Royal Air Force Bovingdon or more simply RAF Bovingdon 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) and ...

station located near the village of

Bovingdon Bovingdon is a village in Hertfordshire, England, southwest of Hemel Hempstead, and it is a civil parish within the local authority area of Dacorum. It forms the largest part of the ward of Bovingdon, Flaunden and Chipperfield, which had a ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

, England, about south-west of

Hemel Hempstead Hemel Hempstead () is a town in the Dacorum district in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of London, which is part of the Greater London Urban Area. The population at the 2011 census was 97,500. Developed after the Second World War as a ne ...

and south-east of

Berkhamsted Berkhamsted ( ) is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, in the Bulbourne valley, north-west of London. The town is a civil parish with a town council within the borough of Dacorum which is based in the neighbouring large new town ...

. During 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 opposin ...

, the airfield was used by the

(RAF) and the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

(USAAF)

Eighth Air Force The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Force ...

. It was assigned USAAF designation Station 112, station code "BV", later changed to "BZ".

Royal Air Force use

Bovingdon was built in 1941–42 as a standard Class A RAF bomber

airfield 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 ...

. The main NE/SW runway was long and the two secondary runways were each long. Over 30 dispersal hardstandings were built. On 15 June 1942, No. 7 Group,

RAF Bomber Command RAF Bomber Command controlled the Royal Air Force's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. Along with the United States Army Air Forces, it played the central role in the strategic bombing of Germany in World War II. From 1942 onward, the British bo ...

took up residence at Bovingdon. Operational missions were flown in June and July by the RAF until the field was turned over to the USAAF in August.

United States Army Air Forces use

USAAF Station Units assigned to RAF Bovingdon were: * 1st Combat Crew Replacement Group : 11th Combat Crew Replacement Unit * 328th Service Group (VIII Air Force Service Command) : 347th Service Squadron; HHS 328th Service Group * 18th Weather Squadron * 26th Station Complement Squadron * Headquarters & Headquarters Squadron (VIII Fighter Command) Regular Army Station Units included: * 1054th Signal Company * 1071st Quartermaster Company * 1787th Ordnance Supply & Maintenance Company * 978th Military Police Company * 2128th Engineer Fire Fighting Platoon RAF Bovingdon - Combat Journalists

The primary mission of Bovingdon was to support Eighth Air Force Headquarters and the Air Technical Section, both equipped with a variety of aircraft types. General Eisenhower's personal B-17 was housed on the base. During World War II, several film stars were assigned at one time or another to the base, including

Clark Gable William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American film actor, often referred to as "The King of Hollywood". He had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in multiple genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades ...

James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military pilot. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality h ...

and

William Holden William Holden (born William Franklin Beedle Jr.; April 17, 1918 – November 12, 1981) was an American actor, and one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film ''Stalag 17'' (1953) ...

. Among famous wartime visitors were

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with 5 ...

Frances Langford Julia Frances Newbern-Langford (April 4, 1913 – July 11, 2005) was an American singer and actress who was popular during the Golden Age of Radio and made film and television appearances for over two decades. She was known as the "GI Nighting ...

, Mrs

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt () (October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four ...

, and

Glenn Miller Alton Glen Miller (March 1, 1904 – December 15, 1944) was an American big band founder, owner, conductor, composer, arranger, trombone player and recording artist before and during World War II, when he was an officer in the United States Arm ...

. A unique mission undertaken at Bovingdon was the training of United States journalists to cover the air war over Occupied Europe. A group of military journalists underwent training in February 1943 to fly high-altitude missions in bombers, to shoot the flexible machine guns (although they did not actually fire them in combat), as well as parachute and life support training as aircrew. The group of journalists flew on a combat mission over Wilhelmshaven, Germany on 26 February 1943 to attack the German Naval submarine pens there. The mission saw heavy losses for the USAAF, and the aircraft of

Andy Rooney Andrew Aitken Rooney (January 14, 1919 – November 4, 2011) was an American radio and television writer who was best known for his weekly broadcast "A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney", a part of the CBS News program '' 60 Minutes'' from 1978 to 201 ...

of the Stars and Stripes was damaged by flak and Robert Post of the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

was killed in action when his B-24 exploded. This ended the training of journalists to fly along with Eighth Air Force bomber crews. Other journalists who underwent this training included

Walter Cronkite Walter Leland Cronkite Jr. (November 4, 1916 – July 17, 2009) was an American broadcast journalist who served as anchorman for the ''CBS Evening News'' for 19 years (1962–1981). During the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the mo ...

