Radlett Aerodrome | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Closed | ||||||||||
| Serves | Radlett, Hertfordshire | ||||||||||
| Location | Hertfordshire | ||||||||||
| Built | 1929 | ||||||||||
| In use | 1929–1970 | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 230 ft / 70 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 51°43′N0°20′W / 51.71°N 0.33°W | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  Radlett Aerodrome Location in Hertfordshire | |||||||||||
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| Runways | |||||||||||
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Radlett Aerodrome was an airfield and Handley Page aircraft manufacturing plant in Hertfordshire, now owned by Eon Productions. Part of the airfield is now the M25 between junctions 21 (A405) and 22 (A1081).
In the 2010s plans for the future use of the site's land were the subject of lengthy dispute but in 2020 it was agreed that it would be redeveloped as a rail freight terminal. [1]
On 20 February, 2024, the £34m sale of the remaining portion of the former Radlett Aerodrome to rail freight company Segro, which has faced opposition from campaigners, will undergo judicial review in the High Court to determine its lawfulness. [2]
Radlett Aerodrome hosted a number of significant post-war airshows.
The Handley Page works were situated on the east of the former A5, then a main road into London from the Midlands. The site is between the A5 road, to the west, and the Midland Main Line, to the east. The M25 motorway crosses the entire former site from east to west. [7]
On 25 March 1937, whilst ferrying pilots to the Handley Page factory at Radlett aerodrome, to collect new Harrow bomber aircraft, Handley Page H.P.54 Harrow K6940 clipped an express train travelling at 60mph, ripping the roof off the kitchen car. Fortunately there were no fatalities either on board the Harrow, or the train, but the aircraft crash-landed and was written off. [8]
Handley Page Limited was a British aerospace manufacturer. Founded by Frederick Handley Page in 1909, it was the United Kingdom's first publicly traded aircraft manufacturing company. It went into voluntary liquidation and ceased to exist in 1970. The company, based at Radlett Aerodrome in Hertfordshire, was noted for its pioneering role in aviation history and for producing heavy bombers and large airliners.
Miles was the name used between 1943 and 1947 to market the aircraft of British engineer Frederick George Miles, who, with his wife – aviator and draughtswoman Maxine "Blossom" Miles – and his brother George Herbert Miles, designed numerous light civil and military aircraft and a range of curious prototypes.
The Handley Page HP.81 Hermes was a civilian airliner designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Handley Page.
Sir Frederick Handley Page was an English industrialist who was a pioneer in the aircraft industry and became known as the father of the heavy bomber.
The Handley Page HP.137 Jetstream is a small twin-turboprop airliner, with a pressurised fuselage. The aircraft was designed to meet the requirements of the United States commuter and regional airline market. The design was later improved and built by British Aerospace as the BAe Jetstream 31 and BAe Jetstream 32, featuring different turboprop engines.
The Farnborough International Airshow is a trade exhibition for the aerospace and defence industries, where civilian and military aircraft are demonstrated to potential customers and investors in Farnborough, Hampshire. Since its first show in 1948, Farnborough has seen the debut of many famous aeroplanes, including the Vickers VC10, Concorde, the Eurofighter, the Airbus A380, and the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II. At the 1958 show, Hawker Hunters of the RAF's Black Arrows executed a 22-aircraft formation loop, setting a new world record.
Royal Air Force Henlow or more simply RAF Henlow is a Royal Air Force station in Bedfordshire, England, equidistant from Bedford, Luton and Stevenage. It houses the RAF Centre of Aerospace Medicine and the Joint Arms Control Implementation Group (JACIG), and was home to the Signals Museum, which closed in June 2024. It formerly hosted light aircraft flying and 616 Volunteer Gliding Squadron. The Ministry of Defence announced on 6 September 2016 that the base is set to be closed. As of January 2024, the closure and disposal of the station is expected to take place from 2026. Flying activity ceased in July 2020.
The Handley Page HP.88 was a British research aircraft, built in the early 1950s for Handley Page to test the aerodynamics of the Victor crescent wing design, and was intended to be a scaled-down version of that aircraft.
Radlett is a large village in Hertfordshire, England, between Elstree and St Albans on Watling Street, with a population of 10,060. It is in the council district of Hertsmere in the south of the county, and forms part of the civil parish of Aldenham. Radlett is located inside the M25 motorway.
The Society of British Aerospace Companies was the UK's national trade association representing companies supplying civil air transport, aerospace defence, homeland security and space. As of October 2009 SBAC merged with the Defence Manufacturers Association and the Association of Police and Public Security Suppliers to form the ADS Group.
Cranfield Airport is an airfield just outside the village of Cranfield, in Bedfordshire, England. It is 7 NM south-west of Bedford and 5.5 NM east of Milton Keynes. It was originally a Second World War aerodrome, RAF Cranfield. It is now used for business aviation, private flights, and for research and development activities.
No. 214 Squadron is a former unit of the Royal Air Force.
Handley Page Transport Ltd was an airline company founded in 1919, soon after the end of the First World War, by Frederick Handley Page.
The Handley Page H.P.54 Harrow was a heavy bomber designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Handley Page. It was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and used during the Second World War, although not as a bomber.
Hatfield Aerodrome was a private airfield and aircraft factory located in the English town of Hatfield in Hertfordshire from 1930 until its closure and redevelopment in the 1990s.
Samlesbury Aerodrome is a disused airfield at Balderstone near Samlesbury and Blackburn in the Ribble Valley district of Lancashire. The aerodrome is owned by defence company BAE Systems which uses the site for the manufacture of several different aircraft. Currently the company employs approximately 3,000 people at the site. The aerodrome is part of Lancashire Enterprise Zone.
The Miles M.68 was a 1947 attempt to produce a containerised freighter aircraft by the modification of the Miles Aerovan. The container or air-trailer was part of the fuselage but could be dismounted and towed on the road.
The HPA Toucan is a British two-seat human-powered aircraft built and flown by members of the Hertfordshire Pedal Aeronauts and was the first two-person human-powered aircraft to fly.
Charles Frederick Joy FRAeS was a British aeronautical engineer and designer.