BCA Blackbushe Airport celebrates civil aviation past
BCA Blackbushe Airport celebrated its heritage as London's second airport in the late 1940s and 1950s with the unveiling of a sign commemorating the many airlines that used to fly out of the airfield.
The sign was officially unveiled by Harold Bamberg, Founder Chairman of Eagle Airways on Monday 21 October 2013 as a crowd of Blackbushe Airport pilots, enthusiasts and staff looked on. Eagle Airways were based at Blackbushe from 1952 onwards, and operated a large fleet of Vickers Vikings, offering package holidays to Italy and Spain in association with in-house tour operator Sir Henry Lunn Ltd.
The commemorative sign was the brainchild of Peter Brown, a Church Crookham-based photo-historian and ardent supporter of Blackbushe and it was donated by Mike Biddulph, Sales Director of Prestige Signs of Grays, Essex whose father flew from Blackbushe in the 1960s.
The sign is located close to the Terminal Building and captures scenes from the Airport's historic past. It features some of yesteryear's classic airliners and the operators that flew from Blackbushe when it represented the heart of Britain's post-war independent airline industry. Names from the past that are celebrated include Britavia, Continental, Dan-Air, Eagle Airways, Falcon, Orion and Pegasus.
As he unveiled the sign, Harold Bamberg reminded the crowd of Blackbushe’s civil aviation heritage. He said “It is hard to believe now, but Blackbushe was London’s second airport up until the opening of Gatwick in 1960. This airport was home to a significant number of large independent airlines offering a variety of cargo and charter operations and it is true to say that the Great British package holiday concept was invented here.”
Following its exploits during WW2 when it was known as RAF Hartfordbridge, the re-named Blackbushe Airport was operated by the Ministry of Civil Aviation from 1947 up until 1960 when civil air traffic was moved to Heathrow.
A number of independent passenger and freight operators were based at the airport, and there was also a thriving maintenance and overhaul operation at Blackbushe, servicing the needs of a wide number of airlines and aircraft from around the world. This activity was based in the wartime "Bellman" hangars on both sides of the A30 road and it was a familiar occurrence for local motorists to be stopped to allow large airliners to be towed across the road.
Overseas-based charter airlines often used Blackbushe for their UK flights, as the airfield tended to be open for operations, even when other airports in the London area were closed by fog. The airfield's hilltop position helped in this respect and was a key reason why the location was chosen as a base in 1942 for RAF squadrons for reconnaissance, defence and strike operations using Spitfires and Mosquitoes throughout the remainder of the Second World War.
From the early 1950s, the United States Navy (USN) had a facility on the airport which frequently handled visiting naval aircraft. These included patrol aircraft such as the Lockheed Neptune and the Martin Mercator and large transporters such as the Douglas Skymaster and Liftmaster aircraft. In 1955 USN UK-based communications and liaison aircraft were switched to Blackbushe from RAF Hendon.
Ten Blackbushe Facts
1 The Vickers Viscount underwent a lot of early trials and demonstrations at Blackbushe, including customer crew training.
2 Both BEA (British European Airways) and BOAC (British Overseas Airways Corporation), forerunner to today's British Airways conducted crew training at Blackbushe.
3 From its early days, the De Havilland Comet – the world’s first commercial jet liner - was a regular sight at Blackbushe whilst crew training.
4 The A30 was regularly closed to traffic to allow aircraft to be towed from the servicing hangars back to the main airfield in the 1950s.
5 Operator Airwork conducted major contracts for the government at Blackbushe, including modifications to serving RAF aircraft.
6 The package holiday concept was developed by Eagle Airways out of Blackbushe in the early 1950s.
7 Blackbushe was a key alternate when Heathrow was restricted by the winter fogs. The location has the highest incidence of fog free days anywhere in the south of England.
8 Many famous names flew from Blackbushe during its civil aviation days. Royalty, Prime Ministers, Presidents, military leaders like Isenhower and Montgomery, and celebrities of the time such as Frank Sinatra. Recent celebrity flyers from Blackbushe include Angelina Jolie, while scenes for the Formula 1 blockbuster ‘Rush’ were filmed at Blackbushe last year.
9 The first ever car ferry flights were from Blackbushe and the airport was a major hub for the horse racing industry visiting southern-based race courses.
10 One of the jobs conducted by the US Navy from Blackbushe was the tracking of Russian submarines during the Cold War.
About BCA Blackbushe Airport today
Blackbushe is conveniently situated 3 miles from Camberley on the A30 London - Southampton road with access to the M3 motorway at junction 4a just 5 minutes away.
With its good weather record, minimum delays and location within a rapidly expanding business and industrial area, Blackbushe is an increasingly popular airport for the business executive. Aldershot, Camberley, Farnborough, Windsor, Bracknell, Reading and Basingstoke are all within easy travelling distance, whilst excellent rail connections to London are available at Fleet and Farnborough mainline Stations.
There is also a thriving private pilot community at Blackbushe and recreational and instructional services are available from flying schools and air charter companies based at the airport. Blackbushe provides hanger-age, aviation services and fire cover.