, north of London, with a population of 15,303 at the 2011 Census.Broxbourne Town population 2011 It is ...
in Hertfordshire to Stapleford. The hangars were renovated and they began flying
Tiger Moths and
Auster
Auster Aircraft Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer from 1938 to 1961.Willis, issue 122, p.55
History
The company began in 1938 at the Britannia Works, Thurmaston near Leicester, England, as Taylorcraft Aeroplanes (England) Limited, m ...
s.
In 1955
Edgar Percival, the famous pre-war aircraft designer, set up a company at Stapleford under his name and started a production line for his EP9 crop-spraying aircraft. A total of 40 aircraft were built.
Today
The airfield is home to the privately owned Stapleford Flight Centre. For around 40 years, it has trained pilots for
PPL up to
CPL and
ATPL qualifications. It has a fleet of over 40 aircraft. Other companies on the site provide business charter services, London sightseeing flights and aircraft engineering services.
The airfield has two parallel runways, designated 03/21, one being partly
asphalt
Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term a ...
at one end, and a shorter grass runway, designated 10/28.
Lambourne
VOR is located at the south of the airfield.
Accidents and incidents
On 3 October 2015 a
Beechcraft King Air 200 G-BYCP operated by
London Executive Aviation crashed shortly after departure killing both pilots on board.
References
*http://www.iaopa.eu/mediaServlet/storage/gamag/feb08/GA_p34-p35.pdf
External links
Detailed historical record about Stapleford AerodromeStapleford Flight Centre
{{authority control
Airports in England
Transport in Epping Forest District
Airports in the London region
Airports established in 1933
1933 establishments in England