Gravesend Photos.

Like many pre-war aerodromes, Gravesend was closed after the war and has long been built-over. As with many others, there is virtually no evidence it was ever there. Yet, it had a fascinating history. As well as the more well known BoB and general wartime RAF usage, Gravesend was one of a ring of aerodromes around London that were designated for future expansion. Like others such as Heston, it was overtaken by events and technology, and is largely forgotten as a civil aerodrome.

In the 1930’s, it was home to some very interesting activity. Percival Aircraft moved there and produced most of their machines prior to the move to Luton. Record Flight attempts were started from there by the likes of Alex Henshaw etc. Essex Aero took the place of Percivals and remained there until well after the war. They prepared not only Henshaw’s aircraft, but also the Clouston’s Comet.

Despite this, photos are not common. Especially interesting would be photographs inside the hangars and works, especially of the production and repair of Percivals.

Over to you…! 🙂