The Travels of Tel's Tin Tent.

Thanks very much chaps, I'm genuinely pleased that you all appreciate these journeys through the nicer parts of old England, and especially the airfield sites where so much happened, but is not forgotten.

Peter, I last visited Debden (home of the 4th FG, fourth but first !), around 1992 and, although I managed to talk to an "old boy" who remembered the field during WW2, I couldn't visit the field itself, due to a) time restraints, and b) it was then, and I think still is, an active Army camp.
Shame, because at that time, I was in contact with James Goodson (former RAF and Eagle Sqn pilot, and then, eventually, a Colonel in the 4th FG), who was interested in learning how his old 'home' had faired.

Mike, Stonehenge will be great when they finish it - but it's been a very long time since the builders 'knocked off' for a pint or two one Friday afternoon, and they have yet to finish the walls and put the roof on !!!

Had a bl**dy awful day today, dealing with inept Government sub-contractors, in the Health sector, who caused me a lot of inconvenience, and as a result, pain and some level of stress - people who couldn't run a bath. let alone a business, and are a total waste of rations - consequently, I haven't been able to sort the rest of the pics and story, but I'll be back sometime tomorrow.
Unless I'm caught trying to "neutralise" the total f*** wits who think they can run this country, who I wouldn't trust with a butter knife, as they wouldn't know how to use it !!!!

More from Steeple Morden, with a brief history of the airfield, and more pics of the Memorial. As before, the first two (aerial) shots show the airfield as it was, and how it looks today, with the remainder showing the memorial, with Karl adding scale, and the entrance gate and wall.
More pics to follow showing the identifiable remains of the airfield.

Located 3.5 miles west of Royston, Steeple Morden opened in 1940. A grass airfield, it was first used by RAF Bomber Command up to 1942, as a satellite dispersal field for the Wellingtons of 11 OTU based at Bassingbourn, some four miles to the north and east.
During the night of 15 to 16th February, 1941, the airfield had an unexpected visitor, when a JU-88 landed here. This was JU-88A-5, V4 + GS, Werke nummer 6214, of III/KG 1, which had been on a raid to Birmingham. Believing they were over France, the crew saw the 'goose neck' flares at Steeple Morden, and landed, crosswind, when the starboard undercarriage leg collapsed. The bewildered crew were quickly taken prisoner.

The airfield was allocated to the 8th USAAF in late 1942, designated as Station 122, when hard runways, taxi tracks and dispersal pans were laid, along with a single 'T2' hangar on the northern perimeter.
The first American unit to use the airfield was the 3rd Photo Reconnaissance Group, with F-4 Lightnings, who's Commander was Lt.Col Elliot Roosevelt, son of President Roosevelt, and they were based here briefly between October and December, 1942.
The airfield was then used by the Blenheims of 17 OTU, between January and May 1943,.
In July 1943, the 355th Fighter Group, VIII Fighter Command, 8th USAAF, arrived from the USA, equipped with P-47 Thunderbolts, and began fighter sweeps in September, eventually turning to bomber escort operations.
By April 1944, the Group had converted to the P-51 Mustang, which they used until war's end, and, of course, the Group included a number of famous aces..

After the end of the European war, the 4th Fighter Group moved to Steeple Morden in July, 1945, returning to the USA in November the same year.
The field then reverted back to RAF control, but was not used, and eventually closed in September 1946, when it slowly decayed, until the land was sold off and returned to agriculture in the early 1960's
Today, all that remains that can be seen from public paths and roads, are the feint outlines of where the runways once were, and some stretches of perimeter track and former hard stands, with the one time base of the 'T2' hangar now occupied by farm buildings, and a group of three original wartime buildings just off the main road, near the Memorial.

EDIT : Forgot to mention - the white arrow on the B&W aerial shot indicates our location at the Memorial.

nice shots Terry.

lens dried out very well in the end !

Thanks all, and yes Karl, I'm glad the lens cleared, and no apparent damage.

The final selection from Steeple Morden, with some views over the remains of the airfield, described below.


Pics 1 and 2. Looking roughly west, with three original wartime buildings, now used for farm storage, and part of one of the original camp roads. At the extreme right, near the hedge line, is the base where the 'T2' hangar once stood, now occupied by farm buildings. These locations can be seen in the B&W aerial pic in the previous post.
Pic 3. Looking south west. This clump of vegetation is on a former revetment.
Pic 4 and 5 Looking south over the airfield, to where the runways once crossed.
Pics 6 and 7. Looking east, to the base of a former airfield building, now partly overgrown, and occupied by a farm building. The control tower was to the front and right of this location, on the ;level ground.
Pic 8. A Stearman, out of Duxford, flew over the Memorial, battling against a stiff breeze.
Pic 9. The Ju-88A-5, of III/KG1, which landed here in error, on the night of 15th to 16th February, 1941. (IWM photo).

