RAF Orston

Opened 1941 - closed 1945. RLG - Relief Landing Ground. RAF Flying Training Command 21 Group. 16 (Polish) SFTS (Service Flying Training School) RLG (Relief Landing Ground) for RAF NEWTON. Grass runways.

Orston Village.

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 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 and refuel and quick repairs to air craft 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.

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 W11 wojnie swiatowej (Polish Air Force In World War II).

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

The site of one of the blister hangars.

A second Blister hangar.

A second Blister hangar. A Blister hangar that was at RAF Oatlands RLG in Wiltshire.

A second Blister hangar.

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 being consumed by a near 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?