West Hartlepool flying sites
WEST HARTLEPOOL: See also WESTLANDS
WEST HARTLEPOOL: Temporary aerodrome?
NOTES: On the 4th July 1932 the “Flying Circus” enterprise of Sir Alan Cobham’s National Aviation Day UK Display Tour performed at/in/near West Hartlepool and again the next year on the 29th June 1933. Does anybody now know exactly where such singular events took place?
It is very tempting of course to assume they used the RAF GREATHAM site, but was this really the case? The next year, on the 7th September Cobham’s 1934 Tour displayed in/near West Hartlepool.
Very often the ‘Flying Circus’ operaters did deals with farmers to use fields, sometimes adjacent or very near to aerodromes, to cut a better deal regarding rental costs.
WEST HARTLEPOOL: Opened as a military airfield, later regional aerodrome/airport.
Note: Both of these pictures were obtained from Google Earth ©
WW2: Military RLG (Known as RAF GREATHAM until WW2)
Note: During WW2 known as RAF WEST HARTLEPOOL
Military user: WW2: Allocated to RAF Coastal Command (But did they actually use it? It doesn't seem so)
Apparently a satellite for RAF THORNABY, but little used.
Note: It appears that four Vickers-Supermarine Spitfires from 403 Squadron were based here from June 1942 to January 1943.
POST WW2: 645 VGS (Volunteer Gliding Squadron)
British airline user: Post 1945: BKS
Charter, air taxi: Post 1945: Astral Aviation
Flying Club: Tees-side Flying Club and West Hartlepool Flying Club
Note: In the 1957 The Aeroplane directory the Tees-side Flying Club were listed as operating one de Havilland DH82A Tiger Moth.
Location: SW of Seaton Carew, SE of Owton Manor, NE of Greatham, 5nm NNE of Middlesborough.
Period of operation: Civil: Officially opened in the summer 1939 Military: 1933 to 1945?
Civil: 1946 to 1958 (Some say 1957)
Runways: WW2: N/S 914 grass NE/SW 1280 grass
E/W 1280 grass SE/NW 914 grass
NOTES: This aerodrome seems to be a bit of a mystery. It seems that during WW2 it was on loan to the War Department ostensibly for use by RAF Coastal Command who declined to use it. During WW2 it appears that very little took place here.
One highly regarded record states the aerodrome closed in 1945 and yet I have found evidence of civil commercial use later on, by BKS especially. In fact it appears that BKS ran a scheduled service from here to NORTHOLT, (see LONDON), from May 1953 to 1956. Presumably flying Douglas DC-3s?
Another source claims that BKS ceased operations from GREATHAM AIRPORT, (as it was also known), in 1957.
As it appears that this aerodrome was used by the military from 1933, it seems odd that it was officially opened as a civil aerodrome in 1939. If anybody can kindly offer advice this will be most welcome.
Michael T Holder
This comment was written on: 2020-05-27 22:37:52From the Hartlepool Northern Daily Mail – Thursday 30 June 1932 – Air thrills in plenty will be witnessed at the old aerodrome at Seaton Carew (Now a landfill site) on Monday next(04 July 1932) when Sir Alan Cobham and his retinue of skilled pilots pay a visit to West Hartlepool in the course of the National Aviation Day Campaign which Sir Alan has organized.
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