North Front
Gibraltar
About
North Front was the wartime airfield on Gibraltar’s isthmus, the same strategic runway later associated with RAF Gibraltar and Gibraltar Airport. Its position at the entrance to the Mediterranean made it valuable for convoy cover, maritime patrol, anti-submarine operations and aircraft staging to North Africa. The airfield shared a compact site with the Rock’s military and civil infrastructure.
Photographs
Royal Air Force Coastal Command, 1939-1945. Air and ground crew of No. 202 Squadron RAF check equipment and ordnance issued to Consolidated Catalina Mark I, AJ159 ‘AX-B’, on the slipway at North Front, Gibraltar, in preparation for a patrol.
ⓘ licence & credit
Daventry B J (Fg Off), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_Coastal_Command,_1939-1945._CM2311.jpgView source & full licence →Royal Air Force Coastal Command, 1939-1945. Consolidated Catalina Mark I, Z2417 ‘AX-L’, of No. 202 Squadron RAF flies by the North Front of the Rock as it leaves Gibraltar on a patrol.
ⓘ licence & credit
Daventry B J H (Fg Off), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_Coastal_Command,_1939-1945._CM6238.jpgView source & full licence →Royal Air Force Operations in Malta, Gibraltar and the Mediterranean, 1939-1945. Vickers Wellington B Mark IC, DV513, refuelling at North Front, Gibraltar, while staging through on a ferry flight to the Middle East. DV513 formerly belonged to No. 99 Squadron RAF and was retained in the United Kingdom when that unit moved to the Far East in February 1942. It eventually joined No. 70 Squadron RAF at LG 104, Egypt, only to be lost on 13 August 1942 when it force landed in a lake near Fayum after running out of fuel.
ⓘ licence & credit
Daventry B J H (Fg Off), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vickers_Wellington_-_Royal_Air_Force_Operations_in_Gibraltar,_1939-1945._CM6622.jpgView source & full licence →Royal Air Force Operations in Malta, Gibraltar and the Mediterranean, 1940-1945. Vickers Wellington B Mark ICs, formerly of No. 15 Operational Training Unit, parked at North Front, Gibraltar, while staging through the Mediterranean to join operational units in Egypt. BB459 ‘K’ (right) went to No. 108 Squadron RAF at Fayid, while Z8960 ‘P’ (left) joined 70 Squadron RAF at LG 104/Qotafiyah II.
ⓘ licence & credit
Royal Air Force official photographer, Daventry B J H (Fg Off) / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_Operations_in_Malta,_Gibraltar_and_the_Mediterranean,_1940-1945._CM6621.jpgView source & full licence →Royal Air Force Operations in Malta, Gibraltar and the Mediterranean, 1940-1945. Short Sunderland Mark I, L5798 ‘KG-B’, of No. 204 Squadron RAF based at Bathurst, The Gambia, is relaunched down the slipway at North Front, Gibraltar following an engine service. Between 1941and 1944, this unit regularly escorted Allied convoys between Gibraltar and West Africa.
ⓘ licence & credit
Daventry B J H (Fg Off), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_Operations_in_Malta,_Gibraltar_and_the_Mediterranean,_1940-1945._CM6527.jpgView source & full licence →Royal Air Force Operations in Malta, Gibraltar and the Mediterranean, 1940-1945. Busy scene by the slipway at North Front, Gibraltar. In the foreground various RAF marinecraft undergo maintenance. Parked behind them are shrouded Consollidated Catalinas of No. 202 Squadron RAF, while in front of the hangar, an engine service is undertaken on Short Sunderland Mark I, L5798 ‘KG-B’, of No. 204 Squadron RAF based at Bathurst, The Gambia. Between 1941and 1944, this unit regularly escorted Allied convoys between Gibraltar and West Africa.
ⓘ licence & credit
Daventry B J H (Fg Off), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_Operations_in_Malta,_Gibraltar_and_the_Mediterranean,_1940-1945._CM6526.jpgView source & full licence →Royal Air Force Operations in Malta, Gibraltar and the Mediterranean, 1939-1945. Supermarine Spitfire Mark Vs assembled by the Special Erection Party for Operation TORCH, undergoing initial engine tests at North Front, Gibraltar. The Special Erection Party was established at Gibraltar in July 1942 to assemble and test fly aircraft crated from Britain by sea for the reinforcement of Malta. On 28 October 1942 an unexpected shipment of 116 Spitfires and 13 Hawker Hurricanes arrived to be prepared for the Allied landings in North Africa (Operation TORCH) and a further shipment was received a few days later. Despite shortages of personnel, the SEP, assisted by soldiers of the Malta Brigade, assembled, test-flew and cannon-tested all the aircraft in time for the commencement of the Operation (8 November).
