RAF Wing

Royal Air Force Station Wing or more simply RAF Wing is a former Royal Air Force bomber training station, situated just west of the village of Wing, in the Aylesbury Vale district of Buckinghamshire, established on the site of a small aerodrome.

Motto
The motto written on the Navigation Section at Wing was “MAN IS NOT LOST”. Someone had written graffiti underneath this: “But occasionally is completely unaware of his exact location".

Construction
Construction included five hangars for the aircraft, two runways, offices, a canteen, rest rooms, blast shelters, radio and telegraph rooms, training blocks, church, gym, squash court, rugby and football field, tailors, barbers, shoemakers, Post Office, a cinema, and stores.

Thirteen sites of living quarters were erected, each with up to 20 Nissen huts, some toilets, and one or two air-raid shelters. Members of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force had their own site closer to Wing village, much of which can still be seen today. There was also a hospital close to Cublington that is still standing.

Operations
RAF Wing airfield opened on 17 November 1941, although the upgraded runways were not finished and the first flight did not occur until March 1942. The station was used primarily as a training facility, but some operational missions were also flown from there. No. 26 Operational Training Unit RAF for Bomber Command was formed at Wing 15 January 1942 as a 2/3 status unit within No. 7 Group, equipped with Vickers Wellingtons to train night bomber crews.

The two operational squadrons were No. 268 Squadron RAF and No. 613 Squadron RAF. 613 squadron was the first to join on 1 March 1943 with North American Mustang's and 268 joined a day later with the same type of aircraft and left on 6 March 1943 with 613 Squadron leaving one day later going to RAF Bottisham.

In April and May 1945, RAF Wing served as a gateway for tens of thousands of men returning from duty in Europe.

Nearby activity
RAF dog handlers were at the Hawker Aircraft Factory on Langley Airfield. The airmen cycled to local pubs in Wing, Stewkley, Cheddington and Cublington in the evenings or to local train stations on their days off so they could go home and see their families. Often entertainment was put on at the airfield as well, such as dancing. There were also weekly dances at Wing village hall.

Closure
RAF Wing was closed 4 April 1956.

London Airport
In the late 1960s the former airfield was considered for the site of the third London Airport following a publication of a report by the Roskill commission. Wing was considered to be ideally situated for access from all parts of the country and only fifty miles from London. Within a few days of Wing being identified as a possible site a local airport resistance association was formed to oppose the airport. A public inquiry was opened at Aylesbury on 14 July 1969 that followed a protest by 2,000 anti-airport supporters through Aylesbury.

Modern day
Chicken houses have been built on the runway alignments as the former airfield returned to agriculture.

Incidents

 * One of the five hangars was destroyed when struck during a bad crash landing.


 * On 12 September 1942, the prototype Martin-Baker MB 3 fighter, R2492, crashed on its tenth flight after its engine seized shortly after takeoff from RAF Wing at a height of no more than 100 feet. A crank on one of the Napier Sabre II's sleeve valves had failed. While trying to land in a field, Captain Valentine Baker (Company manager, aircraft-designer and test pilot) was forced to turn to port to avoid a farmhouse, a wing clipped a tree stump, the fighter cartwheeled and burst into flame, killing him. The MB 3 had arrived at RAF Wing for trials in August.


 * On the night of 3/4 June 1943, a Vickers Wellington Type 440 B Mk. X bomber, HE746, of 26 OTU, RAF, was on a flight from RAF Wing, departing there at 2340 hrs, when it suffered a failure to one of its Bristol Hercules engines. "The crew advised flying control at RAF Dumfries of their situation and requested an emergency landing; unfortunately the aircraft crashed 2 miles from the airfield runway. Three of the crew were killed and two others were seriously injured. This aircraft was to become the catalyst for the foundation of the Dumfries and Galloway Aviation Museum.