RAF Heany

RAF Heany
Heany, Bulawayo in Zimbabwe
Aerial view showing the extensive facilities of RAF Heany during the 1940s.
Site information
Owner	Air Ministry
Operator	Royal Air Force
Controlled by	Rhodesian Air Training Group
Location
RAF Heany Shown within Zimbabwe
Coordinates	20°7′49″S28°46′04″E / 20.13028°S 28.76778°E / -20.13028; 28.76778
Site history
Built	1940 (1940)
In use	1940 - 1954 (1954)

Royal Air Force Heany or more simply RAF Heany, was a World War II Royal Air Force station located in Heany, Bulawayo in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). It was established in 1940 as part of the Rhodesian Air Training Group under the Empire Air Training Scheme. It provided flight training to Commonwealth pilot cadets from 1940 until disbandment in 1954.

History

RAF Heany was established in 1940 as part of the broader Empire Air Training Scheme. The original program did not include RAF Heany, however, it was added alongside Mount Hampden. By late 1940, it was organized that RAF Heany alongside the nearby RAF Kumalo would provide training on twin-engine aircraft. On 8 July, 1941, the No. 23 Service Flying Training School (SFTS) arrived. The airfield was equipped with maintenance facilities such as hangars, workshops, which held the No. 32 Aircraft Repair Depot and No. 394 Maintenance Unit, servicing aircraft and equipment. Two bombing ranges were also established near Bulawayo, named Mias and Myelbo from the expression "I don’t know Mias from Myelbo." Flying and link-trainer instructors from Greece were also trained and established at the station. RAF Heany had several leisure activities for its personnel, whicn included a golf course, however the lack of rubber led to a shortage of balls. Other sports were held, which included basketball, baseball, softball, miniature rifle shooting and badminton. In 1945, two relief landing grounds were assigned to RAF Heany, which were White's Run by March 1945, and Sauerdale by April 1945. Following World War II, RAF Heany saw limited operations until late 1946. ^{[1] [2]}

Post-war

On 1 December, 1946, RAF Heany was reactivated for continued training operations, and the Air Training Wing, Southern Rhodesia assumed control of the station from the Rhodesia Air Training Group (RATG). The No. 4 FTS arrived on 1 February, 1947, and the station adopted the title No. 4 FTS instead of RAF Station Heany from 23 April, 1947. The RATG assumed control of the station from 10 May, 1948, until 31 March, 1954. The remaining units were either disbanded or withdrawn from the station. ^[3]

The RAF facilities were converted into the Llewellin Barracks, and a training depot of the Royal Rhodesia Regiment was established in October 1955. Trainees underwent four and a half months of training under instructors, and upon completion, trainees were posted to the Territorial Force Units to complete their Peace Training Liability. ^[4] Today, only 7 out of 10 hangars remain, and the runway has completely overgrown, with remains still visible on satellite imagery. ^[5]

Units

The following units that were based at RAF Heany: ^[6]

• No. 23 Service Flying Training School, 8 July 1941 - 30 September 1945
• Advance Party, No 24  Combined Air Observers School, 14 July 1941 - 3 August 1941
• No. 32 Aircraft Repair Depot , 1 August 1941
• No. 4 Flying Training School, 3 February 1947 - 4 January 1948
• No. 6 Mobile Oxygen Unit, c1953
• No. 394 Maintenance Unit, 1 September 1947 - 31 March 1954

Accidents & incidents

• An enforcement of regulations prohibited the unauthorized carriage of ground personnel was introduced following an incident after one such passenger, LAC Austin Charles Hearn, was killed when an Airspeed Oxford piloted by a trainee crashed on final approach at RAF Heany. The aircraft's port engine cut out during a turn, causing the starboard powerplant to bank the aircraft to the left. At 40 ft from the ground the engine stalled and the Oxford struck the trees before hitting the ground. The pilot survived the accident, and Hearn was buried in the CWGC Bulawayo (Athlone) Cemetery. ^[7]
• On 12 May, 1942, an Airspeed Oxford from RAF Heany of No. 23 SFTS crashed south of Bulawayo due to a large bird strike, killing all three on board. The pilot was Flt Sgt James Thomas Thackham (24), from Headington, Oxford. The other two airmen were Sgt George Rufus Joslin (20) from Pirbright, Surrey, and Sgt Bernard Martin Franklin (20) from Brighton, Sussex. All three are buried in the CWGC Bulawayo (Athlone) Cemetery. ^[7] RATG Communications Squadron, 1 September 1947 - 31 March 1954

See also

• RAF Kumalo
• RAF Induna
• Southern Rhodesia in World War II

References

1. "Airport - RAF Base (Heany or Kumalo 1940s WWII)". Bulawayo Memories. Retrieved 5 January 2026.
2. "Rhodesia & The RAF". Rhodesia & The RAF. Rhodesia Remembered. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
3. "RAF Heany". Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation. RAFweb. Retrieved 5 January 2026.
4. "Royal Rhodesia Regiment: Training Depot". Rhodesian Study Circle. Retrieved 5 January 2026.
5. "GeoHack (20°07'50"S 28°46'06"E)". geohack.toolforge.org. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
6. "RATG (Rhodesian Air Training Group)". RAFweb. Retrieved 5 January 2026.
7. "Forgotten Airmen". Key Military. Retrieved 5 January 2026.