Image ID: 41168

Hucknall Airfield

Courtesy of Mr Archer

Watnall Road
Hucknall
Nottinghamshire
England

From 1935 until 1971 Hucknall was Rolls-Royce's flight test establishment. It was here that all the Company's engine types, from the Kestrel to the RB211 were developed, installed in flying testbeds. Full ground-testing facilities was also an important feature of its activities, a feature that continues today. Test flying commenced with biplanes with a top speed of around 150mph and progresses to the mach 2 Lightning and Phantom. During the Second World War, Hucknall became a Civilian Repair Unit and undertook the repair of Hurricanes during and after the Battle of Britain. One hundred of these aircraft were also converted to Mark IIs with the Merlin XX engine. The first Spitfire Mk.Vs, with the Merlin 45 engine were produced at Hucknall in a conversion programme and nearly 300 Spitfire Vs were converted to Mk.IXs. Other work concentrated on the development of powerplants for Beaufighters, Lancasters and other types. The flight development of the gas turbine commenced in 1942 with a Whittle unit installed in the tail of a Wellington, progressing to Nenes and Avons in Lancastrians, turboprops in the noses of Lancasters and Lincoln bombers, ending with the RB211 in the VC-10. Notable firsts accomplished at Hucknall were the first flight of the Merlin installed in a Mustang, the world's first turboprop flight by the Trent Meteor and the world's first manned jet-borne operation by the Flying Bedstead. A history of Hucknall flight development is in preparation. Today, Hucknall is a production centre but the Test Facilities side is as strong as ever with numerous static testbeds capable of testing engines up to 140,000lbs thrust. These facilities include the ability to cryogenically freeze engines, simulation of torrential rain, effect of multiple birdstrikes and to purposely induce catastrophic failures such as fan blade release, all whilst the engine is running at high power. The Heritage Trust has a thriving section at Hucknall, housed in one of the old indoor testbeds. Average attendance on Wednesday mornings is between 40 and 50 members. Most are involved in some activity or other, not the least being the restoration of engines to display standard. There is a library of books, videos and films, and a historical archive. Thousands of Merlin and Griffon drawings are held, many of which are being restored by a team to prevent deterioration. The drawing archive is the source of information for those wishing to maintain these engines in airworthy condition, the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight is its main customer, others are model makers. Although the Company's flight operations ceased in 1971, Hucknall still occasionally plays host to aircraft as a venue for the odd special event or anniversary. (Information extracted from the Rolls-Royce Web-site)

Date: c 1930

Organisation Reference: NCCC001129

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