Boulmer Airfield (Longhoughton)

Boulmer Airfield (1)

Boulmer was constructed in 1940 by Northumberland County Council following requisition of land by the War Department. Its main purpose at that time was as a decoy airfield, complete with grass runway, plywood and canvas aircraft, dummy ammunition stores, fuel stores and approximately 30 personnel. Their role was to draw enemy aircraft away from RAF Acklington. Two Luftwaffe raids were recorded at Boulmer in 1940 and 1941.
In 1942/43 RAF Boulmer ceased to be a decoy airfield and in March 1943 it was redeveloped into an operational airfield with three main tarmac runways, 36 aircraft dispersal sites and six main sites (bulk fuel, technical, defence, communal, sick quarters and Women's Auxiliary Air Force). Boulmer's role was as a satellite airfield providing facilities to 57 Operational Conversion Unit based at RAF Eshott, and to provide facilities to No 9 Battle Training School. The airfield closed at the end of the war in 1945 and reverted back to agricultural use.
Some of the original buildings still survive although all are in an advanced state of dereliction and gradually eroding away. The airfield and perimeter track can still be seen from the coastal road at the north end of Foxton Golf Club, and the south end of the runway forms part of the road. The link with the RAF was re-established in 1950 when Boulmer was selected for the national plan codename ROTOR. The base re-opened on a new site on 23rd August 1953 as 500 Signals Unit. (2)(3)

World War II decoy airfield at Longhoughton. Wartime aerial photographs show a series of camouflaged runways, military buildings and trackways. This was a Q-type and K-type site intended to deflect enemy night and day bombing from RAF Acklington, which at the time the decoy was constructed contained Hurricane aircraft belonging to 13 Group. As it was also a daytime decoy it might also be inferred that there were dummy buildings and dummy aircraft at the site. (4)

Earthwork remains of World War 2 airfield briefly recorded between October 2009 and January 2011. The remains include the runways of the airfield. (5)

During the 1950s a Type 7 radar site was established on the site of the old airfield. This included a specific bunker for the ROTOR scheme designated as R7 with its own transmitter and receiver. As this was located at a distance to the main radar site at Boulmer this required its own identification marking equipment with a Mk 10 IFF on a Type 14 plinth and a small brick-built electricity substation. The R7 bunker on Field House Farm survives, though covered over with soil. It remains as a raised area covered with thick grass. The adjacent IFF plinth and powerhouse have been demolished. (6)

RAF Boulmer was originally constructed as the satellite of RAF Eshott as an Operational Training Unit for fighter and ground attack aircraft during World War II. The site was put into a Care and Maintenance footing after the end of the war in Europe, before later in the 1960s acting as a reserve landing ground for RAF Acklington and as a base for search and rescue helicopters. (7)

Further summary details are given by the Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust website. (8)

Boulmer airfield was originally established as a decoy site for RAF Acklington with dummy aircraft as a K-site [see HER 5778], but later opened as a full airfield itself as a satellite for RAF Eshott. The runway has been dug up, but its location can be seen in the fields. Part of the airfield remained in operational use as an airfield for helicopters since 1972 when the air sea rescue unit was moved here from RAF Acklington. (9)

Boulmer was a Second World War temporary airfield. It had a hard surface and its main function was as a Fighter Training facility. Some five percent of the original runway and taxiway remains; none of the four hangars survive; defences (pillboxes) survive. The overall status of the site is rated at 1 (out of 10). (10)

The official RAF website has a detailed station history of Boulmer. It was opened in 1943, and was initially used by Spitfires of an Operational Training Unit, including for training in preparation for D-Day. The airfield was closed at the end of the Second World War. In 1953 the RAF re-established a presence on the site in the form of a control centre for warning systems against attack on the country's defences. An accompanying domestic site was constructed in 1953-1954. By 1974 the role of the station was to monitor Soviet aircraft attempting to probe UK air defences and to scramble quick reaction alert aircraft (bases elsewhere) to intercept them. In 1978 the base was also the home of A Flight 202 Squadron Air Sea Rescue (flying Sea King helicopters). In 1990 Boulmer also became the base for the School of Fighter Control. It was planned that by October 2003 updates to the facility would increase RAF Boulmer's fighter control role. (11a)

The Second World War phase of development at Boulmer is presented as a statistical profile in the Willis and Hollis gazetteer of military airfields. By 1944 the airfield had landing surfaces of tarmac and wood chippings, with 25 hard standings for aircraft. Also included is a basic small location sketch of the airfield. The airfield is located by Willis and Hollis at NU 259 133. (11b)

The 1976 edition of the OS sheet NU 21 SE shows the basic layout of the airfield still surviving at that date (marked as disused), centred around NU 259 133. (11c)

The "HSIS" digital version of sheet NU 21 SE viewed on 12-NOV-2003 showed that since 1976 the northern part of the World War Two airfield has been turned into fields. The Air Sea Rescue role mentioned in source 1 can be seen from the Air Sea Rescue heliport which is located in an area to the north west of the World War Two flying field. (11d)

The Defence of Britain catalogue includes a brief entry for RAF Boulmer, [named as Boulmer Airfield, Longhoughton] confirming the NGR at NU 259 133, and using the description "Battle Headquarters". (11e)

A military airfield and associated military buildings, military roads and trackways are visible as structures and earthworks on air photographs. The airfield is at NU 2575 1320. Clusters of military buildings are at NU 2519 1444, NU 2500 1480, NU 2543 1475 and NU 2569 1454. Some features are visible on the latest 1999 Ordnance Survey vertical photography. (11f)

General association with HER 5779 and HER 25520. (11)

To find out more about Sources used to create this record, archaeological work related to this site or mapping of the site, please visit the Keys to the Past website.