Royal Air Force Honiley or RAF Honiley is a former Royal Air Force station located in Wroxall, Warwickshire, 7 miles (11 km) southwest of Coventry, England.

RAF Honiley
Wroxall, Warwickshire in England
The main runway at RAF Honiley (looking east to west)
RAF Honiley is located in Warwickshire
RAF Honiley
RAF Honiley
Shown within Warwickshire
RAF Honiley is located in the United Kingdom
RAF Honiley
RAF Honiley
RAF Honiley (the United Kingdom)
Coordinates52°21′22″N 001°39′54″W / 52.35611°N 1.66500°W / 52.35611; -1.66500
TypeSector Station 1941-44
CodeHY
Site information
OwnerAir Ministry
OperatorRoyal Air Force
Controlled byRAF Fighter Command 1941-44
* No. 9 Group RAF
RAF Bomber Command 1944-
* No. 26 (Signals) Group RAF
Site history
Built1940 (1940)/41
Built byJohn Laing & Son Ltd
In useAugust 1941 – March 1958
Battles/warsEuropean theatre of World War II
Airfield information
IdentifiersIATA: BHY
Elevation141 metres (463 ft)[1] AMSL
Runways
Direction Length and surface
04/22 1,792 metres (5,879 ft) Tarmac
10/28  Tarmac
14/32  Tarmac

The station closed in March 1958, and after being used as a motor vehicle test track, it has been subject to planning permission from the Prodrive Formula One team for development of their Fulcrum test and development facility however this has been cancelled.

From September 2014 the site has been used by Jaguar Land Rover for heritage driving experiences with the location being known as Fen End.

History edit

Royal Air Force use edit

Originally called Ramsey, it was renamed RAF Honiley in August 1941, and used by a variety of squadrons defending the Midlands during the Second World War.[2]

Squadrons edit

Other units edit

Additional units:

From April 1957, the station was placed on Care and Maintenance until closure.[15]

Facilities edit

The airfield had 15 hangars; there were three Bellmans and 12 Blister hangars. There was also a cinema and technical workshops.[15]

Post Royal Air Force use edit

After being taken over by LucasVarity for vehicle testing, residents have included Prodrive, Marcos and TRW.[21]

In addition to their existing automotive consultancy business, which was based at the site from 2001, in March 2006 motor racing company Prodrive announced its intent to build a £200 million, 200-acre (0.8 km2) motorsport facility called The Fulcrum.[22] Prodrive's statement in the planning application for the facility – which could house as many as 1,000 staff – boasted of "a motorsport complex which could eventually house Prodrive's new British Prodrive F1 team", further cementing Managing Director David Richards' intention to return to F1 in 2008.[23]

As of 3 August 2006, Prodrive won the support of the Warwick District Council planning committee for development of The Fulcrum.[24] The permission covered a highly advanced engineering research and development campus, a conference facility called the Catalyst Centre and new access road, a roundabout, infrastructure, parking and landscaping. The plans still had to be presented and agreed by the British government's Department for Communities and Local Government, and there was local opposition via the Fulcrum Prodrive Action Group (FPAG) to protect the rural nature of the community and the safety of the people that live within it.[21]

However, following rule changes banning so-called 'customer' cars from competing in F1, and legal proceedings undertaken by existing F1 manufacturer teams, Prodrive's F1 plans were shelved indefinitely. Since the sale of the site to Jaguar Land Rover in 2014, Prodrive's business remains based at their Banbury headquarters.[25]

It is also the site of the HON (Honiley) VOR-DME navigation aid, which is positioned to the south of the track.[26]

The old turbine development buildings, previously re-purposed and used as administration offices by Lucas Automotive have been left by Prodrive in the same state they were when Lucas first vacated the site and have become a popular site for Urban Explorers.[27]

Present day edit

In 2011, the disused administrative building on the site was used as a set by the metalcore band Oceans Ate Alaska in the music video for their debut single Clocks.[28]

The site was purchased by Jaguar Land Rover in 2014[29] who moved their Heritage Driving Experience[30] operations to it from their Gaydon facility based at the former RAF Gaydon. It currently (as of December 2017) also houses their press car operations, as well as part of their Special Vehicle Operations division.

References edit

Citations edit

  1. ^ Falconer 2012, p. 112.
  2. ^ "A Night-time Emergency Landing". BBC – WW2 People's War. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  3. ^ Halley 1988, p. 79.
  4. ^ Halley 1988, p. 163.
  5. ^ Halley 1988, p. 169.
  6. ^ Halley 1988, p. 205.
  7. ^ Halley 1988, p. 209.
  8. ^ Halley 1988, p. 285.
  9. ^ Halley 1988, p. 302.
  10. ^ Halley 1988, p. 323.
  11. ^ Halley 1988, p. 325.
  12. ^ Halley 1988, p. 348.
  13. ^ Halley 1988, p. 423.
  14. ^ "605 Squadron". 605 Squadron County of Warwick Squadron. Archived from the original on 23 December 2010. Retrieved 8 December 2010.
  15. ^ a b c d e "RAF Honiley". Control Towers. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  16. ^ "History of Bramcote Station". Ministry of Defence – British Army. Archived from the original on 13 March 2008. Retrieved 8 December 2010.
  17. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Honiley". Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  18. ^ a b Lake 1999, p. 118.
  19. ^ Lake 1999, p. 171.
  20. ^ Lake 1999, p. 130.
  21. ^ a b Protest against Formula One plans[permanent dead link] kenilworthweeklynews.co.uk – 24 March 2006
  22. ^ Prodrive plans £200m F1 facility itv-f1.com – 13 March 2006 Archived 4 March 2006 at the National and University Library of Iceland
  23. ^ New Formula One plans unveiled BBC News – 1 March 2006
  24. ^ Prodrive development approved[permanent dead link] kenilworthweeklynews.co.uk – 3 August 2006
  25. ^ "Relocation & Development". Prodrive. Archived from the original on 22 May 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  26. ^ "UK Aviation NavAids Gallery". Trevor Diamond. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  27. ^ "Report – RAF Honiley, Warwickshire". 28 Days Later. Archived from the original on 18 July 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  28. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Oceans Ate Alaska – "Clocks" – Official Video – via YouTube.
  29. ^ "Jaguar Land Rover buys new test track in Warwickshire". ITV News. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  30. ^ "Contact". Heritage Driving. Archived from the original on 29 May 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2015.

Bibliography edit

  • Falconer, J. (2012). RAF Airfields of World War 2. UK: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85780-349-5.
  • Halley, James J. The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth, 1981-1988. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1988. ISBN 0-85130-164-9.
  • Lake, A (1999). Flying units of the RAF. Shrewsbury: Airlife. ISBN 1-84037-086-6.

External links edit