, James Denton Scott, Homer Bigart, William Wade and Gladwin Hill.

92nd Bombardment Group (Heavy)

The first USAAF tenant at Bovingdon was the

92nd Bombardment Group 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...

(Heavy), being deployed from

Sarasota Army Air Field Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sout ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. The group was known as "Fame's Favored Few", and it was assigned to the 40th Combat Bombardment Wing at

RAF Thurleigh Royal Air Force Thurleigh or more simply RAF Thurleigh is a former Royal Air Force station located north of Bedford, Bedfordshire, England. Thurleigh was transferred to the United States Army Air Forces Eighth Air Force on 9 December 1942 ...

. The group tail code was a "Triangle B". Its operational squadrons were: *

325th Bombardment Squadron 3 (three) is a number, numeral (linguistics), numeral and numerical digit, digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cu ...

(NV) * 326th Bombardment Squadron (JW) * 327th Bombardment Squadron (UX) * 407th Bombardment Squadron (PY) The group flew a few two combat missions in September and October 1942, then was assigned the role of a

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...

Combat Crew Replacement Unit (CCRU). In January 1943, it was transferred to

RAF Alconbury Royal Air Force Alconbury or more simply RAF Alconbury is an active Royal Air Force station near Huntingdon, England. The airfield is in the civil parish of The Stukeleys, close to the villages of Great Stukeley, Little Stukeley, and Alconbur ...

where it was became an operational combat group.

11th Combat Crew Replacement Unit

Although the 92nd Bomb Group departed for Alconbury, the 326th Bomb Squadron of the 92nd remained at Bovingdon to form the core of 11th Combat Crew Replacement Unit. The training was performed on the B-17E aircraft, and most combat crews of

8th Air Force The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Forces ...

bombing units for the balance of the war received their introduction before moving on to their operational bases. Although based at Bovingdon, the 326th remained under the operational control of the 92nd at Alconbury until May 1943. In September 1944 the 11th CCRU was disbanded and Bovingdon became the base for the European Air Transport Service (EATS). Many thousands of Americans returned to the States via the air terminal.

Postwar uses

After the war, Bovingdon was returned to RAF control on 15 April 1947. The British Ministry of Civil Aviation obtained the airfield for civilian airline use. On 15 September 1949, Bovingdon was the start point for a successful record air speed attempt by a

de Havilland Hornet The de Havilland DH.103 Hornet, developed by de Havilland, was a fighter aircraft driven by two piston engines. It further exploited the wooden construction techniques that had been pioneered by the de Havilland Mosquito. Development of the ...

to and from

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

. Because of its elevation of about 160 metres, Bovingdon was often clear when

Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others be ...

and

RAF Northolt ("Ready to carry or to fight") , pushpin_map = Greater London , pushpin_label = RAF Northolt , pushpin_map_caption = Shown within Greater London , coordinates = , type = Royal Air Force station , code = , site_area = , height = , owners ...

were fog-bound; during the winter months especially, Bovingdon was used by

British European Airways British European Airways (BEA), formally British European Airways Corporation, was a British airline which existed from 1946 until 1974. BEA operated to Europe, North Africa and the Middle East from airports around the United Kingdom. The a ...

(BEA).

British Overseas Airways Corporation British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the British state-owned airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II. After the passi ...

(BOAC) used Bovingdon as a maintenance facility and numerous other independent aircraft operators used the former technical site during the postwar years. During the 1950s both civilian and military organizations used Bovingdon. The proximity of the

USAF The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...

Third Air Force The Third Air Force (Air Forces Europe) (3 AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA). Its headquarters is Ramstein Air Base, Germany. It is responsible for all U.S. air forces in ...

Headquarters at

RAF South Ruislip RAF South Ruislip, also known as South Ruislip Air Station, was a non-flying Air Force station located in South Ruislip near London, England. Located close to RAF Northolt, the station was used by the United States Air Force's Third Air Force f ...

and HQ

RAF 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 Brita ...

