Netheravon

	Instructions are offered to a trainee pilot during the unit's time in England.

Netheravon can claim to be one of the oldest operational airfields in the UK, possibly in the world, having been in continuous operation since 1913.  Constructed for the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) on the edge of Salisbury Plain, it was laid out as two landing areas to the north and south of several aircraft sheds that were built on an east-west axis.

During the summer of 1914 the whole of the Military Wing of the RFC, which then consisted of 700 personnel and 70 aeroplanes, assembled at Netheravon for an exercise.  A few weeks later war broke out, and the airfield became a centre for the preparation and despatch of aircraft for France.  Whole squadrons were also formed there as reinforcements for the Western Front, and later in the flying training role, replacement pilots were produced for these units.

Following the end of the Great War Netheravon became a disbandment centre for returning RAF squadrons, but in 1919 No.1 Flying Training School was formed to train new military and naval pilots.  The school remained until 1931, and a number of front-line fighter and bomber squadrons then passed through the station, some staying longer than others.

When war came again in September 1939 security measures were tightened, defences were dug and No.1 FTS, which had returned the previous year, was re-designated as No.1 Service Flying Training School (SFTS).  By then it was equipped with Hinds, Hart Trainers, Furies, Harvards and Battles, and was getting on with the task of training new pilots for the Fleet Air Arm.  The SFTS had a large fleet of aircraft, and Netheravon’s circuit was soon saturated. It therefore opened a number of subsidiary airstrips, known as Relief Landing Grounds to spread its operations, and these included Castle Combe, Shrewton and High Post.  

	Horsa Gliders are stockpiled in preparation for the invasion of Holland.

The end of 1941 saw a radical change for Netheravon when the airfield became a centre for the newly-created airborne forces.  This was mainly because of its proximity to Salisbury Plain, which had vast tracts of training land available for the use of gliders and paratroops.  A new formation, 38 Wing (later to become 38 Group), was established at Netheravon to control RAF airborne support activities and to co-ordinate them with those of 1st Parachute Brigade, whose HQ was at nearby Bulford Camp.  The HQ of 6th Airborne Division was subsequently set up at Syrencote House to the south of the airfield.

The Parachute Exercise Squadron (later numbered as 297 Squadron) arrived in January 1942 with Tiger Moths.  Shortly after arrival these trainers were supplemented with Whitleys, which were then being withdrawn from front-line bombing operations.  The unit was joined the following month by 296 Squadron which used Hart and Hector biplanes to tow Hotspur training gliders.

Military glider pilots were seen as specialists, distinct from other aircrew as they had a secondary role.  This was because, having landed their glider, they were expected to pick up their weapons and join the battle.  They were recruited into the Glider Pilot Regiment (GPR) and received full elementary flying training on the Tiger Moth or Magister before moving onto the Hotspur glider trainer and the Horsa operational glider.

When No.1 SFTS was disbanded in March 1942, Netheravon became a purely airborne-orientated base, and all training at the airfield was focused to this end.  A demonstration of paratroop-dropping and glider insertion was laid on for the Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill, at Netheravon in April 1942, and a series of exercises followed.  These culminated in Exercise Brigmerston on 11 July, when ground-attack Hurricanes softened up the landing area and smoke was laid by Blenheims before 25 Whitleys dropped paratroops and four more released gliders, followed by a wave of Hectors releasing more gliders.

	A C-47 running in to pick up a glider tow rope.

By the end of June both 296 and 297 Squadrons had moved to Hurn, but on 3rd August 295 Squadron formed at Netheravon to train pilots in paratroop and glider operations using Whitleys, and later Halifaxes.  Another unit appeared a few days later in the form of the Glider Pilot Exercise Unit, which was formed from a detachment of 296 Squadron and was to provide refresher flying for qualified GPR pilots, using Tiger Moths, Hectors and Hotspurs. 

