RAF Andover – Hampshire
RAF Andover today
RAF Andover as it was 1945
Andover airfield had a long and varied existence dating from 1917 to 1977 when the site was taken over by the Army.
The station was built on 400 acres of nearly flat pasture land just west of Andover bounded by three roads the most important of which is the A303. It opened in August 1917 although the 7 Belfast truss roofed hangers and wooden hut accommodation were still far from complete. The personnel lived in tents and the aircraft were housed in a row of Bessoneaux canvas hangars along the northern boundary.
Training of new bomber squadrons using the range at Salisbury Plain started in September 1917 with 104,105 and 106 Squadrons who were joined by 148 in February 1918. The later were the first to leave departing with their FE2Bs to France in April followed by 104. The other 2 were transferred to Ireland to fly anti submarine patrols from Omagh, County Tyrone and were replaced by 207 and 215 Squadron which returned from operations with Handley Page O/100 to convert to the much improved O/400.
Handley Page O/100
In early 1918 experiments were conducted with Handley Page bombers based at Andover and Cranwell fitted with Radio Direction-Finding (RDF) equipment for night flying. The intention was to guide British bombers in attacks to and from Berlin. Early results were very promising and led to a significant order from the Americans. The war ended before any operational use was made of the system. This was the first attempt to develop a long-range electronic navigation system.
No 2 School of Navigation and Bomb Dropping ( S of N & BD ) were formed in May 1918 equipped with DH9s, DH9As, FE2Bs and O/400s which were used for night training. The O/400 crews also completed a special navigation course using the new RDF in preparation for the planned attacks on Berlin which did not take place because of the Armistice.
Training continued into 1919 and No 1 S of N & BD and was renamed the Air Pilotage School three months later. That was run down and finally disbanded in December 1922.
No 7 Group was formed at Andover in April 1920 to administer Army Co-Operation Squadrons and the RAF Staff College opened on the 3rd April 1922.
11 Squadron re-formed in January 1923 with four DH9As and moved to Bircham Newton in September to be replaced by 2 AC Squadron from Farnborough. They left in March 1924 when 12 Squadron arrived from Northolt with their Fawn day bombers. They were soon joined by the Bristol Fighters of 13 Army Co-Operation Squadron during June. A Station HQ was formed in April 1925.
The Wessex Bombing Area took over from 7 Group in April 1936. At this time 12 Squadron re-equipped with impressive Fairey Fox machines.
September 1929 saw 13 Squadron transferred to Netheravon. They were replaced by 101 Squadron with their Boulton Paul Sidestrands the following month and Andover was home to two bomber Squadrons.
12 Squadron carried out service trials on the Hawker Hart and Sopwith Antelope with the Hart proving much the better of the two. Both Squadrons participated in the annual exercises and displays at Hendon. As a result of the Wessex bombing area trails the Air Pilotage School was reformed in May 1933. In October of that year the Bombing Area was split in two with the Western Area taking over the HQ duties for Andover, Boscombe Down and Worthy Down.
In December 1934 101 Squadron moved to Bicester and the Training Unit which was now the Air Navigation School was joined by 142 Squadron and their Hawker Harts took over the hangars vacated by 101 Squadron. In October they left for the Middle East as part of the build up following the Italian invasion of Abyssinia. They were immediately replaced by 9 and 214 Squadrons with their Vickers Virginia Xs.
The Air Navigation School was moved to Manston and Western Area became No 3 Bomber Group on the 3rd May 1936. Additional brick built barrack blocks were built at this time.
In August 1936 103 Squadron and 107 Squadron were reformed with Hawker Hind bombers. They were soon joined by 12 and 142 Squadrons back from the Middle East. 9 Squadron left Andover at this time.
The embryo 103 Squadron at RAF Andover on reformation
103 Squadron under the command of S/L D H Carey left for RAF Usworth in the north east on the 26th February 1937
3 Group HQ moved to Manston in January 1937 and was replaced by 2 Group from Abingdon.. All the light bomber Units were part of 2 group at this time. More Hind Squadrons came and went staying only long enough to reach full strength.. Andover was soon left to the Staff College and 12 and 142 Squadrons. 12 squadron re-equipped with the Fairey Battle in February 1938 followed by 142 Squadron in March and spent the rest of the year converting to the new type.
2 Group HQ moved to Wyton in April and the station was then temporary home to No 1 Group.
With was with Germany imminent the airfields were ordered to prepare full defence and aircraft dispersal plans. This involved building gun positions ans digging slit trenches around the airfield. In July 1938 HQ Maintenance Command took over the buildings vacated by 2 Group.
During the Munich crisis 12 and 142 Squadrons were formed into 76 Wing and peace time markings removed from the aircraft. The Munich crisis abated but war preparations continued. Maintenance Command expanded with 40 Group forming at Andover in January 1939.
At this time RAF Andover was transferred to Fighter Command control coming under 22 Group for Army Co-operation duties.
