RAF Grove, Berkshire

RAF · Berkshire · England · United Kingdom

RAF Grove, Berkshire. USAAF Station 519

Authority for acquisition of RAF Grove was given 14th May 1941and followed the standard 'A' type bomber station, requirements including three runways, No. 1 5,979 feet long, No. 2 4,192 feet and No. 3 3,594, all at 60 degrees to each other with a perimeter track of 50 feet. The airfield included both the older design of 125 foot diameter circular "frying pans" dispersals, and with the newer design of "spectacle" shaped, dispersal areas added later. Three building areas existed: West Technical Site (started between Spring 1942 and July 1943 [the original 'A' class]), No 2 Site Communal (started between 1942 and July 1943) and East Technical Site (built by the American Airforce during 1944/45).

Relief Landing Ground by the Heavy Glider Conversion Unit.

RAF Grove, Berkshire. USAAF Station 519

At the end of the second world war attention turned from the use of the runways (which remained available as relief landing ground) to the 180,000+ square feet of storage space. The site contained an assortment of buildings designed during 1941, 1942 and 1943. They included six T2 Hangars and several American made storage buildings which contained large amounts of aircraft parts salvaged during maintenance work. The final change came on 1st. December 1955 when responsibility for Grove Airfield was transferred to No. 3 Maintenance Unit, R.A.F. Milton, Berks, from No. 431 Equipment Depot. Staff were reduced to store men and Security Police. Grove was controlled from Milton(RAF Milton was the main RFC then RAF storage facility in the UK) until the last day of 1958 when the Operational Record Book records: "....All functional stock was cleared from No. 6 Site at Grove during the month and it was closed on 31st. December 1958.... signed T.King, Group Captain, Commanding Officer." Taken from Vale and Downland Museum – Local History Series Grove Airfield by Bill Fuller with added information from me.

AM Plan

RAF Grove, Berkshire. USAAF Station 519

January 1944

RAF Grove, Berkshire. USAAF Station 519

Was the Gate Guard until I believe it blew down. A Swiss DH Venom.

02 January 2010

RAF Grove, Berkshire. USAAF Station 519

Found it on Google, sad end.

Google

RAF Grove, Berkshire. USAAF Station 519

Memorial to the RAF & USAAF.

10 April 2005

RAF Grove, Berkshire. USAAF Station 519

Main runway looking almost due north.

10 April 2005

RAF Grove, Berkshire. USAAF Station 519

The last of the six T2 hangars built here. The water tower looks to be the originally and has been re clad.

10 April 2005

RAF Grove, Berkshire. USAAF Station 519

Four large TB huts right next to the T2 hangar. (all now have been removed). TB - Temporary Brick. PB - Permanent Brick.

10 April 2005

RAF Grove, Berkshire. USAAF Station 519

Four large TB huts right next to the T2 hangar. (all now have been removed). The compound was for the fuel compound.

10 April 2005

RAF Grove, Berkshire. USAAF Station 519

A TB hut double aspect, may have been Guard House and Fire Party. I have a site plan with numbers on (not very clear) but there is no list of hut types & names unfortunately. There would have been a boiler under the tower to heat water to bath and wash in.

10 April 2005

RAF Grove, Berkshire. USAAF Station 519

No.182. A TB hut double aspect.

10 April 2005

RAF Grove, Berkshire. USAAF Station 519

Track to the Sewage works and the bomb store.

10 April 2005

RAF Grove, Berkshire. USAAF Station 519

The first bomb store building, could be a fuze store??

10 April 2005

RAF Grove, Berkshire. USAAF Station 519

This is the road leading down to the bomb store and on the right was a fuzing point.

10 April 2005

RAF Grove, Berkshire. USAAF Station 519

Bomb store track to the second Fuzing point.

Possibly a Ultra Heavy Fuzing Point. Original Grove was to be a bomber station, so the bomb store was a full 'A' class store.

