This photo was taken by Captain Andrew F Wilson, S2 section 507th Fighter Squadron, 404th Fighter Group, Winkton Advanced Landing Ground.
Photos from from the Friends of New Forest Airfields, you can find out more about FONFA: Here
You can find out more about the various activities of Holmsley South in this overview article: Holmsley South Airfield – Overview
418 was a Royal Canadian Air Force unit that operated as a night intruder squadron under the operational control of RAF Bomber Command. Night Intruders were used to suppress enemy night fighter operations by attacking their airfields as they prepared to launch the night fighters and again when the fighters returned. Aircraft operated alone, usually at low level and over occupied Europe.
They arrived at Holmsley South flying Mosquito Mk II and FB Mk VI aircraft and left in July to go to Hurn, then on to Middle Wallop. The photos attached are mainly a mixture of old Air Ministry photographs and photos from the collection of Alec Fordyce and his family. Alex Fordyce painted the nose art on the planes, many of which carried L’il Abner cartoon characters on their nose.
You can find out more about the Friends of New Forest Airfields Here
You can find out more about the various activities of Holmsley South in this overview article: Holmsley South Airfield – Overview
The photographs mainly show the period when 46 Squadron and section 1 of No1552 radio aid training flight were resident at Stoney Cross
A few additional notes on some of the photos that are too long to add as captions
Sports Day: Note the Lee Enfield being used as a starting gun for the Sports Day photo
Sports Day End: looks like sports day is over. The tapes for the running lanes are on the right, presumably the dias was for the judges or prize giving. The Group Captain is heading away and a couple of the others are lighting cigarettes.
Airspeed Oxford almost certainly from Section 1 of 1552 Radio Aid Training Unit at RAF Stoney Cross (and formerly RAF Holmsley South) . It has some glamorous nose art too.
The Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum tell us that Dwight D. Eisenhower arrived in Southampton via the Queen Mary on September 9, 1946. He disembarked on September 10 and went to Stoney Cross via car, where he took a plane to Frankfurt, Germany. At the time General Eisenhower was Army chief of staff based in Washington DC. This contribution shows his personal plane Sunflower II which was present during the visit.
For more about the visit: RAF Stoney Cross. Visit by General Dwight D Eisenhower
Sunflower II – General Dwight Eisenhower’s personal plane at RAF Stoney Cross.
These details were provided with the photographs. This entry will be one of several Stoney Cross entries entries based on photos provided through the RAF Ibsley Airfield Heritage Trust and residents of the village of Fritham.
Sunflower II was a Douglas Skymaster, type C-54E -20-DO, serial 44-9146, delivered to the 503rd US Air Transport Command at Washington National Airport on 19 June 1945. In 1954 it was converted to a VC-54E and subsequently assigned to USAF Europe (USAFE). In March 1971 the plane was assigned to the US Military Training Mission USAFE, Dhahran Airport, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. On July 11th 1972 Sunflower II was transferred to the Military Aircraft Storage and Disposal Center (MASDC) at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, USA – listed as CC0218. On 6th November 1975, 44-9146 was bought by Dross Metals; it was dropped from the inventory in February 1976 and subsequently broken up.
For more about Stoney Cross Airfield:
When Holmsley South opened in October, the first squadron there was 547 Squadron who flew Vickers Wellington Mk VIII aircraft, and they were reinforced by (unusually) a squadron of American B-24 Bombers from the Eighth Airforce’s 330 Bomb Squadron. To replace 547 Squadron, 502 (Ulster) Squadron) operated on detachment with Armstrong Whitley aircraft whilst they also re-equipped with the Handley Page Halifax.
To help increase the strength of Coastal Command several Bomber Command squadrons flying Wellington and Halifax aircraft were loaned for maritime operations. These squadrons included British, Canadian, Polish and Czechoslovak squadrons. One of the loan squadrons that arrived in the New Forest was 58 Squadron who arrived at Holmsley South on 2 December 1942. 58 left for St Eval on 31 March 1943 but came back on June 29th as a permanent part of Coastal Command. The photos mainly show 58 Squadron Halifaxes during the first visit to Holmsley South. 58 finally left Holmsley South on December 6th 1943.
