RAF Hendon

RAF Hendon
No. 1 Camouflage Unit · Public domain · source
Name	RAF Hendon
Location	Colindale, London Borough of Barnet
Controlledby	Royal Air Force
Used	1917–1968
Garrison	Hendon Aerodrome

RAF Hendon was an aerodrome and Royal Air Force station in North London that played roles in early aviation, training, and home defence. It hosted flying schools, aircraft manufacturing and repair, and served as a base for squadrons during the First World War and the Second World War. The site’s transformation into a museum and later redevelopment linked it to aviation heritage, urban planning and community memory.

History

The site began as Hendon Aerodrome associated with aviation pioneers such as Claude Grahame-White, Samuel Cody, A V Roe and linked to events like the Daily Mail air races, the Aviation Week exhibitions and visits by figures connected to King George V and Edward VIII. During the First World War it came under the influence of organizations including the Royal Flying Corps, Royal Naval Air Service, Air Ministry and later the Royal Air Force after 1918; notable personnel included pilots who later featured in accounts of the Battle of Britain and the Western Front. Interwar development involved cooperation with manufacturers like Handley Page, Avro and de Havilland, and institutions such as the Royal Aircraft Establishment and Imperial Airways for civil aviation trials. In the Second World War the station coordinated with Metropolitan Police, Air Training Corps, No. 11 Group RAF and civil defence units tied to the London Blitz and the Battle of Britain Memorial. Post-war contraction saw links to Ministry of Defence rationalisation, local authorities such as the London Borough of Barnet and redevelopment agencies involved in housing, heritage and museum planning.

Location and Facilities

Located in Colindale within the London Borough of Barnet, the aerodrome sat near transport nodes including London Underground stations like Colindale tube station and rail connections to St Pancras railway station and Kings Cross station. Facilities evolved from grass runways and wooden hangars to metal sheds, maintenance workshops used by firms such as Morris Motors and Boulton Paul Aircraft, and buildings housing a control tower similar to structures at Biggin Hill and RAF Northolt. Support infrastructure included barrack blocks, technical schools modeled on establishments like RAF College Cranwell, medical facilities associated with Queen Mary's Hospital, and storage depots linked to supply chains used by RAF Maintenance Command and logistics units tied to Royal Logistics Corps antecedents.

Operational Units and Aircraft

The station hosted squadrons and units including training flights associated with No. 2 Squadron RAF, No. 4 Squadron RAF, elements of No. 610 Squadron RAF and detachments from No. 11 Group RAF as well as maintenance units within the RAF Maintenance Command. Aircraft types operated or serviced at the site encompassed early types from Sopwith Camel manufacturers, reconnaissance types affiliated with Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2 lineage, interwar designs by Handley Page Hampstead and Avro 504 trainers, and Second World War fighters related to the Supermarine Spitfire and Hawker Hurricane families. Civilian and experimental aircraft tied to companies like de Havilland DH.4 and Fairey Aviation also used the premises for trials, while glider and training activity linked to the Air Training Corps and Royal Aero Club.

Role in World Wars

In the First World War Hendon functioned as a training and home defence centre connected to operations over the Western Front and home coastal patrols; units there contributed crews who transferred to squadrons that fought in campaigns such as the Battle of the Somme and the Gallipoli Campaign. Between wars the aerodrome supported imperial air routes associated with Imperial Airways and civil aviation milestones like non-stop attempts tied to figures comparable to Amy Johnson. During the Second World War the station’s activities intersected with the London Blitz, fighter control responsibilities coordinated with No. 11 Group RAF and radar-linked sectors associated with Chain Home installations; ground crews at Hendon repaired aircraft returning from operations over Dunkirk and the Battle of Britain.

Post-military Use and Redevelopment

After closure the site’s transition involved organizations such as the London Borough of Barnet, heritage bodies like the Imperial War Museum, trusts similar to Hendon and Colindale Heritage Trust and private developers. The former aerodrome hosted the RAF Museum London collections, aviation archives comparable to the National Archives (United Kingdom), and adaptive reuse projects including residential developments influenced by policies from Greater London Council and regeneration funds tied to the Housing and Urban Development legacy. Redevelopment balanced conservation of hangars and memorial spaces linked to veterans associations including the Royal British Legion and community groups associated with local history societies.

Commemoration and Legacy

Commemoration at the former aerodrome includes museum displays akin to those at the RAF Museum, memorials for aircrew similar to those found at Runnymede Memorial and plaques installed by bodies such as the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and local civic trusts. The legacy endures in connections to aviation pioneers Claude Grahame-White and A V Roe, in educational outreach resembling programs run by the Science Museum and Imperial War Museum, and in scholarly work produced by historians linked to institutions like University College London and the Royal Historical Society. The site’s story informs studies of British aviation heritage, urban redevelopment and military memory across twentieth-century events including the Battle of Britain and interwar civil aviation milestones.

Category:Royal Air Force stations in London