10 April 2005

RAF Grove, Berkshire. USAAF Station 519

Inside quite a vast space.

10 April 2005

RAF Grove, Berkshire. USAAF Station 519

A third fuzing point demolished at the date we visited.

10 April 2005

RAF Grove, Berkshire. USAAF Station 519

Further down in where the main bomb storage area was. Possibly a bomb component store.

10 April 2005

RAF Grove, Berkshire. USAAF Station 519

Sewage Site numbered 333 on the site plan.

10 April 2005

RAF Grove, Berkshire. USAAF Station 519

Left the destructor house and right the tool shed.

10 April 2005

RAF Grove, Berkshire. USAAF Station 519

Inside and it was still in good condition still having tools.

10 April 2005

RAF Grove, Berkshire. USAAF Station 519

he destructor, I have no idea its use. But all RAF stations and army camps, had a destructor?

10 April 2005

RAF Grove, Berkshire. USAAF Station 519

Operations Block 228/43. This is how it looked in 2005.

10 April 2005

RAF Grove, Berkshire. USAAF Station 519

Operations Block 228/43. The layout of buildings.

10 April 2005

Military Airfield Architecture by Paul Francis.

British Airfield Buildings of the Second World War. Another must book to own.

RAF Grove, Berkshire. USAAF Station 519

Operations Block 228/43.

10 April 2005

RAF Grove, Berkshire. USAAF Station 519

Picket Post. (Police Post) Everybody arriving and leaving would have to show a pass and be signed in and out.

The two doors on the right would have been a toilet and a rest room/guarded room.

10 April 2005

RAF Grove, Berkshire. USAAF Station 519

Picket Post.

Concrete wash basin.

10 April 2005

RAF Grove, Berkshire. USAAF Station 519

Two TB crew briefing rooms.

10 April 2005

RAF Grove, Berkshire. USAAF Station 519

One of the briefing rooms.

10 April 2005

RAF Grove, Berkshire. USAAF Station 519

One of the briefing rooms.

10 April 2005

RAF Grove, Berkshire. USAAF Station 519

One of the briefing rooms.

10 April 2005

RAF Grove, Berkshire. USAAF Station 519

Operations Block 228/43 around the back. A blast wall has been cut down to make access easier for the farmer. Latrines, one the RAF latrine and the other a W.A.A.F. latrine. W.A.A.F.’s. were used a lot on RAF camps running the PBX (Private Branch Exchange) the local telephone network, in planning, printing, documentation, in fact any job that did not mean they would shoot a weapon.

10 April 2005

RAF Grove, Berkshire. USAAF Station 519

W.A.A.F. latrine 9026/41 type.

10 April 2005

RAF Grove, Berkshire. USAAF Station 519

Operations Block 228/43 made of permanent brick (PB), steal and reinforced concrete.

10 April 2005

RAF Grove, Berkshire. USAAF Station 519

Operations Block 228/43 made of permanent brick (PB), steal and reinforced concrete.

10 April 2005

RAF Grove, Berkshire. USAAF Station 519

Operations Block 228/43made of permanent brick (PB), steal and reinforced concrete.

10 April 2005

RAF Grove, Berkshire. USAAF Station 519

M&E plinth. Electricity came in usually from an underground cable and the M&E plinth was a distribution point. Here there is also an overhead cable.

10 April 2005

RAF Grove, Berkshire. USAAF Station 519

M&E plinth.

10 April 2005

A double M&E gate. Here there was a single gate..

RAF Grove, Berkshire. USAAF Station 519

The RAF always do nice planting of trees.

10 April 2005

RAF Grove, Berkshire. USAAF Station 519

26 - 150ft circular (Frying Pan) dispersals. 50 - Spectacle dispersals. 2 - then 4 more added T2 hangars. 4 - large American sheds. I cannot see a Control Tower? Communal Site. Sick Quarters.

10 April 2005