Training towards the end of the year focused on the first British glider operation, a commando raid on the Norsk Hydro Plant at Vermok in Norway.  Although the raid was not a success it proved the viability of using gliders for assault operations. 

In January 1943, No.235 Maintenance Unit (MU) was formed at Netheravon to provide technical support for airborne equipment and to recover and repair gliders, and No.3 Mobile Parachute Servicing Unit formed to repair parachute drop equipment.  The latter unit moved to the Mediterranean a few months later, and was replaced by No.4 MPSU.  On 1 May, 295 Squadron moved to Holmsley South and was replaced by the Heavy Glider MU, which transferred from Hurn. Training and exercises continued throughout 1943, and became more focused with the general feeling that a big operation was impending. 

Training for the invasion of France began in earnest in the spring of 1944, with the emphasis on precision landings at night by glider and parachute.  Nineteen major airborne exercises were held during the build-up to D-Day, in order to hone the participants’ skills and build their confidence.  Fields were found to replicate those near targets, such as one near Netheravon that resembled a field near to the Caen Canal Bridge.  Once the feasibility of landing in such a restricted area was demonstrated, it was into this field that the glider pilots who were picked for the mission flew again and again, by day and night.  Although no D-Day missions were flown from Netheravon itself, the training that took place there paid off.  The three gliders that were to land beside the Caen Canal Bridge, for example, did so with so much precision that the nose of the first Horsa went through the boundary wire of the enemy defences.  The Germans were so taken by surprise that the bridge was captured within a matter of minutes.  

	British Airborne troops exit from an Armstrong Whitworth Whitley bomber.

The war moved on, and by mid-June a lot of used gliders were sitting around on the former Landing Zones (LZs) of Normandy.  As glider reserves in the UK were sorely depleted, work started on the recovery of these veterans for re-use in future operations.  A Dakota Flight was formed within 1 HGSU (as the HGMU had been re-titled in March 1944) which was to recover airworthy gliders by snatching them off the ground.  Thirty-nine Horsas were safely retrieved in this way by the end of August, while many more were taken apart on the LZs and returned by Landing Craft.  

The value of the stocks of gliders retrieved and repaired by 1 HGSU were to be realised in September 1944, with the mounting of Operation Market Garden, the airborne carpet for the planned armoured thrust to the bridge over the Rhine at Arnhem.  The involvement for Netheravon was similar to that of D-Day, as the airfield provided a centre for training and the build-up to the operation, but on the day itself, the units actually participating moved forward to jump off from bases to the east, closer to their objectives.  When the operation started, on 17th September, it was hoped that follow-up glider recovery could start promptly as the assault troops moved forward.  Unfortunately this proved impossible, as the Germans over-ran the LZs and systematically destroyed those gliders that had survived the landings to prevent their re-use. 

Operation Varsity (glider and paratroop landings in support of the Rhine Crossing by 21st Army Group) was the last major Allied airborne operation of the war.  Netheravon’s units were once again involved, providing replacement Horsa and Hamilcar gliders, both new and repaired.  They were wheeled out of the hangars, connected to tugs and flown off for delivery to the units that were to mount the assault.  Between 5th and 10th March 1945, 150 gliders were delivered, without which the operation could not have taken place.         

Following the war’s end, gliders were stored in reserve at Netheravon, airborne trials work continued and several Dakota squadrons flew from the station.  However, the last RAF flying unit, 27 Squadron, departed in 1950, and Netheravon became the RAF Police Training Depot.  With the transfer of the airfield to the Army in 1963 flying started once again, and its airborne connection was resumed with the arrival of the Army Free Fall Parachute Association.  Helicopter operations were started by 6 Flight, Army Air Corps (AAC), with Scouts.  Sport parachuting continues from Netheravon today, as does helicopter flying, the airfield now being the HQ of No.7 Regiment, AAC, operating the Gazelle.

Article compiled by Dave Berryman, author of ‘Wiltshire Airfields in the Second World War,’ published by Countryside Books.