Stow Maries
STOW MARIES: Military aerodrome much later gliding site? New airfield from 2011?
Note: Picture by the author.
Military users: WW1: RFC/RAF (Royal Flying Corps / Royal Air Force
Home Defence Flight Station
37 [Home Defence] Sqdn (Sopwith Snipes?)
Note: In 2018 I found one very comprehensive web-site concerning 37 (HD) Squadron, and it gives no mention of Sopwith Snipes. What they do list 37 (HD) Squadron as operating are = Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2d, B.E.2e, B.E.12, B.E.12a, R.E.7 and R.E.8. Plus, Sopwith Scout, Sopwith 1½ Strutter and Sopwith Camel. So it seems unlikely they would have missed the Sopwith Snipe.
It is course quite impossible in compiling just a basic 'Guide' to investigate every such anomoly, and invariably I can usually only refer to published information. I do of course try really quite hard to present as accurate picture as possible, so any advice will be most welcome.
Note: From the 1st April 1918, 37 Sqdn then became part of the RAF
Operated by: From 2011 - Mr Steve Wilson and Mr Russell Savory
Location: NW of Stow Maries, 1.5nm NE of South Woodham-Ferrers
Period of operation: WW1: 1916 to 1919 (It seems the first combat flight took place here on the night of 23/24 May 1917, the site was intended for defence against 'Zeppelin' airships and later Gotha bombers)
Civil: Gliding well after WW2? Then from 2011?
I’m assuming this gliding activity was from the WW1 site of course?
Site area: WW1: 118 acres 777x594
Runways: This airfield is very rare indeed in modern times in that the people operating the site intend to keep it as an ‘all-over’ airfield so that aircraft can take-off and land into wind. On the other hand an AAIB report states that an aircraft was using “Runway 20” at STOW MARIES which has a length of 650m.
NOTES: It appears that a ‘battle damaged’ Hurricane of 242 Sqdn made a forced landing here in 1940.
In 2011 I learnt that much work had been in place to restore STOW MARIES as both a museum and flying site, dedicated to its WW1 history. A Vintage Fly-In took place on the 11th September 2011.
In 2014 it was claimed that STOW MARIES is the largest surviving WW1 aerodrome in Europe and a large grant had been made to restore some of the WW1 buildings such as Royal Engineers Workshop, the Night Flying Store, the Pilots' Ready Room and the Motor Transport workshop. This seems a very odd sort of claim as BIGGIN HILL, FARNBOROUGH and UPAVON, for example, are much larger and have been constantly operational throughout. But when somebody stated Europe, they obviously meant ESSEX (?) - an easy enough mistake to make of course.
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