Typhoon photo,what airfield

langley airfield

I’m writing the history of Langley Hall, where RAF 26 group (signals) were based, with a barrage balloon base opposite, on what is now the memorial recreation ground. Looking for a barrage balloon phot0 I found the Typhoon at Langley airfield with balloon in the distance.

I’d like to reproduce the photo in my local-history, short-run, non-profit book for the new school now in Langley Hall – may I have permission please?

Forgive me for having absolutely no knowledge of planes etc and thus being a (female!) intruder on your site – but any info or photos re Langley Hall or balloons would be very welcome.

Many thanks, janet

langley airfield

I’m writing the history of Langley Hall, where RAF 26 group (signals) were based, with a barrage balloon base opposite, on what is now the memorial recreation ground. Looking for a barrage balloon phot0 I found the Typhoon at Langley airfield with balloon in the distance.

I’d like to reproduce the photo in my local-history, short-run, non-profit book for the new school now in Langley Hall – may I have permission please?

Forgive me for having absolutely no knowledge of planes etc and thus being a (female!) intruder on your site – but any info or photos re Langley Hall or balloons would be very welcome.

Many thanks, janet

And the RAF Museum’s navigator brings up some ground shots at Langley in these 9 pages
http://navigator.rafmuseum.org/results.do?view=lightbox&page=3

Stephen Greensted’s flickr photos about his father Brian and Skyways feature Langley and Heathrow in the 40s
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7691137@N06/with/3500565119/

Yes seen the video but not the book, being an aircraft enginner myself it seems quite funny to see how it was done back then!

OK thanks v much..BTW have you been on this Langley airfield website/book

http://www.flywiththestars.co.uk/

rgds baz

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you , have been up and down past the site recently looking for anything of the old hangars, there is one building that looked a possible but on closer inspection the sides were doors all the way round and in the wrong place.A coleague of mine has overlaid the 1951 airfield print onto a current map and it places the Repair centre in the golf course,the trees around still are hear and if you compare the current air picture with the 1945-50 one mentioned earlier the trees are in exactly the right place, will have to have a walk around there when the weather improves to see if there is anything left here.
There is another single hangar marked up in the NE corner of the airfield marked on the 1951 map as a Bellman hangar, does anyone know what it was used for when in use?again this looks like it has gone but the location is now covered in trees again another place for a fine day walk

Would many of the contributors to the thread above like to refresh their memories on appropriate use of the ‘quote’ button? There is a sticky at the head of the forum to assist if you find it difficult.

Moggy
Moderator

Hi Ann/Sam ??
Thanks…nice for an old post to pop up occasionally LOL
I agree about the golf course being the likely location…never did manage to get around there for a walk.
Are there any sheds/buildings around there that resemble a Robin Hangar ??

This Robin is at High Post ,Wilts

rgds baz

I have just found this item, living locally this summer I have been trying to find out about the airfield at Langley.
I think the picture is taken on the eastern side of the airfield on what is now the golf course, on a post war map of the airfield there is a site being used by the USAAF for storage,I beleive this is the Hurricane repair centre which was located at LAngley.A book in the local library show a map of the airfield and shows 5 Hangars in this area and is labeled Hurricane repair centre.
If you go to the aerial photo in an earlier message and go a bit further east you can see the hangars.It seems to tie in with the Robin hangar being the northernmost,if you compare the photo with the aerial shot you can see the trees going away from you and just behind the Robin hangar is another which seems to tie in with the aerial,I think another hangar can be seen to the right of the trees.The ditch mentioned shows up on the aerial in about the right location. I think the aircraft is just to the north of the flight test hangars

Typhoon NF details

Yes, it was fitted with a 4-blader, as photos taken at RAE prove, however as this was before Hawker carried out trials with the Tempest tailplane on the Typhoon (Sept 43) I doubt if the larger one was fitted to R7881.

As for the ‘experimental night fighter scheme’ … I believe the only mention of this is in ‘Profile 81’ published in the mid-60s, where a photo of R7881 was printed with a caption stating the colour scheme was ‘Middle Stone and Extra Dark Sea Green’, although the photo looks suspiciously like Medium Sea Grey and Dark Green – the standard scheme of the time. I recently came across a print of the original Hawker drawing for the Typhoon night fighter and it does stipulate the latter pair of colours.

