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| RAF Northolt | |
|---|---|
 Station badge |
|
| Active | May 1915 (as a RFC base) – Present |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Branch | Royal Air Force |
| Role | Communications flying |
| Based in | Ruislip, United Kingdom |
| Motto | Alit Portare Aut Pugnare Prompti (Latin for Ready to Carry or to Fight) |
RAF Northolt (IATA: NHT, ICAO: EGWU) is a Royal Air Force station located 2 NM (3.7 km; 2.3 mi) east by northeast[1] of Uxbridge in the London Borough of Hillingdon, in West London, UK. Approximately 10 km (6.2 mi) north of London Heathrow Airport, it also handles a large number of private civilian flights.
RAF Northolt is actually situated in neighbouring South Ruislip; most early RAF airfields were named after the nearest railway station, in this case Northolt Junction which is now called South Ruislip.
Contents |
History
Opened in May 1915 for aircraft of the Royal Flying Corps, it was an active base for RAF and Polish Air Force squadrons during World War II. On 15 September 1940 during the Battle of Britain, No. 1 Squadron RCAF, No. 229 Squadron RAF, No. 303 Polish Fighter Squadron, No. 504 Squadron RAF, and part of No. 264 Squadron RAF were based at the station. All except the No. 264 Squadron portion were flying Hawker Hurricanes; 264 Squadron was operating the Boulton Paul Defiant.
Soon after World War II, Northolt became a significant civilian airport, being a major base for British European Airways, also being served by Aer Lingus, Scandinavian Airlines System and Swissair. Airline flights ceased on the opening of the central area at Heathrow in 1954. It then wholly reverted to military use.
Communications aircraft of the Royal Canadian Air Force, the United States Air Forces in Europe, the United States Navy, and the French Air Force were based there in the 1950–1980 period. Today, it is an important RAF airfield and the home of No. 32 (The Royal) Squadron RAF. Since about 1980 movements of privately-owned aircraft, mainly corporate jets, have outnumbered military aircraft.
When the Fairey Aviation factory was situated in Hayes, Hillingdon, some of the company's newly-built aircraft flew first from Northolt Aerodrome.
Memorial
A memorial to Polish airmen who lost their lives in the Second World War can be seen near the southeastern corner of the airfield; its presence is remembered by the name – "Polish War Memorial" – of the adjacent junction on Western Avenue.
Present day
| RAF Northolt Northolt Aerodrome |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| IATA: NHT – ICAO: EGWU | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Military | ||
| Operator | Royal Air Force | ||
| Location | Ruislip | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 124 ft / 38 m | ||
| Coordinates | 51°33′11″N 000°25′06″W / 51.55306°N 0.41833°WCoordinates: 51°33′11″N 000°25′06″W / 51.55306°N 0.41833°W | ||
| Website | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| m | ft | ||
| 07/25 | 1,687 | 5,535 | Grooved Asphalt |
| Sources: UK AIP at NATS[1] | |||
In August 1996, a Spanish Learjet overshot runway 25 and collided with a van heading eastward on the A40 Western Avenue; the aircraft was carrying an actress bound for Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire. Due to its close proximity to Pinewood, the airfield has been used to represent several exotic locations in feature films, such as in the pre-title sequence of the James Bond film Octopussy, in which it represented a Cuban-style airfield. Media attention was also high when a seriously ill fugitive, Ronnie Biggs, was flown to the airfield and then arrested, the body of Diana, Princess of Wales, was returned to Britain from Villacoublay airfield, in Paris, France, after her death in that city.
RAF Northolt is operationally constrained by its proximity to the much larger civilian airport at Heathrow. On 25 October 1960 a Pan Am Boeing 707, heading for Heathrow, mistakenly landed at Northolt with 41 passengers on board.[2][3]
In days before such navigational aids as instrument landing system (ILS) and the global positioning system (GPS), the letters NO (for Northolt) and LH (for Heathrow) were painted on two gasometers situated on the approach to each airfield, one at Southall for the approach into Heathrow and one at South Harrow for the approach to Northolt in an effort to prevent recurrence of such errors.
After some 30 years of protracted consideration, an ILS was eventually fitted to Northolt's runway 25, and aggregate-filled safety pits were installed at each end of that runway to protect road users in the event of another bizjet's or military transport's failure to stop or ascend before the runway's end.
The airfield is currently being extensively redeveloped under Project MoDEL, which also closes RAF Bentley Priory and RAF Uxbridge.
Current units at the station include No. 32 (The Royal) Squadron RAF, No. 600 Squadron RAF (Royal Auxiliary Air Force), 621 EOD Squadron RLC (part of 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Regiment), Royal Logistic Corps BFPO main sorting office, including the Defence Courier Service (DCS), both of which relocated from Mill Hill and the "Northolt Station Flight", flying three Britten-Norman Islanders. Their role is electronic intelligence gathering - described as 'embassy and anti-terrorist surveillance'.[4][5] Details of the Islanders; ZF573 Islander CC.2A,delivered to the unit in the mid-nineties. ZH536 Islander CC.2,the first aircraft acquired in late 1991. ZH537 Islander CC.2B,the third aircraft delivered in April 2008.This aircraft formerly served with the United Arab Emirates Air Force.
The Headquarters of London and South East Region (L&SER) of the Air Training Corps are also located at RAF Northolt.
32 (TR) Squadron flies 6 BAe 125 CC.3 executive jets (serial numbers ZD620, ZD621, ZD703, ZD704, ZE395 and ZE396), 2 BAe 146 CC.2 four-engine VIP short range transport aircraft (serial numbers ZE700 and ZE701),[6] and 3 AgustaWestland A109E Power helicopters (serial numbers ZR321, ZR322, and ZR323).[7]
Several film units have used the station for several James Bond films, the TV mini series Winds of War, the BBC show Dr Who and several TV adverts[citation needed].
See also
References
- ^ a b Northolt - EGWU
- ^ Pan Am 707 taking off from Northolt: http://www.abpic.co.uk/photo/1001607
- ^ List of 'wrong way' landings: http://www.thirdamendment.com/wrongway.html
- ^ [1] Air Forces Monthly, May 2003
- ^ http://website.lineone.net/~landair/nowbased.htm#bn2
- ^ A third BAe 146 CC.2 serial number ZE702 was sold to a private operator in Indonesia in 2002
- ^ Aircraft and Equipment from the Station's official website
- Bruce Barrymore Halpenny Action Stations: Military Airfields of Greater London v. 8 (ISBN 978-0850595857)
- Bruce Barrymore Halpenny Fighter Pilots in World War II: True Stories of Frontline Air Combat (ISBN 978-1844150656)
- Bruce Barrymore Halpenny Fight for the Sky: Stories of Wartime Fighter Pilots (ISBN 978-0850597493)
External links
- RAF Northolt - official site
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