Hatfield Aerodrome

Hatfield Aerodrome
AMSL		254 ft / 77 m
Coordinates	51°45′57″N 0°15′03″W / 51.76583°N 0.25083°W / 51.76583; -0.25083
Map
Hatfield Aerodrome Location within Hertfordshire
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 06/24 5,980 1,823 Concrete (from 1947) 14/32 2,198 670 Grass
Source: Pooley's Flight Guide United Kingdom & Ireland 1988[1]

Hatfield Aerodrome (IATA: HTF, ICAO: EGTH) was a private airfield and aircraft factory located in the English town of Hatfield in Hertfordshire from 1930 until its closure and redevelopment in the 1990s.

Early history

Hatfield's former ICAO code, EGTH, was reallocated to Old Warden Aerodrome in Bedfordshire.

1930s expansion

In 1934 significant works were undertaken at the site and a large factory and imposing Art Deco administration buildings were constructed together with a flying school building which also housed flying control. Later, an experimental block was added to the north of the factory. Production of aircraft moved from Stag Lane and during this time principally consisted of a range of small biplanes such as the Moth family, DH.84 Dragon, DH.86 Express and DH.89 Dragon Rapide.

Wartime

During the

Postwar

A hard runway was laid in 1947. Expansion of the facilities was called for by rapid development of military and civil jet aircraft such as the Vampire and Comet. The factory was enlarged and a new flight test hangar and control tower was constructed. Additionally, a large design block was constructed alongside the administration buildings.

Manor Road site

De Havilland had been developing and manufacturing

The 146 first flew in 1981 and production of some components, final assembly and flight testing of the first two series of the aircraft was based at Hatfield during the early and mid-1980s. In 1987, a new final assembly hall was built for 146 production to coincide with the introduction of the stretched 146-300 derivative. Further development resulted in the demolition of the 1930s flying club buildings to make way for the Bishop Square office block development, constructed in 1991 and named in honour of Comet designer R.E. Bishop.

In 1992, due to severe financial problems, British Aerospace announced the cessation of aircraft production at Hatfield from 1993. By then, work at the Manor Road site, which had become part of

Arlington Securities, then the property division of BAE Systems, began the redevelopment of the main airfield site in the late 1990s. Only the Grade II* listed^[4] 1950s flight test hangar and administration buildings were retained: all other buildings, the taxiways and the runway were removed to make way for offices, businesses and homes. Today the flight test hangar survives as a leisure centre, whilst the rest of the site is divided between the University of Hertfordshire, housing and a business park.^[5]

Heritage Trail

The Hatfield Aerodrome History Trail was officially opened on 24 November 2010. It forms part of a

The trail is around 4 km long and takes around 90 minutes to walk; a shorter version is around 3 km and takes around 60 minutes. There are ten information boards located around the trail. The first board, at the start of the trail, is outside the University of Hertfordshire's de Havilland Campus (the university's origins can be traced back to the de Havilland Technical School). A leaflet with a map of the route is available at the reception.[6]^[7][8]

Units

The following units were stationed at Hatfield:^[9]

References