RAF Watnall

RAF Watnall
Near Watnall, Nottinghamshire in England
RAF Watnall
Shown within Nottinghamshire
Coordinates Coordinates: 53°01′N 1°16′W / 53.01°N 1.26°W / 53.01; -1.26
Type Royal Air Force station
Site information
Owner Air Ministry
Operator Royal Air Force
Site history
Built 1939 (1939)
In use 1939-1945 (1945)
Battles/wars Battle of Britain
No.12 Group Fighter Command, Europe December 1939 - May 1945
Entrance to Ops Bunker today

RAF Watnall was the operational headquarters of No. 12 Group, RAF Fighter Command in Nottinghamshire.

History

The station was established in Spring 1940 to act as headquarters for No. 12 Group whose area encompassed the Midlands, Norfolk, Lincolnshire and North Wales.[1] The operations room, whose staff were responsible for directing RAF aircraft in the No. 12 Group area, was located in a bunker which is now flooded. It was fully operational by 1940 and closed in 1946.[1]

The filter room, where large quantities of intelligence on enemy activity were filtered before being passed to the operations room, was located in a separate block and did not open until 1943. After the war it continued to be used as an early warning centre until it closed in 1961.[1]

The filter block was sold by auction in 2008 and is now being redeveloped as a hotel. An episode of The Restoration Man presented by George Clarke, which was aired on Channel 4 on 12 February 2014, described the progress of the development.[2]

RAF units and aircraft

Unit Dates Notes
No. 12 Group 1940-1946 Part of Fighter Command[3]
No. 81 (Training) Group 1952-1952 Controlled Fighter Command training units[3]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "RAF Watnall : Fighter Command's 12 Group HQ.". Subterranea Brittanica. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  2. ↑ "Restoration Man: Secret bunker is given stunning TV makeover". Nottingham Post. 12 February 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  3. 1 2 Sturtivant, Ray (2007), RAF Flying Training and Support Units since 1912, Air-Britain, ISBN 0-85130-365-X, p. 152
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