You can find out more about Holmsley South Airfield by visiting our overview article: Holmsley South Overview
After Holmsley South closed many of the building survived for some time. One project that used some of these buildings was run by A C Delco and General Motors. They were adapting Bedford built engines for Churchill tanks (built by Vauxhall) to power irrigation pumps in Eygpt.
Recently a collection of photographs has come to light. The photos belong to the Robins family who have permitted the Friends of the New Forest Airfields to upload them. The photos show details of Holmsley South structures in the early 1950s and photos of these are very rare. The photos were taken by Vincent Robins and remain the copyright of the Robins family.
“The photos show a Churchill tank engine in various stages of strip down and rebuild and also some exterior pictures showing the site. My father, Vincent Robins is on the left of the photo of two men standing together, the other is Jerry Page. The tall girl on the right of the photo standing with Jerry is Pam Gregory; behind are Churchill tank engines in an un-refurbished state. The girl standing next to Pam, who is sat on the car running board I am not sure of but I think she worked with Pam in the office there.
The photos, we think, are from 1952. Churchill tank engines were being refurbished by my father and others at the site and sold to the Egyptian government for use as pumping engines in an irrigation scheme? Clearly the photos were taken at lunchtime as a game of football is taking place in the background and it must have been fairly cold that day as both girls are wearing their coats!! A small selection of cars and buses are in the distance, I believe workers were bussed into the site from Southampton.”
– from Nigel Robins.
You can find out more about Holmsley South Airfield by visiting our overview article: Holmsley South Overview
This entry will be one of several entries based on photos provided through the RAF Ibsley Airfield Heritage Trust and residents of the village of Fritham.
The crash photo is linked to either one of two aircraft crashes at Stoney Cross either on 09/05/44 P-38, 392FS/367FG that stalled and crashed in Queens North Wood, Fritham nr Stoney Cross or on 21/06/44 P-38J.392FS/367FG.that crashed into trees 200 yd W of Stoney Cross
For further reading and articles on Stoney Cross Airfield please visit: Stoney Cross Overview
This entry will be one of several entries based on photos provided through the RAF Ibsley Airfield Heritage Trust and residents of the village of Fritham. Photos seem to date from December 1946 on wards after closure. They do however give a very good idea of the size and appearance of this very big airfield.
For further reading and articles on Stoney Cross Airfield please visit: Stoney Cross Overview
This entry will be one of several entries on Stoney Cross based on photos provided through the RAF Ibsley Airfield Heritage Trust and residents of the village of Fritham.
The Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum tell us that Dwight D. Eisenhower arrived in Southampton via the Queen Mary on September 9, 1946. He disembarked on September 10 and went to Stoney Cross via car, where he took a plane to Frankfurt, Germany. At the time General Eisenhower was Army chief of staff based in Washington DC
This is evidently the occasion on which the photos were taken.
You can find out more about the plane “Sunflower II” used to transport Dwight D. Eisenhower here
For further reading and articles on Stoney Cross Airfield please visit: Stoney Cross Overview
RAF SOPLEY
During the summer of 1940 one deficiency in Britain’s early warning radar (Chain Home) was identified, in that the Chain Home stations provided a curtain of radar surveillance out from the coast but no overland cover. In addition, interceptions were achieved by placing allied fighter formations in visual contact with incoming enemy formations. What was required was cover over the land and the ability to accurately position fighters in very close proximity to an enemy aircraft by day or by night.
A new radar system, the Type 8, was developed by scientists at the Telecommunications Research Establishment located at Worth Matravers in Dorset, and that system was hosted on modified mobile army gunnery radar equipment and vehicles. The modification was carried out by the Air Defence Experimental Establishment located on the edge if Christchurch Airfield then in Hampshire. The ADEE included within its structure the Army Radar Unit. The new radar system was called Ground Controlled Interception or GCI, could be located inland and provided surveillance through 360 degrees, albeit the radar aerials were rotated round manually using a system of chains, gears and pedals. The first prototype was tested in late 1940 at Durrington near Worthing, successfully carrying out practice interceptions. The success of the prototype led to an order for six operational mobile GCI systems, three to be built at the ADEE and three at the RAE. The first unit rolled out of the gates of ADEE on Christmas Day 1940 and rolled just six miles up the road to a field on the outskirts of the village of Sopley in the Avon Valley. The new RAF Sopley was soon operational using the callsign Starlight. The station was truly mobile. The generators, transmitters and receivers were mounted in trucks, the operations room was in a wheeled Brockhurst trailer, even the aerials were mounted on wheeled chassis. The transmitter and receiver each had its own generator and aerial. The aerials were operated in a master and slave relationship using internal indicators that allowed the slave rotating team to synchronise their aerial’s direction and rate of rotation with the master aerial. Because of its proximity to both TRE and ADEE, Sopley tended to be used as the GCI development unit.