Bentley Priory Bentley Priory is an eighteenth to nineteenth century stately home and deer park in Stanmore on the northern edge of the Greater London area in the London Borough of Harrow. It was originally a medieval priory or cell of Augustinian Canons in ...

made Bovingdon the ideal location for service aircraft. The USAF returned to Bovingdon on 25 May 1951, with the establishment of the 7531st Air Base Squadron.

Douglas C-47 Skytrain The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF, and SAAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in ...

s were assigned to the unit, however many transitory USAF planes used the airfield routinely. In addition, the RAF operated the

Fighter Command Communication Squadron RAF Fighter(s) or The Fighter(s) may refer to: Combat and warfare * Combatant, an individual legally entitled to engage in hostilities during an international armed conflict * Fighter aircraft, a warplane designed to destroy or damage enemy warplanes ...

on the base. In October 1962, the USAF departed from Bovingdon. During the 60s, RAF Transport Command (

Southern Communication Squadron RAF Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

) operated

Anson Anson may refer to: People * Anson (name), a give name and surname ** Anson family, a British aristocratic family with the surname Place names ;United States * Anson, Indiana * Anson, Kansas * Anson, Maine ** Anson (CDP), Maine * Anson, Missour ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

, Pembroke and latterly

Basset Bassets are a sub- type of scenthound deliberately bred with short legs, that are used for hunting where the hunters accompany the hunting hounds on foot. History Bassets were originally developed in France from where they spread throughout Europ ...

aircraft from Bovingdon. In the 1960s the base was home to the last flight of Anson Mk 21 aircraft, descended from a

World War II 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 opposin ...

design. The Air Training Corps 617 Gliding School operated from Bovingdon between 1968 and 1970; the last flight by a military aircraft was by Kirby Cadet Mk.3 glider XN246 on 25 Oct 1970. The school had moved from RAF Hendon in 1968, but moved on to RAF Manston in 1971. In 1968 the airfield was used to store and dispose of several aircraft used in the making of the film "Battle of Britain".

Closure and civilian use

In 1968, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) announced that Bovingdon would be closed for budgetary reasons, and in 1972 the airfield was shut down, although from World War II to present day, the runway, 650m long × 49m wide, on Berry Farm has continuously been used for light aircraft activities. Berry Farm is owned separately by the Webb family and is unconnected to the part of the original airfield where the land has been used for various other uses, including the market. In 2012 Dacorum Borough Council confirmed that the Berry Farm stretch of runway 08/26 remains a legally active airfield for light aircraft operation. In the early 1980s, flying returned to the airfield, first with hang-glider tow-launching (using a truck-mounted pay-out winch) and then microlight aircraft, mainly of the 'Trike/hang-glider' type. Some local residents complained on the grounds of noise and danger. After a local inquiry, the

Ombudsman An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...

narrowly decided against allowing flying to continue. At that time the combined control tower and fire-tender garage were in 'reasonable structural condition' but deliberately damaged a few years later by earthmoving equipment, thereafter making restoration highly unlikely. The remains of the control tower were demolished in August 2010. An area of the former technical site was transferred to

HM Prison Service His Majesty's Prison Service (HMPS) is a part of HM Prison and Probation Service (formerly the National Offender Management Service), which is the part of His Majesty's Government charged with managing most of the prisons within England and Wale ...

for use as a

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

, called ' The Mount' which opened in 1987. The airfield site still houses a

VOR VOR or vor may refer to: Organizations * Vale of Rheidol Railway in Wales * Voice of Russia, a radio broadcaster * Volvo Ocean Race, a yacht race Science, technology and medicine * VHF omnidirectional range, a radio navigation aid used in a ...

navigational beacon, code BNN. The airspace above the airfield and nearby

Chesham Chesham (, , or ) is a market town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, south-east of the county town of Aylesbury, north-west of central London, and part of the London commuter belt. It is in the Chess Valley, surrounded by farmla ...

is known as the

Bovingdon stack Inbound aircraft to London Heathrow Airport typically follow one of a number of Standard Arrival Routes (STARs). The STARs each terminate at one of four different RNAV waypoints (co-located with VOR navigational aids), and these also define four ...