I have to say I have come to treat Mason’s captions with circumspection, as they have proved error-prone. For example, in his book on the Typhoon he states the Typhoon NF’s radar equipment was carried in the LR tanks beneath the wings. In fact (as it clearly states in the RAE report) the radar Tx/Rx and modulator were positioned in the space made by removing the port wing main fuel tank; the LR tanks were carried permanently to make up for the loss of fuel capacity.

R7881 spent the winter at Langley where the fitting of the AI VI was completed and it was painted in the then current NF sceme of Medium Sea Grey with Dark Green disruptive pattern. It went to RAE Farnborough for trials in April 43 and on to FIU Ford in June. It was with FIU for a year, then flown to 3 Tactical Exercise Unit at Honiley (they were short of Typhoons). By 21 September 1944 it was with Marshall at Cambridge where it was rebuilt and redelivered to 51MU in May 1945. Scrapped there, September 1946.

At some point she also was fitted with the four bladed prop as well (and possibly the Tempest tailplane). F.K Mason apparently claimed she was painted in a sand/green experimental night fighter scheme as well.

Mustang is quite pretty, too.

What a superb picture, if it wasnt for the Spitfire this would have to be the most Beautiful Piston fighter of all time!

Except for the Dh Hornet/Sea Hornet of course ;).

OK thanks Op !!
Will have a look tonight if I get time.

rgds baz

Hi baz.

Not completely sure where within the airfield this pic was taken, but if i had to have a guess, i would say perhaps the north end of the airfield by Meadfield Road. Maybe the end of the High street before it hits the A4.
Not sure if i can put this but if you go to http://www.ukaerialphotos.com/home.asp

On the home page click on town/village and put in Langely. From the number of Langley’s given click on Langley Slough. When the pics appears (taken between 1945-50) go across to the right about 7 times and then down about 3 and you have an aerial pic of the factory and airfield. Ok they are not brilliant as they are just teaser pics to get you to buy an aerial pic your interested in, but it gives you a rough idea of what the old factory and airfield looked like. I’m sure you fellows know about this site anyway. If you go further across to the right you can see an aerial view of an very early Heathrow Airport. Compare these pics to Google Earth, what a difference in only 70 years.

Welcome to the forum Operator…
Do you recognise the exact location where the pic was taken ??(compared to other old photos)
I wasnt sure if the curved line behind the Tiffie was a track or stream etc.
Parlaunt Park Farm was perhaps one possibility (definitely disappeared ??)
Is there anything in a local museum perhaps ?
The little Hangar in the background behing the Typhoon is quite distinctive with sloping sides and they sometimes survive as a garage etc
Link to photo of Robin Hangar

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~rwbarnes/defence/eden/hornby.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~rwbarnes/defence/hornby.htm&h=471&w=720&sz=91&tbnid=pIzm48-u0ElciM:&tbnh=92&tbnw=140&prev=/images%3Fq%3Drobin%2Bhangar%2Bphoto&hl=en&usg=__F6kGb7z-g1X9IGhSMuz2Zxf6y_0=&ei=NCINS5Q7g53hBrjwnJkE&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=1&ct=image&ved=0CAkQ9QEwAA

rgds baz

What a superb picture, if it wasnt for the Spitfire this would have to be the most Beautiful Piston fighter of all time!

I live in Langley High Street (The part which was the perimiter of the old airfileld) and can say that unfortunately there’s nothing left of the old Hawker/Ford factory and the airfield. In the early 80’s, Ford had an open day for the public to wonder around the factory etc. The site was absolutely huge. On the site now is a big Royal Mail International Mail Centre. The rest of the site is made up of a new housing estate. My next door neighbour was John Kendrick who unfortunately died about five years ago. He did a lot of historical research on the Hawkers factory and airfield in Langley. I did have the pleasure of looking through some of his photo albums of the site. I hope they found a good home.

Langley

Glad to help with the info; but no books on Langley known to me. Just have to pick up what you can from books on Hawker types (1937 to 1950). There is a useful summary in Mason’s Hawker Aircraft Since 1920. The factory was occupied by Ford c.1959 but about half the airfield could be see in the 80’s and 90’s when I used to divert that way when the M.4 was congested. Don’t know what it is like now.