Husbands Bosworth

[stevie]

Some more pics from another trip to Husbands Bosworth with Jason and Mick.

Couldn't resist posting a couple more of the tower -





Some shots of the OPS block buried within the undergrowth -

View inside...No sign of the 'giant super rat' that scared Mick to death in there unfortunatly...We'll take your word for it mate!!

Some generators or something similar underneath some rubble just outside the ops block enterance.

Standby set house -

Now stables (hense the horse posing for this pic obviously!!!) this is the inside of the Gym and chapel.

Another building amongst the trees and undergrowth. God knows how they got that caravan in there!!

Heres some other interesting 'finds' we found in the communial buildings -



The water tank's long been missing up there -


Thanks to Jason and Mick (wiganmick...AIX Newbie!!) for what was a really great day 'airfield hunting'!
Cheers lads
Steve

[buccaneer66]

Drove through on my home home today so I had to stop by the road side and take a control tower picture.

[REF]

Thanks to Stevie and WiganMick for their company the other day, we had a really good wander around the old airfield. There is alot to see but with the undergrowth in June photos were a bit difficult - definately a winter airfield to visit this!

Husbands Bosworth is an interseting airfield. It was opened in July 1943 as a satellite for No 14 OTU (Market Harborough) and they were there until June 1944. Husbands Bosworth then became its own OTU, no 85 OTU, I do not know when they disbanded. The airfield was then used by No 216 MU at Coldfield for storage. Husbands Bosworth is a thriving airfield today and has a very active gliding club, two other private strips and the police helicopter based there.

A satellite view of Husbands Bosworth today;


This view shows runways over the current day view of the airfield.
The blue runways are the wartime runways
04/22 = 4200 x 150 ft
09/27 = 6000 x 150 ft
16/34 = 4200 x 150 ft
The red shows the current airstrips, including the long gliding strip running east/west
10/28 = 1200 x 90 mtrs
The yellow shows where the police helicopter is based

[bvs]

I have this logged as Old Sarum /Silverstone /Husbos 27/5/90,one of those unusual days in the UK where the thermals were dependable and the vis was good...5hrs 20min of sheer fun LOL

[buccaneer66]

No 85 Operational Training Unit

Formed on 15 June 1944 at Husbands Bosworth, within No 92 Group, from an element provided by No 14 OTU to train night bomber crews on Wellingtons at three quarters strength, disbanding on 14 June 1945.

Codes used: -

9P Jun 1944 - Jun 1945
2X Jun 1944 - Jun 1945

[laugemsue]

Extract from Birds eye Wartime Leicestershire 1939-1945 by Terence C. Cartwright. ISBN 0-9534497-1-8 (Available from most book stores).

RAF Husbands Bosworth. Began construction in late 1941, but did not open until June 1943. Aug 1943 saw flts 'A' & 'B' of No.14 OTU, 92 Group, move in with their Wellington Bombers from RAF Mkt Hrb. By June 1944 the station was reclassified into a parent station, and No.14 OTU was renamed No.85 OTU, with no change to operational duties. However, by Aug 5th 1944 the station saw the arrival of 313th Troop Carrier Group (USAAF) with their C-47 Skytrains used for training preparations for operation 'Market garden' in Holland. The TCG's stay was short lived and by Aug 15th they moved on and the station resumed it's bomber training duties, as before. No.85 OTU continued to operate until the unit was closed down in June 1945.

[stevie]

Heres a few views of Husbands Bosworth that haven't featured in this thread so far -

Gun Butt -


The remains of the bomb store -


Two Nissan Fusing Huts still remain -




The peri track still in use with the tower just in view in the distance-


..and finally -


Cheers,
Steve

[PETERTHEEATER]

Still a lot left at HB. The Bomb Store road layout is virtually intact. Farmer Giles has modified one of the two remaining Fuzing Point sheds to put in a dormer window!

What's the location of the 25 yard Range Stevie?

[stevie]

It's here Peter -

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?client...00862&t=h&z=20

Cheers,
Steve

[REF]

A few of the tower, taken 29 July 2010










Crew Locker & Drying Room


Police Helicopter that arrived back as we were leaving