Tatenhill

Tatenhill is a medium sized General Aviation field built, like so many, during the second world war. It stands about 5 miles west of Burton on Trent at an elevation of 439 feet. The field was built in 1941 as a satellite for Lichfield Airfield (a now disused field to the south which has been converted, as is so common, into an industrial estate) as a bomber crew training field and it continued in varied training functions until 1944 when it was used by a munitions unit after the disastrous explosion at Fauld.Flying at that time was limited to only a few flights a week as the explosion site still contained large amounts of live munition. After some years of disuse, when the ground around the runways was returned to agriculture, the airfield was obtained by Allied Breweries of Burton for use in connection with their business, being a suitable location for many of their visitors to fly in directly and also for the brewery to operate their own aircraft.

Over a period of time, the number and variety of aircraft flying out of the field gradually increased and, although still unlicensed, traffic levels were rising. Here are a few photos of Harvards i took last May at Tatenhill UK.

Canadian Car & Foundry Co CCFHarvard IV s/n 20310 North American AT-6C Harvard IIA s/n 111836