The following organisations are either based at, use andor have at least potentially significant connections with the airfield as at 01092011. Witness the daring exploits and dangerous challenges that form the story of flight in this beautifully illustrated book, filled with rare photographs and historical. The book tells the fascinating history of raf defford from when part of the croome estate was first requisitioned in 1941 through the early days of bomber command training and on to when the airfield became the secret home of the telecommunications flying unit. For anyone who finds the history of the raf interesting this book by jonathan faconer tells the stories of the fieldscumairfields the squadrons used to launch. Defford airfields of britain conservation trust uk. Defford croft farm airfields of britain conservation. This place is situated in worcestershire county, west midlands, england, united kingdom, its geographical coordinates are 52 5 0 north, 2 7 0 west and its original name with diacritics is defford. Pershore airfield disused photos, maps, books, memories.
The museum is the creation of the defford airfield heritage group dahg, working in partnership with the national trust, which owns much of the land once occupied by raf defford. Preserving the history of defford airfield, the dahg is an official national trust supporter group who work closely with the team at croome on many projects. The defford airfield heritage group dahg was formed in 2010 as a successor to the raf defford reunion association. Being a wartime service wedding, wendy and george were married in uniform. History defford airfield disused other items articles events links news surveys tips other users feedback ukga membership about ukga. The following organisations are either based at, use andor have at least potentially significant connections with the airfield as at 31122015. For a few months the airfield was used as a satellite station by the vickers wellington bombers of no. It is located at croome, an historic national trust property near worcester.
Construction of raf defford was started at the outbreak of war, and completed in 1941. Construction of raf defford was completed in 1941, and for a few months the airfield was used as a satellite station by the wellington bombers of 23 operational training unit otu, based a few miles away at pershore. This summer month, shes in texas with her aunt clo and uncle grif. The main talk was on the history of defford airfield by dennis williams. Grif has just landed a flight control job as did bettys dad who sends air mail. A book, defford airfield 194157 produced by dahg, is available to buy in the museum and the shop, priced. Herefordshire and worcs airfields in the second world war. The site was opened as a satelliterelief landing ground for raf hixon, 7. Should you wish to leave a small donation towards the upkeep and ongoing running of the website, it is really appreciated. It was wednesday and the main car park was just about full. Preserving the history of defford airfield, the dahg is an official national trust. Top secret boeing details the use of boeing 247d nc344dz203 in the development of.
If you would like to send us a present, a donation, no matter how small, would be much appreciated, annually we need to raise enough funds to pay for our web hosting or this site will vanish from the web. Croft farm airfield united kingdom world airport codes. Betty has lived part of each year with one of her three aunts, rotating among them every few months. Tfu remained at defford after the war, and was renamed the radar research flying unit rrfu in 1953. It appeared that the aerodrome was defford, a top secret radio and radar experimental establishment which required prior permission to land. The book tells the fascinating history of raf defford from when part of the croome estate was first requisitioned in 1941 through the. Discovering our aviation history, and double listings. Object details category books creator warren, glyn author enthusiasts publications publisher production date 1982 place made newport pagnell, buckinghamshire. The history of malvern, raf defford, pershore airfield and the cold war in worcestershire black over bills mothers an epic family saga set in birmingham, worcester, ireland and. Raf defford, as it was then known, tested new airborne radar systems that. In a detailed and informative tourdeforce, he described the importance of defford airfield as tres largest outstation during ww2, alongside key technological achievements demonstrated at defford, and the effects on the landscape and social history of rural worcestershire. Here scientists and technicians worked in total secrecy to develop and refine radar, the success of which was to change the whole course of the war. Safetycom is to assist pilots to avoid potential conflict and should only be used to broadcast the pilots intentions.
Since childhood he has been fascinated by all aspects of aviation history. Defford is a small village in the county of worcestershire, england, located between the towns of pershore and uptonuponsevern. The battle of britain was in full swing and although this airfield was a training field the. The history of malvern, raf defford, pershore airfield and the cold war in worcestershire black over bills mothers an epic family saga set in birmingham, worcester, ireland and america covering seven decades. Raf defford in 1941 during world war ii, a royal air force airfield was constructed mainly for the flying experiments for radar that was being developed in nearby malvern. The woodlands were mostly removed around the time of the civil war. Raf seighford is a former royal air force station located 3. The volunteers have done a truly remarkable job in bringing to life the history of.