The Battles left for Bicester and replaced by Hawker Hectors and Bristol Blenheims of 59 Squadron
On the day war broke out No 42 Group was formed at Andover, the Staff College closed and No 51 Wing warned for operations in France. The ground party left on the 1st October followed by the Blenheims 5 days later. On the 21st October No 2 S of AC was formed equipped with Blenheims and Avro Ansons for training in low flying navigation photography and army co-operation.
In November 1939 shortened staff courses were restarted but suspended again in May 1940 with the end of the phoney war.
The Battle of Britain began and on the 13th August Andover got a taste of it when 5 Ju 88s from LG1 dropped 10 bombs. The airfield parade ground, SHQ and officers quarters were hit. With 3 killed and 6 aircraft damaged. The following day another aircraft dropped anti personnel bombs killing two. The airfield was not attacked again till the 1st January when a single high explosive bomb and a number of incendiaries were dropped. A decoy airfield at Hurstbourne 7 miles east was established but does not appear to have been effective.
The ground defences shot down a Ju88 in March 1941. In April two hangars were demolished following bomb damage.
Half of 2 S of AC was sent to Thornaby to form 6 Coastal OTU with the rest becoming the basis of No 42 OTU whose duty was to convert Westland Lysander crews to Blenheims.
1942 was a hard year for all at Andover with a series of losses. 42 OTU moved to Ashbourne in October. 296 Squadron arrived with Armstrong Whitworth Whitleys followed by 170 Squadron with North American Mustangs, 16 Squadron with Lysanders and Mustangs and 15 ( P ) AFU with Airspeed Oxfords. Army Co-operation Squadrons were frequent visitors in 1943 and they were joined by 808, 809 and 879 Squadrons who trained with the Army as No 4 Naval Fighter Wing using 60 Supermarine Seafires.
In February 1944 P-38 Lockheed Lightnings of the 370th Fighter Group USAAF arrived from Aldermarston. The 71st Fighter Wing HQ followed on the 1st March 1944 and the IXth Air Force took over Andover formally two days later as a forward operating base. The 401st, 402nd and 485th Fighter Group filled the 5 main hangars and 5 blisters hangers scattered around the airfield for the P-38s were still giving lots of trouble. The grass surface with its maximum run of 3900ft was fairly tight too but the snags were quickly sorted out and the Group trained hard and was declared operational on the 1st May.
On D Day the Groups aircraft provided cover for the Allied landings for the next month.
Its main task was dive bombing radar installations, flak towers, bridges and marshalling yards.
On D Day the Group's aircraft spent the rest of the month on armed recce sorties over the Cotentin Peninsula. They then moved to the continent on the 20th July 1944 and the station returned to the RAF on the 29th July.
43 OTU vacated Oatlands Hill and moved to Andover with its Austers joined later by a number of newly formed Air Observation Post squadrons the last of which left in July 1945.
RAF Andover was the base for the first British military unit to be equipped with helicopters, the Helicopter Training School, which was formed in January 1945 as part of 43 OTU under the command of Squadron Leader B. H. Arkell.
This was also the first European helicopter flying-training school, although the first European military unit formed solely with helicopters was the Luftwaffe's Transportstaffel 40 in 1944. The Helicopter Training School was equipped with nine Sikorsky R-4B Hoverfly I helicopters, and trained 100 British Army pilots for AOP duties, as well as pilots for the first RAF squadron to be equipped with helicopters, 529 Squadron, which carried our radar calibration duties.
Sikorsky R-4B Hoverfly
43 OTU moved to Middle Wallop in January 1948 leaving Maintenance Command and 41 Group HQ.
The RAF College returned and a Communications Squadron was formed at Andover for liason flights and were used for the next 15 years.
On the 1st January 1960 225 Squadron were formed at Andover and flew Sycamores and Whirlwinds until 1963 when they moved to Odiham.
The Western Communication Squadron was formed in 1964 with Percival Pembrokes and Beagle Bassets. The Bassets were later withdrawn. . On the 3rd February 1969 the unit became a Squadron in its own right and standardised on the De Havilland Devon aircraft.
Percival Pembroke at RAF Andover
Trials of the Hawker P.1127, the Hawker Siddeley Kestrel FGA 1 and the Hawker Siddeley Harrier took place on the station. The Harrier was the developed form of the P.1127 and Kestrel and was the world's first operational vertical/short take-off and landing aircraft.
In addition trials of the Hawker Siddeley Andover, a twin engined tactical transport, were also partially carried out at RAF Andover.
The Staff College left in December 1969 and in 1973 Maintenance Command joined with the Technical Training and Transport Commands to form the Air Support Command. Andover was retained as the HQ which provided most of the work for 21 Squadron but the 1975 White Paper axed the Squadron. When it disbanded on the 31st March 1976 the airfield was also closed.
At this point the Army took over the airfield as the HQ for the Army Logistic Executive
Marlborough Lines. Main Gate Army HQ on the site of the old airfield
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