Longbridge
LONGBRIDGE: Military aerodrome, much later private company airfield
Note: These four items were kindly provided by Mr Michael T Holder.
I found it interesting to note that, as can be seen in the 1929 photo, the airfield was named 'NORTHFIELD'.
Military user: WW1: RFC/RAF Acceptance Park 1917 to 1919
Operated by: WW1: Probably originally by the Austin Motor Co. Initially it appears that when the Austin Motor Co decided to get involved in aircraft production they decided on a site for test flying newly assembled aircraft just south of the factory. It appears Austin had "a lumpy site manually ‘shaved’ off", possibly using German PoWs? This now appears confirmed.
At some point later on (see above) the airfield site became operated as an RFC/RFC Acceptance Park, although I am not certain it was fully under military control.
WW2: Austin Motor Co
Location: Just E of A38 in the SW sector of the West Midlands suburban sprawl roughly 11nm SW of Birmingham city centre. The airfield was just S of the works
Period of operation: WW1: 1915 to 1919 WW2: 1939 to 1950?
Site area: WW1: 73 acres Circular: 1372 metres in diameter.
Runways: WW2: Rolled grass, of similar dimensions. An aerial picture shows that at one period three prepared grass runways had been laid out in a 'star' formation within the circular site.
NOTES: Here, again, I can thoroughly recommend reading Aviation in Birmingham by Geoffrey Negus & Tommy Staddon which reveals an astonishing history regarding aircraft production in this region.
A survey conducted in 1940 to gauge the effectiveness of camouflage on aircraft production factories also noted that LONGBRIDGE had multiple runways. This aerodrome was originally operational in WW1, (on exactly the same site?), but closed in 1919 before being ‘re-activated’ in WW2. Later Hawker Hurricanes and Fairey Battles were built here at the Austin factory.
Ian Elliott informed me that only the smaller types, the Hurricanes and Battles were flown off in WW2 – the larger types, Short Stirlings and Avro Lancasters, being taken in sections to ELMDON and WYTHALL.
Does anybody now know of the runway details and layout? It appears that in early WW2 at least there were three runways laid out in grass, forming a 'star' shape.
In August 2021 I was kindly contacted by Mr John Dell who is very familiar with this area. What he pointed out is quite extraordinary - a special lift resembling a quasi- funicular railway, was constructed to take Fairey Battles and Hawker Hurricanes from the Flight Shed, adjacent to the East Works, up to the airfield.
He also pointed that a video is available to see this lift in action: See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vapEDE8jtzw&t=273s
Skip the ads and go straight to the action - it really is astonishing and without any doubt unique in this country - if not anywhere else in the entire world.
The location on Google maps is only an estimation of the location of the airfield.
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