This is a first for me, tonight I will be conducting a photoshoot at RAF Northolt (XXXII) on the north west side of London.
Northolt started its life in May 1915 which means that it is one of the oldest stations currently still active to have been established by the Royal Flying Corps. First to be stationed here was N°4 Reserve Aeroplane Squadron and the airfield contributed to the defence of London against Zeppelin raids. During 1916 43 Squadron was established at Northolt under the command of Major Sholto Douglas who would later become Marshal of the Royal Air Force. The squadron were equipped with Sopwith 1 ½ Strutters with the first flight taking place under the control of Harry Hawker. After the formation of the Royal Air Force in April 1918 600 & 601 Squadron of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force were formed at Northolt under Squadron Leader Lord Edward Grosvenor. On 27th April 1929 the future King Edward VIII took his first flight in a Bristol F.2 from Northolt.
On the outbreak of war in 1939 Northolt became home to several Polish Air Force Squadrons, also becoming the first RAF station to operate the Hawker Hurricane, with 111 Squadron receiving the first four aircraft. Northolt featured in the RAF’s new policy of ‘important airfields’ being converted to concrete runways and so it was given an 732m by 46m runway. During the Battle of Britain Northolt fell under the command of 11 Group who was headquartered at Uxbridge. Over the course of the battle the station was responsible for 148 victories and 52 damaged enemy aircraft. For the duration of the war Northolt was home to many squadrons with varied duties but one point that sticks out is that it became home to Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s personal aircraft, a modified C-54 Skymaster which would be used to ferry him to important meetings with other allied leaders.
Northolt was used for civil use post-war with the likes of Aer Lingus, Swissair and BEA continuing until 1954 when Heathrow opened. Reverting back to Military use Northolt was heavily used for transport aircraft such as the Avro Anson.
Current day RAF Northolt falls under the command of Group Captain Jonathan T W Hough, ADC, MA, BSC, RAF, he has under his command 32 Squadron who operate the Envoy IV CC1 for command support transport, 600 Sqn (RAuxAF), 601 Sqn (RAuxAF) and 63 Sqn RAF Regiment (King’s Colour Squadron). Northolt is also home to the RAF Music Service which plays a heavy part in the Royal Air Force’s ceremonial duties.
Onto the photoshoot
We had our briefing and an introduction by Station Commander Group Captain Hough which was great to see, you very rarely see Station Commanders at events like these. The money tonight, he explained, would go towards the station charities and the restoration of the station's old Ops Room from the Second World War. Onto the airfield and we had maybe 350m of ramp to stretch out along, so plenty of space, plus two raised steps to create a platform for an elevated shooting position. The ramp was flood lit with the normal type of ramp lights you find that tend to cast a cold light but that’s nothing a bit of Lightroom can’t fix. In actual fact personally I quite like using ramp lights, it gives a more natural feel of day to day operations.
Tonight we have the following aircraft:
Puma HC2 from 33 Sqn stationed at RAF Benson
Charge: Medium support, tactical movements and casualty evacuation.
Wildcat AH1 from 1 Regt AAC stationed at RNAS Yeovilton
Charge: Reconnaissance, command & control, transportation and force protection.
AH-64E from 3 Regt AAC stationed at Wattisham
Charge: Detect, classify & prioritise targets on the battlefield and eliminate in support to ground troops
EC725 from EH 01.067 French Air Force stationed at Cazaux Air Base
Charge: Providing combat support to French Special Forces and combat search & rescue.
CN-235 from 64 Escadre de Transport French Air Force stationed at Évreux-Fauville Air Base
Charge: Providing tactical transport for the French Armed Forces.
CC-130J from 436 Sqn RCAF stationed at Trenton, Ontario
Charge: Tactical and strategic airlift capabilities
Bell 47H-1 private registration C-FJWF
This helicopter is originally all the way from Abbotsford, British Columbia and is 1 of only 8 in the world.
First for a start-up came from the Bell 47H-1, a bit of a break and then the star of the show the Puma HC2 conducted their start-up procedure and departed. This was quite possible the last chance to photograph an RAF Puma, for in three weeks’ time they shall be retired from service having served since 1968 (of varying types).
Both the Wildcat AH1 and the AH-64E started up, conducted ground checks and also departed. All three helicopters gave us ample opportunity to gain some slow shutter motion photographs as well as some dynamic content with crews at work around the aircraft during their procedures. All said and done that was a very well organised photo shoot, some incredibly interesting attendees and a thoroughly enjoyable experience. I would like to thank the station, its staff and the organising team for hosting the event, it’s up there for the night shoots I’ve done!
Oh and we had two bonus aircraft in the form of the two MD902 belonging to London Air Ambulance
Check out the sounds of the Puma while you still can!
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