Next stop is Old Warden aerodrome, and some of the fantastic Shuttleworth Collection of vintage aircraft and vehicles. Back soon ..................

Airframes said:

Mike, Stonehenge will be great when they finish it - but it's been a very long time since the builders 'knocked off' for a pint or two one Friday afternoon, and they have yet to finish the walls and put the roof on !!!

Click to expand...

JEEZE....Terry, I was there in 1970 and it's STILL not finished!!!! You Guys get L O N G breaks in Merrie Olde!

Good stuff Terry.

Thanks, Wojtek, Mike and Andy.

The last section for this particular 'Travel' takes us to The Shuttleworth Collection, on Old Warden aerodrome, part of the Shuttleworth Estate, located on the edge of Old Warden village, just outside the town of Biggleswade, in Bedfordshire, and roughly twenty miles west of Duxford.
The Collection of vintage aircraft and vehicles is generally regarded as one of the most, if not the most, prestigious in the World, and was started by Richard Ormonde Shuttleworth, in 1928.

After his death, on the night of 2nd August, 1940, whilst flying a Fairey Battle with the RAF, his mother founded the Shuttleworth Trust, with the aim of funding and preserving the Collection, which has since grown, with additional aircraft and vehicles being added over the years.
The Collection eventually opened to the public in 1963, and with some expansion in relatively recent years, now boasts an impressive Visitor Center on the grass airfield, with the Collection itself being housed in six hangars, plus the Engineering Workshop, and hosts a number of flying events each year, as well as contributing aircraft to other airshows, including those at Duxford.
All of the aircraft on display are airworthy, including the World's oldest flying airframe and engine ( Bleriot ), and provide regular displays when weather permits, as do the vehicles, from the earliest motor carriage, to World War Two vintage cars and trucks.
A small number of the very early types are faithful 'replicas', probably better described as "new build", with original engines, and were constructed for the 1965 movie "Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines".
As this is quite a large collection, and I took over 300 photos during our visit, I won't clutter this thread with too many, but will post some representative shots in this, and the next couple of posts.
Those images below show part of the Collection's hangar frontage, and some of the aircraft in the first two hangars, and if anyone should require information or details about any of the exhibits shown, the just ask.

Excellent. I didn't realize this place was that close to Duxford. Next time...

Just let us know, and we'll take you there Andy.
During this visit, I told Karl to keep me away from the bookshop, as a) I haven't enough shelf space left, and b) my wallet got seriously bruised during our last visit, five years ago. - fortunately, that section of the Visitor Center has been moved, and decreased in size, so my wallet remained intact !!

Continuing through the Shuttleworth hangars, and one aircraft I was really pleased to see back on the line.
During our last visit, in 2014, the Spitfire MkVc was still undergoing a full re-build, and was 'in bits' in the engineering workshop (which is open for public access).
This aircraft, AR 501, was built by Westlands at Yeovil, and issued to 310 ( Czech ) Sqn, RAF, at Duxford in 1942, serving with that Squadron on escort duties for the 8th USAAF, and on fighter sweeps. After use as an Instructional airframe post war, it was acquired by the Collection in 1961 and, in 1968, was returned to flight for use in the movie "Battle of Britain", when it was fitted with the eliptical wing tips, replacing the original 'clipped' wings.
Since then, it flew displays for many years, with a full service in 1975, and also took part in the movie 'Pearl Harbor', until the start of the rebuild in 2005, when evidence of wartime repairs were found on the airframe.
In March 2018, AR501 returned to the sky, after a ten year re-build, and is almost totally original, including the re-fitted original 'clipped' wing tips, and wears the colours it wore when with 310 ( Czech ) Squadron.

The Gladiator was showing signs of use, with some oil streaks, and had flown at the Duxford airshow the previous day, pics of which will (eventually) be posted in a separate thread.
As for the little MG - well, it was just nice !

More to follow soon .......................

Great!

Agreed

Double GREAT I love those old Biplanes.

Thanks chaps !

More vehicles and aircraft from The Shuttleworth Collection, including the DH Comet and Miles Hawk racers, and the record-breaking Percival Mew Gull used by Alex Henshaw.
More to come ................

Love the buses.