RAF Lichfield

Royal Air Force Station Lichfield also known as Fradley Aerodrome, was an operational training station from 1940 until 1958. It was situated in Fradley, 2 miles north east of Lichfield, Staffordshire, England. The airfield was the busiest airfield in Staffordshire during World War II. The airfield supported its own units as well as providing safe haven for many more. It was a control point for all aviation traffic that passed through the Birmingham area during the war and saw more aircraft movements than any other Staffordshire airfield.HistoryRAF Lichfield, known locally as Fradley Aerodrome, was constructed in from mid 1939 to 1940. The airfield was set out in the usual triangular pattern with two runways 1 km in length and a main runway of 1.46 km. Initially it operated as a maintenance site, being home to the No. 51 Maintenance Unit from August 1940. Manufacturers sent newly built aircraft to Fradley to carry out any modifications before delivery to squadrons. After the war, large numbers of aircraft were broken up and many aircraft were prepared before being sold to the air forces of other countries. The unit remained active until the closure of the airfield in 1958.27 OTU (Operational Training Unit) was formed on the 23rd April 1941 (2016 is the 75th anniversary of the formation); its role was to form and train aircrew for front line bombing operations using Wellington bombers. The crews, largely from Australia and other Commonwealth countries, were then posted to their allocated squadrons, mostly in Lincolnshire.