RAF Bovingdon
RAF Bovingdon was a
Royal Air Force station, located two miles south of
Berkhamsted, and 7 miles west of
Watford in
Hertfordshire,
UK.
During
World War II it was known as
United States Army Air Force Station 112.
|
RAF Bovingdon - April 1946 |
Bovingdon was built in 1941/42 as a standard
RAF bomber
airfield. The main NE/SW runway was 1,634 yards long and the two secondary runways were 1,433 yards long each. Over 30 dispersal hardstandings were built.
On
15 June 1942, No. 7 Group,
RAF Bomber Command took up residence at Bovingdon. Operational missions were flown in June and July by the RAF until the field was turned over to the
United States Army Air Forces in August.
The first USAAF tenant at Bovingdon was the
92nd Bombardment Group (Heavy). The 92nd consisted of the 325th, 326th, 327th and 407th Bomb Squadrons. The group flew a few combat missions in September and October
1942, then was assigned the role of a
B-17 Combat Crew Replacement Unit (CCRU).
In January
1943, the 92nd was transferred to
RAF Alconbury where it was reformed as an operational combat group.
The 326th Bomb Squadron of the 92nd remained at Bovingdon however 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 bombing units for the balance of the war received theatere introduction before moving on to their operational bases.
Along with its training role, Bovingdon housed the Eighth Air Force Headquarters and the
Air Technical Section, both equippped 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,
James Stewart and
William Holden. Among famous wartime visitors were
Bob Hope,
Frances Langford, Mrs
Eleanor Roosevelt, and
Glenn Miller.
In September
1944 the 11th CCRU was disbanded and Bovingdon became the base for the European
Air Transport Service. Many thousands of Americans returned to the states via the air terminal.
At the end of 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.
Because of its elevation, Bovingdon was often clear when
London Heathrow and
Northolt were fog-bound, and during the winter months especially, Bovingdon was used by
British European Airways (BEA).
British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) used Bovingdon as a maintence facility and numerous other independent aircraft operators utilized the former technical site during the postwar years.
During the 1950's both civilian and military organizations utilized Bovingdon. The closeness to the
USAF 3rd Air Force Headquarters at
RAF South Ruislip and HQ
RAF Fighter Command at
Bentley Priory 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.
C-47 Skytrains were assigned to the unit, however many transitory USAF planes used the airfield routinely. In addition, the RAF operated the Fighter Command Communications Squadron on the base. In
1962, the USAF departed from Bovingdon.
In the 1960s, Bovingdon was used in the production of three
World War II films, "
The War Lover" (
1961); "
633 Squadron" (
1964) and "
Mosquito Squadron" (
1969). Although flying ceased at the airfield in
1969, some flying scenes for the film
Hanover Street were shot there in
1978.
In
1968, the
Ministry of Defence announced that Bovingdon would be closed for budgetary reasons, and in
1972 the airfield was shut down. All MOD property, escept a small housing facility was disposed of by
1976.
An area of the former technical site was transferred to the
Home Office for use as a
prison, known as 'The Mount'.
The airfield site still houses a
VOR navigational beacon, code BNN. The airspace above the airfield and nearby
Chesham is known as the
Bovingdon stack and is a holding area for
aircraft approaching
Heathrow Airport, 20 miles / 30 km to the south. At busy times on a clear day a dozen planes may be seen circling overhead.
The remainder of the airfield site is used for a regular
Sunday market and there is also a permanent circuit for
banger racing. The main runway and taxiways, which are still intact though in a poor state of repair, are also sometimes used for other events such as the occasional
car rally.
*
List of RAF stations*
Satellite Image of RAF Bovingdon From Google Earth*
Aerial Photo of RAF Bovingdon From Multimap.Com
