Coventry / Baginton Airport

A good pictorial on the airport, many of its visitors etc. - link. I used to cycle to it as kid, watch stuff go in and out.

Nice site. We flew from there to Amsterdam about 8 years ago for a short break. It was an experience! On the way back they sent a larger plane (757) and when we hit the runway the force of the braking was immense. The pilot came over the PA system: "I'm sorry if you're wearing the seat in front, but we have to brake hard on these short runways." We got greeted by the single immigration official who was quite chirpy and friendly. Not sure it'll see passenger flights again. We went to a thing called 'Airbase' a few years back with the kids (who enjoyed going in the planes). Driving around the Baginton side of the airport was like being in a JG Ballard novel, with overgrown car parks and bits of plane everywhere.

Coventry airport in WW2 was used as a fighter station by the RAF. Flapdoodle, good job you're not on the ground behind one when it starts up to take off, the ground shakes and the heat would incinerate you.

Way back when (the 60s), there used to be three or four DC4's or similar just inside the gate, all in various states of disrepair, and I was hoping to see a photo of them. There was a photo of similar aircraft sitting by the tower but they looked to be in a flyable state.

Another website here which very briefly documents wartime activity - link. I don't know about you, but I find it really annoying that so little has been made of the fact that so much happened there, and that more could have happened had the authorities allowed for a hard strip way before the airport got one. All of the history is wasted, and the only way to find it is to grub about on little websites. I guess that we should be glad that anybody took the trouble to produce what we have.

As you can see from Mike's link the crack 308 Polish squadron were based at Baginton on the night of the November 1940 Blitz but were refused permission to take off and engage the enemy despite the fact that their Hurricane fighters were cleared for night flying. The base commander was later commended for his inaction!

Well done Mike I saw that page yrs ago and added it to my favourites but it then disappeared!! Thanks to you I've now got a copy of all the info That's a chunk of my Saturday gone. My first ever flight in anything was in this Dove at the Cov airshow way back when. I used to cycle up there as a boy too, with a couple of mates, in the late 60's and the 70's to plane-spot all the aircraft (Carvairs/Viscounts/even Constellations!) and wonder what it was like to fly them. So having just retired after 20,000hrs+ flying all sorts of planes it proves that old phrase "be careful what you wish for!!" Thankfully the runway there now is longer than it was in the 70s/80's when I last did a few trips through Baginton.

I have previously mentioned in other posts that almost all of my working career has been spent in civil aviation. This has included three periods working at Coventry Airport. The last one was connected with the proposal and later establishing of the Post Office at Coventry - the massive inland hub of Parcelforce, which of course was constructed on the south side of Coventry Airport. At the time of its conception, Parcelforce were operating up to 14 flights per night connecting points in the UK with the central hub, as well outward flights to other airports on Continental Europe. Unfortunately the flying side no longer happens, its traffic having been committed to road many years ago. However, the two Parcelforce hubs continue to thrive and provide literally hundreds of jobs to people of Coventry and Warwickshire. I have been very fortunate in that my jobs have enabled me to combine my love of photography with my love of transport, and as well as photographing the railways of Coventry since 1970, I have been photographing most of the aviation happenings at Coventry Airport since 1972. My first job at Coventry Airport (not Baginton, nor Aerodrome) started in 1977. It must be admitted at that time, things happened rather slowly but more of interest occurred than most people would ever have imagined. It was in 1990 that Coventry Airport really came into its own, with the full establishment of the Parcelforce Air Service and the airport opening 24 hours Monday through Friday, rather than the 0730 - 2200 it was previously. Coventry later became the last mainstay in the World of the surviving Vickers airliners (one Vanguard/Merchantman and 4 Viscounts each weeknight), which encouraged enthusiasts from many countries to go without sleep and watch the nocturnal happenings at this once very sleepy airport. At least 2 commercially made DVDs were available as well as footage on sites such as YouTube. The largest jetliner to have flown into Coventry was an Airbus A300F freighter of the Dutch airline Schreiner. This arrived early evening 11th January 2000 with a very large consignment of inbound cargo. It didn't depart until the following morning. In the background are two of the then large DC3 Pollution fleet operated by Coventry based Air Atlantique, along with the now well-know Shackleton, which was then in its very early days of preservation. The Airbus lifted off having used less than 3000 feet of runway.

Those are the aircraft in question Mike, mentioned about three-quarters of the way through Barry Clay's collection of clippings, notes and photographs. Rather than DC4's, they were Canadair North Star variants, DC4's licence-built in Canada with British engines. Four were flown into Coventry in 1962; only one flew out. The remaining three were all scrapped at Coventry in 1965.

I remember them well. I guess they made one good one out of all four. The remaining three looked very sad, bits missing and all. They still fly DC-4s in Canada up in the north, doing the provisions runs for the communities in the high Arctic - link.

Re the 3000ft, I used to park on the top of Terminal 2 parking lot at Heathrow, sitting watching the aircraft go in and out. So, there was this little Viscount, engines giving everything that they had got, storming along the runway as only Viscounts know how, and finally after a lot of huffing and puffing, it made it off the ground and almost appeared to house hop as it gained altitude.

Next in line was a 747, and in what looked to be only half of the distance, rotated and just went.. gone, out of sight into the clouds.

If you are into Vanguards, you have got to see this. They don't make them like this anymore, not the aircraft or the crew - link.

I would imagine that landing on Baginton would be very similar, it being only a mile long in both directions.

If you lived in Baginton, as I did for 50 years, it was always Baginton Airport

My first job after leaving school in 1949 was at A.W.A. as a fitter improver on the spar section.

Wasn't it originally Baginton Aerodrome?

Mike H, have only just caught up with this topic - brilliant film of the Vanguard - and the rest of the posts, but going back, I can't make out what Dutchman meant by commended for his inaction. Whoever he's talking about to the way I think he would have had no say, in other words he would have been under strict orders from a much Higher Command. To my mind there was a huge amount of flak when raiders were about and a good many balloons, no one would risk a friendly fire episode. But saying that, the RA F boys gave me and my mates an hair-raising ride a couple of times, completely deliberate and justified. There was a Junkers 88 nosed dived into a field near Wolvey, can't remember if it was from the big raid or some other. If only we had pictures of the Mosquitos being put through their paces over the fields of Brinklow, what an airshow that would be. Hope I've not tainted this topic, apologies if I have. Kaga.

Kaga, the squadron based at Baginton, which was cleared for night fighting at the time, was told NOT to intervene in what was happening over the skies of Coventry on the night of November 14, 1940. I guess that the powers that be at the time really didn't want to let on that they knew something bad was going to happen. The base commander, for his inaction (following instructions) was commended. I would imagine that 308 Squadron (on the night) was the ONLY one to ever be commended for doing absolutely nothing in the face of adversity. I have no doubt that the pilots would have been very annoyed.

Three of the Polish airmen at Baginton were killed on the ground by a parachute mine.