You have probably driven past Blackbushe airport many times. And you may have walked your dog by the old runways. You may even, as I have, known someone who flew from Blackbushe during World War II. But now some of us know a good deal more about the origin and glory days of Blackbushe thanks to a talk by Pete Vickery at the June u3a meeting.
The open land on either side of the A30 was originally known as The Flats, Hartford Bridge Flats and various other names but in 1938 war was looming and the war office was looking for a base for their fighter planes. In 1941, Hartford Bridge Flats was requisitioned from the Calthorpe and Currie families. It was to be one of the largest wartime airports and was officially opened on November 1st, 1942. At this stage there were three runways, a few buildings and no electricity!
The airport was suitable for light bombers, fighters and reconnaissance planes such as the Supermarine Spitfire and the de Haviland Mosquito. Other planes included the Lockhead Ventura and the American Douglas A-20 Boston. Word of mouth has it that it was also used by the Westland Lysander but there are no records to confirm this. Not surprising as the aircraft’s activities were all strictly hush-hush!
One serious problem was fog which made landing hazardous so FIDO (Fog Intensive Dispersal Of) was developed at the bottom of Staines reservoir. Blackbushe received the Mk4 and Mk5 versions which were extremely scary to use as they burned old petrol at the rate of 100 gallons per hour. Eyebrows were always at risk.
AS D-Day approached, all leave was cancelled, nobody was allowed to leave the airport or talk to any outsiders. Barriers were erected across the A30. Absolute secrecy was of the utmost importance.
After D-day, Blackbushe was mainly used for planes transporting VIPs, the wounded, ammunition and supplies to and from Europe.
When the war ended, Blackbushe became London’s unofficial second airport. Smaller independent airlines took over the hangars and aprons and the airport was also useful for pilot training. For the Berlin airlift, old bombers came back into play. The US navy was looking for a British airbase and Blackbushe filled the bill. New hangars and accommodation were built and the runways used by a variety of American aircraft, including flying boats.
By 1959, Gatwick airport was almost complete. However, Blackbushe’s resident airlines moved not there but to Stanstead, Southend and Luton. Then the destruction of Blackbushe began. Half the airport was destroyed, leaving it unsuitable for large aircraft.
After the closure of Blackbushe Airport in 1960 by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Air Vice Marshal Donald Bennett purchased three-quarters of the Aerodrome from the Calthorpe Estate and set about reopening the airport as a general aviation facility. He was successful and Blackbushe reopened on 6 October 1962. Bennett fought a planning battle with local councils to develop Blackbushe with new hangar facilities. At the time he faced a lot of opposition from local residents, councils, and the ministry. Ultimately many of the efforts to establish modern facilities at Blackbushe were unsuccessful. In 1966 he built a Go-kart track.
The film industry discovered Blackbushe too but in 1973 it was on the market again.
This time it was bought by self-made millionaire, Douglas Arnold who introduced bike racing and drag-car racing. He also tried, unsuccessfully, to get permission from the Council to build a museum for his own aircraft collection.
From 1985 to 2015, the airport was owned by British Car Auctions (BCA) who then took over the airport and tried to make it profitable with Saturday car sales and a Sunday Market.
There is still a much-reduced airport area and BCA still hold car auctions, but most of the old Blackbushe is now common land.
So what of the future? The idea is that the airport will be used for light planes, mainly those used for business travel. Improved infrastructure will include a restaurant, observation deck, museum and library. The airport will also be a facility for local groups, schools and companies.
Pete ended his talk with an appeal for help from volunteers with a variety of skills, including practical ones. So how about it? If airplanes are your thing, this could be for you.
2 June 2026