About Raf Hixon
Royal Air Force Hixon or more simply RAF Hixon was a Royal Air Force station located on the north western edge of the village of Hixon in Staffordshire, England. The airfield was east of Stafford and bounded at the west and north by railways. After opening in 1942, it served as a base for No. 30 Operational Training Unit and, after the OTU left up until its closure in 1957, it served as a satellite site for No. 16 Maintenance Unit based at RAF Stafford. HistoryPermission was granted to build a base at Hixon in August 1941 with opening coming on 13 May 1942. The base was to be used for operational flying, but instead it was used as a training environment for Bomber aircrews flying Vickers Wellington aircraft on No. 30 OTU, Curtiss Tomahawks and Hawker Hurricanes on 1686 Bomber (Defence) Training Flight (BDTF) and Bristol Blenheims flown by No. 12 (Pilots) Advanced Flying Unit ((P)AFU). It was originally intended to be a No. 7 Group asset, but when it was handed over to the Royal Air Force from the contractors in June 1942, No. 92 Group became its owner. Even then there was another change; it became a No. 93 Group asset six weeks later. As a night bomber training unit, crews from Hixon were often sent on missions to France and sometimes even Germany to drop propaganda leaflets (PsyOps). These missions were often called after their codename, 'Nickel Raids'. These night-time raids were just as dangerous as actual bombing runs as the enemy had no way of determining that they were only dropping leaflets.
Raf Hixon Description
Royal Air Force Hixon or more simply RAF Hixon was a Royal Air Force station located on the north western edge of the village of Hixon in Staffordshire, England. The airfield was east of Stafford and bounded at the west and north by railways. After opening in 1942, it served as a base for No. 30 Operational Training Unit and, after the OTU left up until its closure in 1957, it served as a satellite site for No. 16 Maintenance Unit based at RAF Stafford. HistoryPermission was granted to build a base at Hixon in August 1941 with opening coming on 13 May 1942. The base was to be used for operational flying, but instead it was used as a training environment for Bomber aircrews flying Vickers Wellington aircraft on No. 30 OTU, Curtiss Tomahawks and Hawker Hurricanes on 1686 Bomber (Defence) Training Flight (BDTF) and Bristol Blenheims flown by No. 12 (Pilots) Advanced Flying Unit ((P)AFU). It was originally intended to be a No. 7 Group asset, but when it was handed over to the Royal Air Force from the contractors in June 1942, No. 92 Group became its owner. Even then there was another change; it became a No. 93 Group asset six weeks later. As a night bomber training unit, crews from Hixon were often sent on missions to France and sometimes even Germany to drop propaganda leaflets (PsyOps). These missions were often called after their codename, 'Nickel Raids'. These night-time raids were just as dangerous as actual bombing runs as the enemy had no way of determining that they were only dropping leaflets.