RAF Wrexham
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Royal Air Force Wrexham, or more simply RAF Wrexham, is a former
Initially opened as a municipal aerodrome the airfield was used by the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War and the Royal Air Force in the Second World War. The airfield became the site of a Royal Observer Corps nuclear bunker during the Cold War.
History
Early days
The first noted involvement of aviation with Wrexham was in 1912 when Gustav Hamel visited the Racecourse Ground to entertain the public with air displays. The local council discussed transforming the racecourse into a municipal airport.
During the period 1917–1920 fields at Borras Lodge were used by Nos. 4 and 51 Training Squadrons/Schools of the
Second World War
As the entire area was on a plateau, the field was largely dry, unlike
The main period of construction at the site took place between December 1940 and June 1941, which often saw floodlit operations during the dark winter. The airfield was upgraded with hardened concrete runways and appropriate lighting for them,[2] with defence against any possible ground invasion provided by the ring of defences surrounding the nearby Royal Ordnance Factory. The Airfield was primarily built to house a night fighter squadron for the air defence of Liverpool and Manchester, and in 1941, No. 96 Squadron RAF, a night fighter squadron, was moved to Wrexham from RAF Cranage. In 1944 it was occupied by RAF. 21 Grp. AFU.
It was also home to No. 285 Squadron, which provided Target tug aircraft for training exercises, starting with Bristol Blenheims, Lockheed Hudsons and Westland Lysanders, later replaced with Boulton Paul Defiants and Miles Martinets. After moving through a number of Headquarters, this squadron was disbanded 26 June 1945.[3]
To the West, on Esclusham Mountain, a decoy airfield existed. This was only in operation from 1941 to 1943, however the mountain was bombed several times by incendiary bombers during the war, causing mountain fires. The waves of bombing were caused by a single bomber jettisoning its bombs after missing the Monsanto Chemical Works in nearby Cefn Mawr, followed by several targeted raids against the ensuing fire, with Luftwaffe crew believing the fires to be from a burning Liverpool.[4]
The following units were here at some point:[5]
- Detachment from No. 5 (Pilots) Advanced Flying Unit RAF between March and June 1943[6]
- Detachment from No. 6 Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit RAF between December 1943 and November 1943[7]
- No. 9 Group Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Flight RAF between August and September 1941 became 285 Squadron[8]
- Relief Landing Ground of No. 11 (Pilots) Advanced Flying Unit RAF between February 1944 and June 1945[9]
- Relief Landing Ground of No. 17 (Pilots) Advanced Flying Unit RAF between May 1943 and February 1944[9]
- Satellite for No. 57 OTU between June 1941 and November 1942[10]
- No. 121 Airfield RAF formed here on 22 February 1943[11]
- Detachment from No. 577 Squadron RAF[12]
- Detachment from No. 595 Squadron RAF[12]
US Army Airstrips
There was a US Army cubstrip on the Aerodrome itself. This was a small designated area where US Army
After the RAF
The airfield was closed and placed on care and maintenance in 1945. On 22 October 1959, it was sold to United Gravel Company a subsidiary of Alfred McAlpine. In the 1970s quarrying operations commenced in the area and have almost obliterated the site. As recently as 2004, the original runway surface and paint still existed in places.[14]
The site is also referred to as Borras Airfield, ICAO reference EGCE.[15] In 1977 the National Eisteddfod of Wales was held on the airfield.
In 2005, the Tarmac quarry posted an application to increase quarrying activities. As a result of the archaeological report of this application, several of the original structures have been deemed intact, including a Bellman hangar, several gunnery butts, which were brick buildings used for target practice and alignment of fighter weapons. There are also several air crash sites in the area, including a Bristol Beaufighter that crashed into a pond.[16]
Cold War
Between 1962 and 1992 there was a hardened
See also
References
Citations
- ^ a b Falconer 2012, p. 219.
- ^ 96 Squadron Archived 11 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ History of No. 285 Squadron.
- ^ "MineraHistory.com". Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 6 August 2011.
- ^ "Wrexham II (Borras)". Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
- ^ Sturtivant & Hamlin 2007, p. 33.
- ^ Sturtivant & Hamlin 2007, p. 62.
- ^ Sturtivant & Hamlin 2007, p. 155.
- ^ a b Sturtivant & Hamlin 2007, p. 34.
- ^ Sturtivant & Hamlin 2007, p. 204.
- ^ Sturtivant & Hamlin 2007, p. 46.
- ^ a b Jefford 1988, p. 97.
- ^ "The DiCamillo Companion – Database: House Details". Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 14 November 2010.
- ^ Live Maps The original runway surface
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). nats-uk.ead-it.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 February 2009. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ http://www.wrexham.gov.uk/assets/pdfs/planning/borras/archaeological_assessment.pdf Planning Application to Extend Borras Quarry
- ^ "UKWMO Group Controls". Subbrit.org.uk. Retrieved 17 March 2008.
Bibliography
- Falconer, J. (2012). RAF Airfields of World War 2. UK: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85780-349-5.
- Jefford, C. G. (1988). RAF Squadrons. A comprehensive record of the movement and equipment of all RAF squadrons and their antecedents since 1912. ISBN 1-85310-053-6.
- Sturtivant, R.; Hamlin, J. (2007). Royal Air Force flying training and support units since 1912. UK: Air-Britain (Historians). ISBN 978-0851-3036-59.