RAF Old Sarum

51.0988, -1.7843 — view on OpenStreetMap ↗

About

RAF Old Sarum, just north of Salisbury in Wiltshire, opened in 1917 and spent its long life at the centre of British army-cooperation flying. The School of Army Co-operation was based there between the wars, teaching the air-and-ground tactics that mattered so much in the Second World War, when squadrons flew Westland Lysanders, Curtiss Tomahawks, Hawker Hurricanes and Auster spotters from the field. The grass airfield and its First World War hangars survive; part of the site is a business park, and a Boscombe Down aviation museum occupies one hangar.

Sources: This page was compiled from publicly available historical sources, including Old Sarum (Ford Farm) — Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust and RAF Old Sarum — 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

Aircraft of the Royal Air Force 1939-1945- Taylorcraft Auster. Taylorcraft Plus C/2, HH982, of No. 651 (AOP) Squadron RAF, about to depart on a training flight from Old Sarum, Hampshire. Formerly a civilian machine (registration G-AFVA), impressed in August 1941, HH982, went on to serve with Nos. 653 and 654 (AOP) Squadrons RAF, and with No.2 Group Communications Flight, before being restored to the civilian register as G-AHAE in December 1945.
ⓘ licence & creditDaventry B J (Mr), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aircraft_of_the_Royal_Air_Force_1939-1945-_Taylorcraft_Auster._CH6114.jpgView source & full licence →

No people are cross-referenced to this airfield yet. Links appear as squadron postings, crews and service records are added.