Salisbury Hall
SALISBURY HALL: Private company airstrip. Now site of the de Havilland Aircraft Museum
Note: Picture by the author.
Operated by: de Havilland
Location: Just S of B556, (and M25), E of J22 at London Colney
Period of operation: About 1940/41?
Runway: Roughly E/W and parallel to the B556, 450 yards (412m) grass
NOTES: It appears a strip was laid out to enable the second prototype Mosquito to fly out. According to Ron Smith in British Built Aircraft Vol.3 the next three Mosquitos also flew out. Having visited this museum I was told the farmer who owned the adjacent fields deliberately ploughed the strip up to prevent any more Mosquitos taking-off. We must of course remember that a quite substantial proportion of the British population were not in the slightest bit inclined to support the war effort against the Nazi regime.
A MOSQUITO MEMORY
In his book PILOT Joe Patient DFC states: “My old car broke down towards the end of my leave, putting an end to gallivanting, so I went to De Havillands and managed to scrounge a lift with Squadron Leader Cox from Hatfield to Wyton on one of the very earliest Mosquitos, a Mark 2, W4052. This prototype Mosquito, built as the FR (fighter) had umpteen alterations and modified experiments during its lifetime, with various mixtures of guns, cannons and weird-looking airbrakes round the fuselage. W 4051 and 4052 were built (for security reasons) at Salisbury Hall, a moated manor house where a hangar had been built and disguised as a barn. W 4051 when completed had been dismantled and then re-erected at Hatfield for the initial test flights by Geoffrey de Havilland Jnr. These were so successful that he flew W 4052 on 15 May, 1941, from a short field only 450 yards long adjoining the ‘barn’ where it had been built, so saving valuable weeks. News of this development must have reached German intelligence because only a day or two previously a German spy, K.R. Richer, had parachuted into a nearby field. He was quickly apprehended and later executed.”
AN ACT OF TREASON?
It is claimed that the Air Ministry, when hearing of the Mosquito design decided it was an utter folly and insisted all work should be stopped on the project. Therefore establishing a covert design team to continue at Salisbury Hall in secret was quite probably an act of treason? Given this is correct – how did German intelligence know about it? Or – was Herr Richer just very unlucky to land nearby?
Joe Patient also claims that the Mosquito was seen as such a potent weapon that any Luftwaffe pilot shooting one down was credited with two kills! Obviously an utterly unacceptable practise at every level, (I’m surprised Luftwaffe pilots agreed?), but if true it certainly illustrates the degree of threat the Mosquito posed to the Germans.
When looked at with hindsight the Mosquito was, without too much doubt, the most formidable weapon developed by the Allies forces during WW2.
A PERSONAL MEMORY
In February 2009, Angela Soper asked me to collect her fathers treasured de Havilland DH94 Moth Minor (Coupe) G-AFOJ, and deliver it to their airfield, JENKINS FARM, in ESSEX.
Angela wanted her father to see it back on their airfield shortly before he passed away - a lovely and generous gesture. Angela told me she had fond memories of her father taking her flying as a young girl in this aeroplane, and the experience no doubt inspired her to become an ATPL, flying for example, Dart Heralds for Channel Express.
In my career of moving aircraft in my truck for around a quarter of a century, I sometimes became involved in circumstances which were both sad and quite emotional - but I hope I didn't let it show - trusting that the tough trucker exterior remained intact.
THE WILLIAM JAMIESON GALLERY
NOTES: In mid 2020 I was contacted by William. He had worked under supervision on G-AFOJ and has fond memories. Would I be interested in seeing some pictures of it being wheeled out and loaded onto a truck? Is the Pope a Catholic?
Imagine my astonishment, when having completely failed to make the connection, that he was referring to my move of this aircraft.
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