It's topography and central location made Derbyshire an unsuitable site for airfields, and despite opening RAF stations in the county during WW2, their limitations soon became apparent – RAF Ashbourne and Darley Moor two prime examples. The hills of Derbyshire did, however, prove ideal for the development of storage sites for weaponry, Harpur Hill used both as a depot and for disarming enemy munitions.
RAF Ashbourne
Opened – 1942
Closed – 1954
Constructed as a typical Class-A bomber station, work at the site located 12 miles north west of Derby began late in 1941, with three concrete runways laid. The plan was to use Ashbourne as part of Bomber Command, coming under 92 Group, but due to problems of variable weather with its altitude of 650 feet it never became an operational bomber station.
Control moved to 93 Group with the station handed a training role, becoming home to No. 81 OTU, Operational Training Unit, with 29 Wellingtons allocated. A satellite station was constructed at Darley Moor (see below), and at its peak more than 700 personnel were based on site at Ashbourne. It was later transferred to No. 38 Group and was home to Armstrong Whitworth Whitleys and Albemarles, along with Bristol Blenheims, with post war the site used for storage of ordnance – much of the airfield is now an industrial estate with some of the original runways still visible.
RAF Burnaston
Opened – 1938
Closed – 1990
Burnaston airfield (Willington power station in the background)1960s
Also known as Derby Airport, the site located on the south west outskirts of the city opened for training flights in 1938 with its official opening taking place the following year. Plans to start commercial flights were interrupted by WW2, with the RAF requisitioning the airfield for training purposes with Nos 16 and 30 Flying and Training Schools, along with No. 49 Gliding School RAF, all stationed at the site.
Post-war, commercial flights commenced in 1953, with services shifting to East Midlands Airport in the 1960s. The site continued to host flying clubs until its closure in 1990 to make way for a Toyota car plant.
RAF Church Broughton
Opened – 1942
Closed – 1946
Located 12 miles south-west of Derby, this 93 Group station was established during WWII for screening pilots, utilizing Vickers Wellingtons. It served as a satellite for No. 27 OTU and hosted No. 1429 (Czechoslovak Operational Training) unit, operating Wellingtons and Westland Lysanders.
RAF Darley Moor
Opened – 1942
Closed – 1954
Built in 1942 as a satellite for RAF Ashbourne, this site featured three runways and housed over 1,000 personnel, primarily for No. 42 OTU. Due to challenging weather at its altitude, it ceased operating as an airfield in February 1945, subsequently serving as a storage site for explosives and ammunition until 1954.
RAF Harpur Hill
Opened – 1938
Closed – 1961
Located near Buxton, this site was taken over by the Air Ministry in 1938 for an RAF Maintenance Unit, utilizing extensive underground tunnels for storing munitions. It was a key location for disarming enemy explosives, including V-rocket warheads, post-war. Additionally, the site hosted an RAF Mountain Rescue branch from 1944, which famously responded to the 1948 US Air Force Superfortress crash on Bleaklow Moor. Chemical weapons were also burned in the surrounding hills before the RAF departed in the early 1960s.
RAF Harpur Hill Mountain rescue 1950
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