The disused airfield next to the strip was the site of wartime radar development. The museum reveals the once secret story of raf defford with wartime. A book, defford airfield 194157 produced by dahg, is available to buy in the. It is intended to bring together the various sources of information at events, squadrons, aircraft and personnel that have been involved in the site. Defford also has a primary school, defford cum besford first school, and three pubs. It really is a most fascinating period in the 19th century, and has continued ever since. Royal air force defford or more simply raf defford is a former royal air force station located 1. Perhaps the single biggest personal discovery i made in researching this book concerns the history of ballooning in the uk. Royal air force defford or more simply raf defford is a former royal air force station located north west of defford. A pictorial history is available for purchase in the raf museum and at the national trust shop. Defford closed in 1957 and about 40 of the rrfu aiframes most not rotary wing were transferred to nearby pershore. In a detailed and informative tourdeforce, he described the importance of defford airfield as tres largest outstation during ww2, alongside key technological achievements demonstrated at defford.
However, defford then provided a base for radio astronomy, an activity that has continued to the present day. Buy herefordshire and worcs airfields in the second world war 1st edition by robin j. However, the airfield at defford was too small to allow the operation of the. Airfield publications publish books on uk airfields, recent publications include raf kirton in lindsey, burtonwood, woodvale and 611 west lancashire squadron, royal auxiliary air force, raf brampton and raf waterbeach. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. This is described below in the transcript of alan bonsers excellent talk given in 2008 on the history of the desford airfield. Defford croft farm airfields of britain conservation trust uk. Raf defford was a royal air force station airfield in worcestershire, england during the second world war. Worcestershires airborne electronics warfare wonderland the.
But it is strongest when explaining the sites history of technology. Jan 01, 1999 airfield, by jeanette ingold takes place in muddy springs, texas during times of the depression. Defford airfield 194157 by dennis williams book the cheap. A short but highly informative film describing the secret history of defford airfield at nt croome in worcestershire.
Interesting insite into raf history raf defford museum. The life story of an elderly american airliner, a boeing 247d, a gift from canada to britain, which flew with the raf to play a key part in winning the radar battles of the second world war. Since passing his gft for a private pilots license on the 30th june 1989 in the cessna 152 gwacb at wycombe air park the gates of opportunity opened and he has, for example, flown an aircraft in every country in western europe registered in each country. Churchills most secret airfield oconnor, bernard on. The 1st of september 2019 is the wartime memories projects 20th birthday. The airfield closed in 1957, after it was decided the runways were too short for large jet bombers, and the flying unit made the short move to pershore airfield, formerly used by the raf for training. Rre defford was the home to the radar research flying unit rrfu, which supported the rre laboratories in nearby malvern, with a wide variety of flying platforms. Photos, maps, personal memories and local books of pershore airfield disused francis frith the uks leading publisher of local photographs since 1860.
It was under repair and notice had been circulated to all raf stations, etc. Airfield publications a specialist publisher in aviation. The caterpillar neovia site was a really important airfield from 1935 to 1953 and most particularly during world war 2. Safetycom is a common frequency introduced for use by aircraft in the vicinity of an airfield or landing site that does not have a notified vhf frequency for radio communication. Dahg seeks to research, record, preserve and make better known the history of defford airfield in worcestershire, in formal partnership with the national trust, the owners of croome park. View all hotels near raf defford museum on tripadvisor.
For mail order please get in touch using our contact dahg form. His job was to man the radio of a gun pit on the edge of the airfield. The instrument landing system was developed from the work at raf defford. I thought the commanding officer was going to burst a boiler especially as i was not wearing raf uniform. Mar 03, 2016 this website is run entirely as a hobby and in my spare time, it is paid for out of my own pocket. Raf rufforth in the second world war 19391945 the wartime. The very uniforms in which they married, together with photographs of the two weddings, are on display in the raf defford museum as part of the exhibition women of raf defford heroines of croome at war. However, the airfield at defford was too small to allow the operation of the large v bombers on flight trials, and so rrfu moved to nearby raf pershore in 1957. Raf pershore in the second world war 19391945 the wartime. All of our paper waste is recycled and turned into corrugated cardboard. Sorry, there are no tours or activities available to book online for the dates.
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