RAF Northolt

51.5531, -0.4145 — view on OpenStreetMap ↗

About

RAF Northolt, in west London, opened in 1915 and is the oldest RAF airfield still in use, predating the Royal Air Force itself. In the Battle of Britain it was a key fighter station in No. 11 Group and is famous as the home of the Polish No. 303 Squadron, whose Hawker Hurricanes ran up the highest score of any squadron in the battle. It survived the great age of fighter airfields and remains an active RAF station today, home to No. 32 (The Royal) Squadron and serving as London’s airfield for government and VIP flights.

Sources: This page was compiled from publicly available historical sources, including Northolt — Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust and RAF Northolt — Wikipedia. The text is original and has been written from factual source material; no source text has been copied unless specifically quoted and attributed.

Photographs

Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1939-1941. Percival Q.6 “Petrel”, P5634, of the RAF Northolt Station Flight, parked at the head of a line of Bristol Blenheim Mark IVs of No. 2 Group at Wyton, Huntingdonshire. R3741 'VE-A' of No. 110 Squadron RAF has been modified by the addition of gun mountings in the rear of the engine nacelles, while T1947 'LS' of No. 15 Squadron RAF has been fitted with a long gun tray beneath the nose.
ⓘ licence & creditDaventry B J (Mr), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command,_1939-1941._CH776.jpgView source & full licence →
A40 - short lights at Northolt aerodrome
ⓘ licence & creditWhatlep / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A40_at_Northolt_aerodrome.jpgView source & full licence →
A group of pilots of No. 303 Polish Fighter Squadron RAF stand by the tail elevator of one of their Hawker Hurricane Mark Is at Northolt, Middlesex. They are (left to right): Pilot Officer Mirosław Ferić, Flying Officers Bogdan Grzeszczak, Pilot Officer Jan Zumbach, Flying Officer Zdzisław Henneberg and Flight-Lieutenant John Kent, who commanded 'A' Flight of the Squadron at this time.
ⓘ licence & creditStanley Devon / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:303_Squadron_pilots.jpgView source & full licence →
RAF Northolt Night Shoot XXX 7th March 2024. A strong and bitterly cold wind blowing across the airfield did not help with the long exposure shots.
ⓘ licence & creditkitmasterbloke / CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:126YUY_1956_Jeep.jpgView source & full licence →
Aerial Views in the United Kingdom, 1941 - 1942 RAF Northolt, Middlesex, from the north. Ruislip Manor and Ruislip Gardens are in the foreground.
ⓘ licence & creditNo 1 Camouflage Unit, Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aerial_Views_in_the_United_Kingdom,_1941_-_1942_MH27451.jpgView source & full licence →

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