Castle Bromwich - Castle Bromwich Aerodrome

Castle Bromwich Aerodrome

A large piece of Warwickshire grassland (Castle Bromwich Playing Fields) became the Castle Bromwich private aerodrome, when Alfred P. Maxwell flew the first aeroplane in the Birmingham area in September 1909. It became a stopping place during early air races. The War Office requisitioned it for use by the Royal Flying Corps and flying schools in 1914, when proper roads and buildings were established. The British Industries Fair (the pre runner to the National Exhibition Centre) was a large complex of buildings built on land adjacent to the aerodrome and Castle Bromwich railway station in 1920. In the inter war years the aerodrome had a military and civilian function. In these early days it was the busiest airport in the area due to its combined passenger, post and railway air business. During the late 1920s and early 1930s the aerodrome was also a checking-in point for the infamous 'Contact Races' held in the Midlands, which were organised by and between various civil flying clubs in the area.

In 1934, the Air Ministry stated that Castle Bromwich could not be used for civil purposes indefinitely, so a new airport was constructed at Elmdon (some five miles (8 km) away), just outside the Birmingham City boundary. It opened in 1939 and is now Birmingham International Airport. In 1937, more hangars and a Squadron Headquarters were built for the Royal Air Force. In 1939, it was extended further to become a fighter station and a base for other units. It was visited by Winston Churchill during World War II.

In 1936, the Air Ministry had purchased a parcel of land opposite the Castle Bromwich Aerodrome. On this site they built the Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory (CBAF). This huge 'shadow factory' was part of a larger plan to disperse production and move vital resources that lay within easy range of German bombers (Vickers Supermarine's original factory at Southampton was devastated by enemy bombers just as Castle Bromwich came into production in 1940.). The CBAF factory was first managed by the Nuffield Organisation to manufacture Spitfires and (later) Lancaster bomber aircraft. The theory was that the local skills and production techniques used in the manufacture of motor vehicles could be transferred to aircraft production. However production proved impossible without help from the professionals from Vickers-Supermarine. The CBAF went on to become the largest and most successful plant of its type during the 1939-45 conflict.

Aircraft and sub-assemblies were taken across the Chester Road to the airfield, Castle Bromwich Aerodrome though early plans included an aerial bridge from E block to the airfield. Very large hangar-like buildings were erected on the east side of the airfield which were referred to as 'Erecting Sheds', where aircraft were prepared for flight testing. This was the largest Spitfire factory in the UK, building over half of the approximately 20,000 built. After failing to get initial production under way, the mercurial Air Minister, Lord Beaverbrook, ordered the Nuffield Organisation to relinquish control of the CBAF to Vickers. From May 1940, the CBAF's most productive years were overseen by Vickers Armstrong (Vickers having purchased Supermarine in 1936).

The CBAF's chief test pilot was Alex Henshaw MBE, who managed a team of pilots who had the job of testing the aircraft. The ATA (Air Transport Auxiliary) were responsible for dispersing tested machines to the M.U.'s (Maintenance Units) around the country. As any build-up of machines on the airfield would be vulnerable to aerial attack, testing was carried out in any weather.

After the war, the CBAF became a car body factory. It is now the Castle Bromwich Assembly plant of Jaguar Cars. Its first post war owners were Fisher and Ludlow (themselves having been bombed out of their inner city factory). This company was the sub-contractor for most of the now defunct BMC and British Leyland marques, the last being Jaguar, who took over outright control of the factory in 1977. Various units used the airfield post war and there was an annual display to mark the anniversary of the Battle of Britain. Civilian flights returned, including the first scheduled helicopter service from London. Such activities were to prove short-lived.

The airfield closed in 1958 and in 1960 the site and that of the British Industries Fair, and nearby farmland was sold for housing. The runway was broken up, many of the buildings were demolished and a Birmingham overspill estate (Castle Vale) was constructed. The erecting sheds survived as storage units until 2004. All that remains now is a memorial, a stained glass window in the estate's church, streets and housing blocks with aviation names, a row of ex-RAF houses along the Chester Road, and a new Spitfire Memorial. This is a large steel sculpture called Sentinel designed by Tim Tolkien which was erected on the roundabout where the road to the estate joins the Chester Road in 2000. This was inaugurated by the CBAF's wartime Chief Test Pilot, Alex Henshaw.

The roundabout was subsequently renamed "Spitfire Island". Diamond Jubilee celebrations of the CBAF were held on the July 15, 1998, which included a fly-by flown by Ray Hannah in his ex-CBAF Spitfire MkIX, MH434. Amongst the dignitaries attending was Dr. Gordon Mitchell, son of the Spitfire's designer, R.J. Mitchell. Alex' Henshaw also unveiled a memorial plaque just inside the old factory's main gate onto the Kingsbury Road. Its principal inscription reads; 'Here, swords of freedom were forged'.