and is a holding area for aircraft approaching Heathrow Airport, to the south. Aircraft are requested to join the hold, typically at an altitude of 7000–16000 feet, and then to fly a 'race-track' pattern around the Bovingdon VOR beacon, separated at vertical intervals of 1000 feet from other aircraft. Each aircraft is then instructed to descend to a lower available altitude as the lowest aircraft leaves the hold to make its final approach to Heathrow. At busy times there may be up to 10 aircraft holding at the available 1000 foot separations between 7000 feet and 16000 feet, and these may be seen circling overhead on a clear day. The remainder of the airfield site was used for a regular Saturday market and there was also a permanent circuit for

banger racing Banger racing is a tarmac, dirt, shale and chalk track type of motorsport event popular in countries such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands. Vehicles are raced against one another, with the winner being the first to the c ...

which closed in September 2008. The main runway and

taxiway A taxiway is a path for aircraft at an airport connecting runways with aprons, hangars, terminals and other facilities. They mostly have a hard surface such as asphalt or concrete, although smaller general aviation airports sometimes use gravel ...

s are still intact though in a poor state of repair, but are also used for other events such as autojumbles and classic car shows. Alongside a runway is a Delta Force

Paintballing Paintball is a competitive sport, competitive team sport, team shooting sport in which players eliminate opponents from play by hitting them with spherical dye-filled gelatin capsules called Paintball equipment#Paintballs, paintballs that brea ...

facility. The ruins of the

control tower Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airsp ...

also remain. It was reported in September 2021 that new studios would be added to the Airfield and that Bovingdon Market would be closing down due to the new studios. It was confirmed on the Bovingdon Market Facebook page in March 2022 that the market would be ceasing trading on the site after 40 years of trading due to television works taking over the airfield with 3 new studios, new offices and a backlot being added to the sit. The final day of trading for Bovingdon Market was 29 August 2022.

ITV Studios Bovingdon

ITV Studio Bovingdon (also known as Bovingdon Airfield) near Hemel Hempstead England is a television studio complex for ITV Studios. The studios opened in January 2018. ITV Bovingdon currently has one full sized studio which was purpose built for '' Dancing on Ice''. A number of other productions are also filmed at ITV Studios Bovingdon including Michael McIntyre's '' The Wheel'' and ''

The Masked Singer ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

''. In September 2021, it was announced that ITV Studio Bovingdon had submitted plans to expand the studio capacity by building three new permanent studios, new office spaces, a backlot for temporary studios and sets. The plans were granted in 2022 this will take the number of studios at ITV Bovingdon to 4 once completed along with a backlot. It was reported in August 2022 that ITV Bovingdon's new backlot will become home of the new ''

Big Brother UK ''Big Brother'' is the British version of the international reality television franchise '' Big Brother'' created by producer John de Mol in 1997. Broadcast yearly from 2000 to 2018, and due to return in 2023, the show follows the format of ot ...

'' house which will return to ITV in May 2023.

Studios

*Studio 1 – 2088 square metres (22,483 ft2) – Studio 1 is currently home to programmes such as '' Dancing on Ice'', ''

'', '' The Wheel'' and '' The Masked Dancer''. The studio can accommodate audiences and an ice rink. Studio 1 opened in January 2018 with ''Dancing on Ice'' being the first series to be filmed there. Future development will include three additional studios and a backlot.

Programmes

The studios are home to many television programmes, including:

Other film and television appearances

In the 1960s, Bovingdon was used in the production of four

films, ''

The War Lover ''The War Lover'' is a 1962 British war film directed by Philip Leacock and written by Howard Koch loosely based on the 1959 novel by John Hersey, altering the names of characters and events but retaining its basic framework. It stars Steve Mc ...

'' (1962); ''

633 Squadron ''633 Squadron'' is a 1964 British / American war film directed by Walter Grauman and starring Cliff Robertson, George Chakiris, and Maria Perschy. The plot, which involves the exploits of a fictional World War II British bomber squadron, wa ...

'' (1964) ''

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...

'' (1969) and ''

Mosquito Squadron ''Mosquito Squadron'' is a 1969 British war film made by Oakmont Productions, directed by Boris Sagal and starring David McCallum. The raid echoes Operation Jericho, a combined RAF– Maquis raid which freed French prisoners from Amiens jail ...

'' (1969). Although flying ceased at the airfield in 1969, it was also used to film parts of the flying car scenes in the James Bond film '' The Man With the Golden Gun'' starring Roger Moore, when the palm trees fold down as it takes off. In 1977, parts of the

Golden Gate Bridge The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. The structure links the U.S. city of San Francisco, California—the northern tip of the San Francisco Pen ...

sequence from ''

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...