ⓘ licence & credit
War Office official photographer, Dallison G W (Lt), No. 1 AFPS, Army Film and Photographic Unit / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_Operations_in_Malta,_Gibraltar_and_the_Mediterranean,_1939-1945._CM6699.jpgView source & full licence →Royal Air Force Operations in Malta, Gibraltar and the Mediterranean, 1939-1945. Airmen of the Special Erection Party fitting the engines to Supermarine Spitfire Mark Vs during assembly at North Front, Gibraltar. Behind them can be seen the fuselages of Hawker Hurricanes sheltered in their packing crates. The Special Erection Party was established at Gibraltar in July 1942 to assemble and test fly aircraft crated from Britain by sea for the reinforcement of Malta. They are seen here working on a shipment of 70 Spitfires and 27 Hurricanes which arrived by sea on 15 September 1942 and which were built, test-flown and dispersed to vacant areas of the station in 11 days.
ⓘ licence & credit
War Office official photographer, Dallison G W (Lt), No. 1 AFPS, Army Film and Photographic Unit / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_Operations_in_Malta,_Gibraltar_and_the_Mediterranean,_1939-1945._CM6697.jpgView source & full licence →Royal Air Force Operations in Malta, Gibraltar and the Mediterranean, 1939-1945. Airmen of the Special Erection Party assemble a Hawker Hurricane and a Supermarine Spitfire Mark V unpacked from crates at North Front, Gibraltar. The Special Erection Party was established at Gibraltar in July 1942 to assemble and test fly aircraft crated from Britain by sea for the reinforcement of Malta. They are seen here working on a shipment of 70 Spitfires and 27 Hurricanes which arrived by sea on 15 September 1942 and which were built, test-flown and dispersed to vacant areas of the station in 11 days. The SEP were assisted by 15 special tractors and six Coles cranes - two of which are seen in action here - to help speed up the handling.
ⓘ licence & credit
War Office official photographer, Dallison G W (Lt), No. 1 AFPS, Army Film and Photographic Unit / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_Operations_in_Malta,_Gibraltar_and_the_Mediterranean,_1939-1945._CM6694.jpgView source & full licence →{{En|Royal Air Force Operations in Malta, Gibraltar and the Mediterranean, 1939-1945. Airmen of the Special Erection Party (SEP) and soldiers of 2nd Battalion, the , unpack the fuselage of a Supermarine Spitfire Mark V drawn from a crate by a Coles crane on the edge of the runway at North Front, Gibraltar. The Special Erection Party was established at in July 1942 to assemble and test fly aircraft crated from Britain by sea for the reinforcement of . They are seen here attending to a shipment of twenty Spitfires which arrived on 29 September 1942. Although many of the aircraft were damaged in transit, the SEP, assisted by the soldiers in the non-technical work, got them ready for despatch by 11 October. This aircraft, EP286, flew with on Malta, then with in Italy, before being transferred to the in February 1946.}}
ⓘ licence & credit
Dallison G W (Lt), No. 1 AFPS, Army Film and Photographic Unit, War Office official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_Operations_in_Malta,_Gibraltar_and_the_Mediterranean,_1939-1945._CM6688.jpgView source & full licence →Royal Air Force Operations in Malta, Gibraltar and the Mediterranean, 1939-1945. Airmen of the Special Erection Party and soldiers of 2nd Battalion, the Somerset Light Infantry, unpack a Supermarine Spitfire from a crate deposited by a Coles crane on the edge of the runway at North Front, Gibraltar. The Special Erection Party was established at Gibraltar in July 1942 to assemble and test fly aircraft crated from Britain by sea for the reinforcement of Malta. They are seen here attending to a shipment of twenty Spitfires which arrived on 29 September 1942. Although many of the aircraft were damaged in transit, the SEP, assisted by the soldiers in the non-technical work, got them ready for despatch by 11 October.
ⓘ licence & credit
Dallison G W (Lt), No. 1 AFPS, Army Film and Photographic Unit, War Office official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_Operations_in_Malta,_Gibraltar_and_the_Mediterranean,_1939-1945._CM6687.jpgView source & full licence →British Overseas Airways Corporation and Qantas, 1940-1945. Curtiss CW-20A/C-55, G-AGDI “St Louis”, of BOAC, parked at North Front, Gibraltar. “St Louis” ran regular supply flights between Lisbon, Gibraltar and the besieged island of Malta from 1941 to 1942.
ⓘ licence & credit
Daventry B J H (Fg Off), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:British_Overseas_Airways_Corporation_and_Qantas,_1940-1945._CM6538.jpgView source & full licence →A Lockheed Hudson Mk III of No. 233 Squadron at North Front airfield at Gibraltar, March 1942. Hudson III T9459, part of No 233 Squadron’s detachment at North Front airfield, with the famous Rock of Gibraltar providing a backdrop, March 1942.