1. History
    Construction & layout  Operational life  No. 85 Operational Training Unit  Incidents  Closure 

2. Current use

3. References

History

Construction & layout

Land in the vicinity of the village of Husbands Bosworth had been earmarked for an airbase as early as 1941, offering a well drained and level site. Constructed of the airfield was undertaken by George Wimpey & Son and commenced in August 1942 with completion scheduled for March 1943 although it was not completed until October of that year, the cost of the construction is estimated as £805,000.^[2] RAF Husbands Bosworth conformed to the layout of a typical RAF aerodrome, that is the specifications set by the British Air Ministry which called for three converging strips, each containing a concrete runway optimally placed (if practicable at the site) at 60 degree angles to each other in a triangular pattern.^[3] Gravel used to level the land was brought to the site from Kilworth Wharf on the Grand Union Canal.^[2]

Thirty six dispersal places were situated around the perimeter track in addition to which the bomb store was located on the northern edge of the airfield and four main hangars also formed part of the airfield infrastructure.^[2]

Operational life

Although the final phases of construction were still being completed, the first RAF personnel arrived at the Station on August 1, 1943, when personnel from No. 14 Operational Training Unit (No.14 OTU) arrived from RAF Cottesmore subsequently being joined by additional personnel from RAF Saltby.^[2] Operational flying commenced on August 10 when daylight operations were undertaken with the first night operations beginning on August 17.^[2]

RAF Husbands Boswell came under 92 Group RAF, and was initially a satellite airfield for RAF Market Harborough under the command of the parent Station.^[2] The complement of aircraft on the Stations as of 1943 is listed as 61 Vickers Wellingtons, 4 Miles Martinets and an Avro Anson. The Wellingtons were the primary training aircraft by that time largely withdrawn from front-line operations, the Martinets would have been used for the target towing operations and the Anson would have served as the Station's communication aircraft.^[2]

No. 85 Operational Training Unit

On June 15, 1944, No. 85 Operational Training Unit (No.85 OTU) was formed at RAF Husbands Bosworth.^[4] The unit was formed from an element from No.14 OTU and was tasked with training crews to undertake night bombing operations. No.85 OTU was disbanded on June 14, 1945.^[4][2]

Incidents

As with every RAF Station of the period, incidents involving personnel from RAF Husbands Bosworth were all too numerous. In addition various incidents involving aircraft from other bases also occurred in the locality.

• Wellington from Husbands Bosworth following a fighter affiliation and bombing exercise, attempted to make an over-shoot with wheels and flaps down. Port engine failed and the aircraft flew into the ground in a nose-down turn. Four crew killed; rear gunner escaped with severe burns.^[2]
• Wellington from Husbands Bosworth recalled from local bombing range flew into ground in the vicinity of Gumley village. All crew killed.^[2]
• Wellington crashed on approach in dark, pilot having mis-interpreted approach lights.^[2]
• Halifax of 4 Group crashed near Elkington{{dn|date=March 2019}} due to propeller failure during a night flight. The only survivors, the air-bomber and the navigator were taken to Sick Quarters at Husbands Bosworth.^[2]
• 22 July 1944. At 22:53hrs 92 Group informed Husbands Bosworth Flying Control that a V1 Flying Bomb was heading in their direction. At 22.57hrs a message was received that the bomb had gone down in the village of Creaton. Severe damage was done to houses in the village but nobody was killed.^[2]
• 27 November 1944 a Vickers Wellington MkX, LP176, of No.85 OTU was carrying out a training sortie over the Irish Sea in the vicinity of the Isle of Man when it suffered a failure of its port engine. The pilot, Flight Sergeant E. Richmond, elected to land the aircraft at RAF Jurby however during the course of the landing it became apparent that the aircraft was destined to over run the runway. Consequently, Flt Sgt Richmond elected to raise the landing gear in order to arrest the momentum of the aircraft resulting in the aircraft sustaining damage. All five crew members escaped the incident unharmed^[5] and although the aircraft sustained damage to various components, the damage was classified as Cat B (denoting the damage as slight).^[6]

Closure

Following the disbandment of No.85 OTU and the cessation of hostilities in 1945 activity on the Station was reduced to a minimum and in 1946 RAF Husbands Bosworth was decommissioned by the Royal Air Force.^[2]

Current use

Today the former Royal Air Force Station is known as Husbands Bosworth Airfield and has been home to the Gliding Centre since 1965 and the East Midlands Air Support Unit since 1996.

Following the closure of the aerodrome the subsequent release of land by the British Government, the truncated Sibbertoft Road now lies on what once was the main east-west runway.^[2]

References

• Deepak Jain
• Deepak Kalra
• Deepak kalra
• Deepakk Sunil Prasadh
• Deepak Kumar
• Deepak Kumar (disambiguation)
• Deepak Kumar Karki
• Deepak Kumar Pandey
• Deepak kumar pandey
• Deepak Kumar (physicist)
• Deepak Kumar (sport shooter)
• Deepak Lather
• Deepak Lohar
• Deepak maheshwari
• Deepak Maheshwari
• Deepak Malghan
• Deepak Malhotra
• Deepak Malik
• Deepak Manhas
• Deepak Mathur
• Deepak Nivas Hudda
• Deepak Niwas Hooda
• Deepak Paladka
• Deepak Parambol
• Deepak Paramesh