Bitteswell

[stevie]

I'm sure you guys won't let me down on this....(hopefully!!)
I've been very interested in the history of Bitteswell airfield for years. Has anybody got any photos of the place when it was in use that they could post up here.Looking around the net isn't really coming up with much to be honest which i find a suprise as it had very interesting history and only closed towards the end of the eighties.

Today almost the entire airfield has been totally swallowed up by the massive Magna Buisiness park with the exception of a couple of small stretches of runway. I remember visiting back in 1999 (i think!!) and there was a corner of the airfield still very much in-tact where several communial buildings, water tower etc and the hangar complex where they built and over hauld everything from Sea hawks, Shackletons and Vulcans still survived. Sadly when i visited last summer this last remaining little time zone was also completely gone replaced by yet another load of modern ugly ware houses.

Found a link here with a few pics of this final reminder of Bitteswell's active days -

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jimincov/s ... 214020219/

So if anybody has any photos it would be great to see them. Cheers,

Steve

[rebbonk]

You could do a lot worse than talk to Nev Martin (Phoenix Aviation) at Bruntingthorpe. He was a foreman there for quite a few years.

[stevie]

You could do a lot worse than talk to Nev Martin (Phoenix Aviation) at Bruntingthorpe. He was a foreman there for quite a few years.

Cheers rebbonk. I'll have to make a few enquiries at Brunty.

Heres a nice shot of Bitteswell with B-17 Flying Fortress G-FORT over the runway with the old tower visible in the background. This was taken towards the end of the airfields life when a collection of vintage aircraft from the "warbirds of Britain" collective used the airfield.



For a closer look at the tower heres one of the few pics i've managed to find on the web so far! -
http://www.controltowers.co.uk/B/Bitteswell.htm

Cheers,
Steve

[buccaneer66]

Steve

I found this picture on flickr as well http://www.flickr.com/photos/lifeslens/3274049334/

[P Bellamy]

Are the two loop and one pan dispersals still there, just east of the Wellington Parkway/Harrier Parkway roundabout?

All the best,
PB

[rebbonk]

Might also be worth contacting these guys; they were a few of the workers made redundant when the place closed.

http://www.fastuk.org/atcommunity/orgview.php?id=1365

Ron Robinson was an airframe fitter there.

You may also find a little info burried in here:-

http://www.awa.uk.com/

[PNK]

Looking at the 1945 aerial photo in Roy Bonser's book "Aviation in Leicestershire and Rutland", you can see the remains on the grass airfiled. Does anyone know what this original layout looked like?

[stevie]

I was NOT going to let Magna park beat me !!!

I was determined to find something of the old airfield and i have to say it's not been easy but "mission Bitteswell" was completed yesterday. Managed to find these few little relics from the airfields active days tucked away right on the outskirts of the business park. The diggers must have missed them when they were tearing the place up. It's awful to think that in a few years time Swinderby will be meeting the exact same fate as Bitteswell.

Anyway heres the pics. Nothing to impressive or interesting really i suppose. I'm just glad theres SOMETHING still here -

















Mission accomplished.

Cheers

Steve

[WiganMick59]

Possible sighting of a frying pan dispersal on google earth at the roundabout junction of Wellington Parkway and Harrier Parkway?.....It's no good we'll have to go back.

[P Bellamy]

Possible sighting of a frying pan dispersal on google earth at the roundabout junction of Wellington Parkway and Harrier Parkway?.....It's no good we'll have to go back.

I'm sure I asked about this in my post of May 21st, about 6 posts above.........

They are the two loop dispersals with a pan at the southern end, visible just right of centre in the plan posted by Steve.

All the best,
PB