Wye
WYE: Military aerodrome later temporary airfield
Note: This picture (2018) was obtained from Google Earth ©
This site location was obtained from the Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust website, which is a fabulous resource for anybody researching UK aviation history.
Military users: RFC/RAF (Royal Flying Corps / Royal Air Force)
6th Home Defence Wing Training Squadron Station
61, 65 & 86 Sqdns
20,42, 50, 51 & 66 Reserve Sqdns
42 Training Sqdn
24th Aero Sqdn USAAS (United States Army Air Service)
(Typically it seems that Reserve Training Squadrons operated a motley selection of aircraft often with just one example of various types. At WYE, over the two years of operation you could have seen either one or several of the following aircraft types:
Avro 504A, J & K,
Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2c & 2e, B.E.12, F.E.2b, R.E.7 & R.E.8
Airco DH.2, DH.4 & DH.6,
Armstrong Whitworth F.K.8,
Martinsyde Elephant
Sopwith Camel & Pup
Location: Just E of A28 by Boughton corner, NW of Wye, roughly 5nm NE of Ashford
Period of operation: WW1: 1916 to 1919 Civil: Briefly for air display in the 1930s
Site area: 86 acres 640 x 549
NOTES: Corporal Mechanic Whelan, who was often invited to go on flights kept a diary of his stay at WYE and one entry really does sum up the appalling safety record of RFC Training Squadrons…..”A lovely day so lots of flying and umpteen crashes”. In one day at one aerodrome!
On another day his pilot was doing some aerobatics or stunting as it was generally called then and pretty obviously overstressed the aircraft as he casually remarks that it did the rigging in a bit. This was not at all uncommon in those days and in fact aircraft regularly disintegrated in mid-air.
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