RAF Orston

RAF Orston served as a Relief Landing Ground for RAF Newton between 1941 and 1945. Operated by RAF Flying Training Command's 21 Group, it primarily supported No. 16 (Polish) Service Flying Training School. The site featured grass runways and was equipped with nine 65ft Blister hangars to facilitate maintenance and training sorties.

Orston Village, located in the vicinity of the airfield, served as the local community for the personnel stationed at the RAF Orston Relief Landing Ground.

Satellite to RAF Newton (25 August 1943 – 15 April 1946). I just came upon this airfield by accident as I was passing. The mushroom farm could have been the main buildings and was the site of several Blister hangar bases. The red squares are hard standings for Blister hangars. The r/h yellow square is Orston Petrol Reserve Depot, which covered fields on both sides of the road and a railway line.

RAF Orston RLG was a Polish-run RLG for No. 16 (Polish) Flying Training School throughout the war. RAF Newton was the parent airfield and RAF Orston was used as its relief landing ground. Planes could be flown out in the morning for tuition and flown back at night. There may have been as many as 130 people stationed here in one job or another to manage the site, refuel, and perform quick repairs to aircraft as and when they needed it. There may have been a few wooden huts, but as far as sleeping, they would all probably drive to and fro from RAF Newton.

RAF Newton served as the parent airfield for RAF Orston, which functioned as a Relief Landing Ground for the base between 25 August 1943 and 15 April 1946.

Two Warrant Officers of 16 SFTS at RAF Newton, probably outside the Sergeants mess. There is a very good website of pictures and information at Polskie Sity powietrzne w II wojnie swiatowej (Polish Air Force In World War II).

RAF Orston RLG had nine 65ft Blister hangars, and accommodation was temporary (wooden).

This location marks the site of one of the nine 65ft Blister hangars that were established at RAF Orston RLG to support the Polish Flying Training School's operations.

This was the location of a second Blister hangar at RAF Orston RLG, which functioned as a relief landing ground for RAF Newton between 1943 and 1946.

This represents a second Blister hangar site at RAF Orston, which served as a relief landing ground for No. 16 (Polish) Flying Training School. Similar to the nine 65ft Blister hangars once found here, this structure was typical of the site's temporary wartime infrastructure, as seen in this example of a Blister hangar that was located at RAF Oatlands RLG in Wiltshire.

This was the site of one of the nine 65ft Blister hangars used at RAF Orston RLG, which functioned as a relief landing ground for the No. 16 (Polish) Flying Training School at RAF Newton.

This is where the frame was tied down to the concrete by large steel pins.

A 'Save Our Village' campaign has been launched to stop two rural communities from being consumed by a nearby development. Villagers say they only uncovered the prospect of a garden village between them by chance, as no one from the borough notified them of its inclusion as a possible site for housing.

A nice touch by the farmer of former RAF Orston: two lovely memorial gates. Thank you to Jonathan D'Hooghe for passing on this photo. It also looks as though the housing plans have not gone through.