Nazi airfields in the UK

[MartG]

Daily Express ( sorry ) has an article about farms in Britain being converted into 'hidden' airfields by Nazi spies in the run up to WWII. If true, it would mean that as early as 1936 Hitler was already planning the invasion of Britain.

I wonder exactly where they were - no doubt being ideal airfield locations the RAF subsequently sited airfields on them.

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/554096/Adolf-Hitl...

[brenflys777]

Very interesting. I'd love to know the detail of this, if it's true the article doesn't do it justice.

[Eric Mc]

All the evidence points to the fact that Adolf Hitler had no intentions to fight a war against Britain - so I doubt that any concrete plans were put in place for airfields in Britain. After Britain declared war on Germany in 1939 I'm sure they looked into the possibility but nothing would have come of it.

[Dr Jekyll]

Planning to, and planning in case of, can be two different things though.

Look at what Canadians were doing in the USA during the 30s, just in case.

[MartG]

brenflys777 said:

Very interesting. I'd love to know the detail of this, if it's true the article doesn't do it justice.

Google only brings up the Express article and this thread

[ecsrobin]

An interesting fact RAF Odiham was opened by a member of the Luftwaffe.

"on 18 October 1937 the new RAF Odiham was opened by General Erhard Milch, Chief of Staff of the Luftwaffe! General Milch was so impressed with what he saw that he is reputed to have told Hitler: "When we conquer England, Odiham will be my Air Headquarters", and he ordered his pilots not to bomb RAF Odiham. Whether or not this story is true, the fact remains that RAF Odiham never was bombed during the war."

[Eric Mc]

Very true. there are lots of photos of the event.

Little did we know it was part of a "very cunning plan".

[Tango13]

I saw this earlier and i'm very, very sceptical.

As Eric rightly posted, Hitler had no plans to start a war with Britain and the German intelligence services before and during the war were so disorganised that organising a piss up in a brewery would have been a serious challenge to their abilities.

Also purely from a military standpoint, why invade Norfolk? At the time there wasn't anything of any military value there, the USAAF didn't start building bases until later in the war.

[DeuxCentCinq]

Tango13 said:

I saw this earlier and i'm very, very sceptical.

As Eric rightly posted, Hitler had no plans to start a war with Britain and the German intelligence services before and during the war were so disorganised that organising a piss up in a brewery would have been a serious challenge to their abilities.

Also purely from a military standpoint, why invade Norfolk? At the time there wasn't anything of any military value there, the USAAF didn't start building bases until later in the war.

Orford Ness? RAF bases? Mustard factories?

[Defcon5]

Dr Jekyll said:

Look at what Canadians were doing in the USA during the 30s, just in case.

Got a link to any further reading?

[Dr Jekyll]

Defcon5 said:

Dr Jekyll said:

Look at what Canadians were doing in the USA during the 30s, just in case.

Got a link to any further reading?

Actually it was more the 1920s, but all the same...

http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2013/07/th...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/01/canada-hi...

Edited by Dr Jekyll on Sunday 25th January 16:28

[perdu]

I read this too, frankly I reckon the Excess misread the calendar

Tain't April for ages yet

[andy97]

Eric Mc said:

All the evidence points to the fact that Adolf Hitler had no intentions to fight a war against Britain - so I doubt that any concrete plans were put in place for airfields in Britain. After Britain declared war on Germany in 1939 I'm sure they looked into the possibility but nothing would have come of it.

Hitler's Z Plan called for war against the USA about 10 years after war actually started, and he had hoped to recruit the UK to side with him.

Doenitz was planning a U Boat force of about 300 to help meet this plan but had to start the war with only about 70.

("Business in Great Waters" - Terraine)

[eharding]

.....and there I was expecting a thread about what happens if you land at Oban without your dayglo hi-viz tabard, or maybe Elstree in the days of the "Screaming Skull".

[anonymous-user]

What's the difference between a "hidden" airfield, and, well, just an, er, field??? It's not liek they were trying to autoland an A380 back then is it........ ;-)

[Eric Mc]

You could land a Fieseler Storch on a cricket pitch.

[CAFEDEAD]

I'm quite sure we know plan A wasn't to go to war with Britain. Could Hitler not have had a plan B? I doubt it, whether it was this though...

[Simpo Two]

Eric Mc said:

You could land a Fieseler Storch on a cricket pitch.

But not staffels of Ju52a la Crete.

Norfolk may seem like an odd place to invade - but then so was Normandy.

However the thing that blows this into nonsense for me is that they were (allegedly) built in swastika shapes...

[Eric Mc]

A Ju52 had quite a short landing run.

[Halmyre]

Eric Mc said:

You could land a Fieseler Storch on a cricket pitch.

Yes, but even Hitler wouldn't be mad enough to mess with the MCC.