'' were filmed on one of the runways. In 1978, some flying scenes for the film '' Hanover Street''.. The site was also used in the 2016 ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...

'' film ''

Rogue One ''Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'' (or simply ''Rogue One'') is a 2016 American epic space opera film directed by Gareth Edwards. The screenplay by Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy is from a story by John Knoll and Gary Whitta. It was produced by L ...

'', representing the planet Scarif. On television, it served as the location for at least one black and white episode of '' The Avengers'' ''"The Hour That Never Was"'', starring Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg featuring Gerald Harper and Roy Kinnear as well as the 1980 ''

Blake's 7 ''Blake's 7'' (sometimes styled ''Blakes7'') is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. Four 13-episode series were broadcast on BBC1 between 1978 and 1981. It was created by Terry Nation, who also wrote the first ...

'' episode ''The Harvest of Kairos'' as the surface of the planet Kairos. An airstrip at the airfield is also reputed to have been used in the opening credits of the 1967 television series ''

The Prisoner ''The Prisoner'' is a 1967 British television series about an unnamed British intelligence agent who is abducted and imprisoned in a mysterious coastal village, where his captors designate him as Number Six and try to find out why he abruptl ...

'' in which Patrick McGoohan is seen driving a Lotus Super Seven car past the camera at speed. The control tower and airfield was the filming location for the 1981 movie ''

Silver Dream Racer ''Silver Dream Racer'' is a 1980 motor-racing film starring British pop star David Essex and Beau Bridges. The film was produced, written and directed by David Wickes. It was the last film to be made by the Rank Organisation. Plot Nick Freeman ...

'' starring David Essex and Beau Bridges. In the movie, the montage scene before the final race shows Essex and Christina Raines training for the forthcoming grand prix. It has continued to be used in various TV shows up to the present day. The airfield has also been used in the production of the film ''

Bohemian Rhapsody "Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock band Queen, released as the lead single from their fourth album, '' A Night at the Opera'' (1975). Written by lead singer Freddie Mercury, the song is a six-minute suite, notable for its lack o ...

'', as the production crew were required to recreate the 1985

Live Aid Live Aid was a multi-venue benefit concert held on Saturday 13 July 1985, as well as a music-based fundraising initiative. The original event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise further funds for relief of the 1983–1985 fami ...

set.

Major units assigned

; Royal Air Force * No. 150 Staging Post RAF (9 Aug 1946 - 18 Feb 1947) * Flying Training Command Communication Squadron RAF (9 Jul 1947 - 30 Jun 1963) *

Bomber Command Communication Squadron RAF A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped from an aircra ...

(31 Mar - 30 Jun 1963) * Bomber/Fighter/Coastal Command Communication Squadron RAF (30 Jun - 1 Aug 1963) *

(1 Aug 1963 - 1 Jan 1969) * No. 617 Volunteer Gliding School RAF (1968 - Sep 1969) * Strike Command Communication Squadron RAF (1 - 27 Jan 1969) ; United States Army Air Forces * 92d Bombardment Group, ( 18 Aug 1942 - 6 Jan 1943) * 11th Combat Crew Replacement Unit, (Jan 1943 - Sep 1944) * 92d Bombardment Group, ( 18 Aug 1942 - 6 Jan 1943) * 1402nd Air Base Group (Oct 1944 - Apr 1946) ; United States Air Force * 7531st Air Base Squadron (25 May 1951 - 1962) * 2130 Communications Group (1961 to 1991)

References

Citations

Bibliography

* Maurer Maurer, ''Air Force Combat Units of World War II'', Office of Air Force History, 1983 * Freeman, Roger A., ''Airfields of the Eighth, Then And Now'', 1978 * Freeman, Roger A., ''The Mighty Eighth, The Colour Record'', 1991 * Maurer Maurer, ''Air Force Combat Units of World War II'', Office of Air Force History, 1983
USAAS-USAAC-USAAF-USAF Aircraft Serial Numbers--1908 to present

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bovingdon Royal Air Force stations in Hertfordshire Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom Installations of the United States Air Force in the United Kingdom Military installations closed in 1972 Airfields of the VIII Bomber Command in the United Kingdom

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 ...

Military installations established in 1942 1942 establishments in England 1972 disestablishments in England