| Tranwell Airfield | |
Disused Aircraft Hangar |
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Tranwell Airfield
Tranwell Airfield shown within Northumberland |
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| OS grid reference | NZ169818 |
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| List of places: UK • England • Northumberland | |
Tranwell Airfield, real name RAF Morpeth, is a former World War II Airfield in the English county of Northumberland, is situated about 3 miles (5 km) southwest of Morpeth and was an air gunners school. The site was home to No.80 (French) Operational Training Unit. Today the site has reverted to agriculture; several of the buildings remain (2 of witch are lived in Birtchwood and wild acer) and are used for storage. Parts of the hard standing remain and are used for a weekly car boot sale every Sunday.
The official title of this airfield during WW2 was Royal Air Force Station Morpeth, or more commonly known as RAF Morpeth, and initially housed No 4 Air Gunnery School (4 AGS). Accommodation was in 10 dispersal sites to the north and east of the airfield near Tranwell village and The Whitehouse Centre (following the war this area became a children's hospital). The main aircraft used during its early existence for teaching air gunners was the unpopular Blackburn Botha, which was very heavy and under powered, often taking the whole of the runway to get airborne. Following several crashes and collisions, it was eventually replaced with the Avro Anson. Most of the air gunnery practice occurred off shore at Druridge Bay where several of the original wartime structures still exist at the National Trust site, and flew between Newbiggin By The Sea and Coquet Island near Amble. Many of the airmen who flew here were Polish and several settled in the Morpeth area following the war. A large number of Polish casualties including airmen from this base are buried in St Mary's Church, Morpeth.
There are still a number of buildings in the outlining fields and an underground control room hidden in the small group of trees behind the actual airfield. One of these buildings appears to be a blister hangar.[1]. Other structures seem to include a bomb shelter, a firing butt and other unidentified structures.[2]
Monday 16 November 1942 A Blackburn Botha took off on the wrong runway and collided with another similar aircraft. One man was killed and another injured.
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