RAF Seighford (also known as Royal Air Force Seighford) is a former Royal Air Force satellite station located approximately 3.6 miles (5.8 km) northwest of Stafford, in Staffordshire, England. It was built as a satellite and relief landing ground for RAF Hixon, which lies 7.5 miles (12.1 km) to the east.
History
Construction and Royal Air Force use
Construction of the airfield began in 1942, and it became operational in 1943. The site was equipped with three concrete runways and a perimeter track. The technical site and hangars were built to the north of the airfield, with the Type B1 and T2 aircraft hangars located across the B5405 road, which necessitated closing the road to transport aircraft between the hangars and the runways.
During the Second World War, the airfield was used by training units of the Royal Air Force, including:
- No. 21 (Pilots) Advanced Flying Unit RAF – operated as a satellite flight from RAF Hixon, providing advanced pilot training.
- No. 30 Operational Training Unit RAF – operated as a satellite element from Hixon, training aircrew on Vickers Wellington bombers.
- No. 23 Heavy Glider Conversion Unit – trained pilots in towing and handling heavy troop-carrying gliders such as the Airspeed Horsa.
At the end of the war, repatriated prisoners of war were landed at Seighford. Military flying ceased in 1946, and the site was abandoned by the Air Ministry in 1947.
Boulton Paul Aircraft Company (1956–1966)
In 1956, the Boulton Paul Aircraft Company took over the site for testing larger and heavier aircraft than could be accommodated at their existing airfield at Wolverhampton (Pendeford). Boulton Paul extended the main runway by 200 yards (180 m) to a total length of 2,000 yards (1,800 m). Working as a sub-contractor for English Electric, the company overhauled and tested English Electric Canberra bombers, English Electric Lightning fighters, and Vickers Viscount airliners at Seighford. Following the cancellation of the TSR-2 programme, the site was closed in January 1966 and returned largely to agricultural use.
Current use
Since 1992, most of the site has been leased by the Staffordshire Gliding Club, which operates a grass runway approximately 1,000 metres (1,090 yards) in length for winch-launched gliding. The club maintains a fleet of two-seater training gliders and single-seater gliders. One remaining tarmac runway to the south is used by a driving experience company. The original control tower and a number of wartime buildings remain standing. Some buildings were used for many years by displaced Polish refugee families.
References
- Chorlton, Martyn. Staffordshire Airfields in the Second World War. Countryside Books, 2007. ISBN 9781846740565.
- Delve, Ken. The military airfields of Britain; Wales and West Midlands. Crowood Press, 2007. ISBN 978-1-861269-17-1.
- McLelland, Tim. Action Stations Revisited Volume 5; Wales and the Midlands. Crecy Publishing, 2012. ISBN 9780859791113.