During the second world war, RAF Sopley underwent three phases of development (it continued in use post war as a GCI, fighter interception and air traffic control radar unit until 1974). The first wartime phase was the mobile station described, able to move in a matter of hours. This radar had a range of about 80 miles (130 Kms). In addition to its main primary radar system it had a limited height finding capability and an IFF (Interrogation friend or foe) interrogation system. A ground station could ask a transceiver (transponder) in an aircraft to transmit a code which was already known to the ground station, thus identifying the aircraft as friendly when the code was received one the ground. The first radar had just one control position and could therefore carry out just one interception at a time. It was however accurate enough that a single intercepting aircraft could be “vectored” to within a mile or so (2km) of its target.
In its second phase of development, Sopley became a transportable station, moveable within a few days not hours. A wooden operations room was built partly recessed into the ground and the radar aerial rotation was now powered and mounted on a wooden gantry. The new operations room now supported two controllers carrying out simultaneous interceptions.
Finally the station entered its third and final wartime stage, as a permanent station. A new large concrete and brick operations block was built, with a recessed operations floor. New radars were introduced; a Type 7 surveillance radar and a mobile type 11 radar for standby use. In addition new height finding radars appeared around the edge of the radar compound. Multiple simultaneous interceptions could be supported and co-ordination with local anti-aircraft units and searchlights units could be achieved through resident liaison officers within the operations room.
Much of Sopley’s work was with allied night fighters, with British, Commonwealth and American squadrons some of whom were based close by at RAF Hurn. RAF Sopley was visited by many allied VIPs during the war, including the King who first visited night fighter squadrons at RAF Middle Wallop and who then travelled on to Starlight to see the night fighter/GCI operation that night.
Handley Page C Mk VIII Photo: HP70, serial no. PP334, type C Mk VIII, constructed Jun-Aug 1945. This Cargo and transport variant, carryied ten stretchers or eleven passengers, or up to 8,000 lbs of freight. Bristol Hercules 100 engines, 14-cyl 1,675 hp. This aircraft is flying with 301 (Pomeranian) Polish Squadron RAF who only flew these aircraft in 1946. It is possibly at RAF Stoney Cross for the Battle of Britain day.
Group at RAF Stoney Cross: On the back of the original photo it says “N. Freeman, Ray Chalfield or Chatfield (?) OC 46 Sqn RAF Trans.”
Air Marshall the Hon Sir Ralph Cockrane GBE KCB AFC FRAES, AoC RAF Transport Command on a visit to RAF Stoney Cross: Notes accompanying the photograph state that the aircraft is Douglas Aircraft type C-47A Skytrain (RAF designation – Dakota C.III) . This C-47 was built in 1943, manufactured by Douglas Aircraft, serial no. 43-48186 (c/n 14002, l/n 25447) for RAF under lease-lend. It was renumbered KG770 and assigned to 24 Sqn RAF, Hendon for VIP transport. In 1945 it was used by King George VI to visit Channel the Islands. In 1953 it was transferred to United States Air Force (USAF), renumbered 0-48186
RAF Dakota parked at RAF Stoney Cross with the Tower in the background. Also on the apron is a row of Airspeed Oxford aircraft which seem to be from different units as the squadron codes on their fuselage sides are all different. There were Oxfords at Stoney Cross, from Section 1 of No 1552 radio aid training flight, but they reportedly had different codes. They may be visitors from other Transport Command units attending a meeting with the AoC Transport Command, Air Marshall the Hon Sir Ralph Cockrane GBE KCB AFC FRAES.
Avro York at RAF Stoney Cross: Probably from 242 (Canadian) Squadron RAF who operated Yorks at Stoney Cross between April and July 1945
This entry is one of several entries based on photos provided through the RAF Ibsley Airfield Heritage Trust and residents of the village of Fritham
For further reading and articles on Stoney Cross Airfield please visit: Stoney Cross Overview