Raf Kidbrooke

RAF Kidbrooke was a Royal Air Force base, situated in Kidbrooke in south-east London, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The site was operational from 1917 to 1965 and was mainly used as a stores, maintenance and training facility. HistoryEstablished in 1917, the facility was initially a Royal Flying Corps storage depot, situated on both sides of the railway line close to Kidbrooke railway station. In 1917, several large storage warehouses and offices were constructed, that stretched for alongside both sides of the line, served by sidings and an extensive 2-foot gauge network. (The RFC became the RAF on 1 January 1918. )Kidbrooke was named No 1 Stores Depot in March 1920. It became No 1 Equipment Depot in February 1937 and No 1 Maintenance Unit in April 1938. It was disbanded as a stores in February 1947, though its facilities remained in use but managed from elsewhere. During the Second World War, the base was expanded to include a barrage balloon depot, providing balloons to defend London against low-flying enemy aircraft. This was also the base for the No 1 Balloon Centre and 901 Squadron (a barrage balloon squadron of the Auxiliary Air Force) and No 2 Installation Unit, responsible for constructing and repairing Chain Home radar station masts. On adjacent land to the north of the railway line, No. 141 Gliding School RAF for the Air Training Corps operated from October 1942 to December 1945, after which it transferred to RAF Gravesend and then RAF Detling in north Kent. After the war, the radar installation Unit transferred to RAF West Drayton in Buckinghamshire.

RAF Kidbrooke was a Royal Air Force base, situated in Kidbrooke in south-east London, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The site was operational from 1917 to 1965 and was mainly used as a stores, maintenance and training facility. HistoryEstablished in 1917, the facility was initially a Royal Flying Corps storage depot, situated on both sides of the railway line close to Kidbrooke railway station. In 1917, several large storage warehouses and offices were constructed, that stretched for alongside both sides of the line, served by sidings and an extensive 2-foot gauge network. (The RFC became the RAF on 1 January 1918. )Kidbrooke was named No 1 Stores Depot in March 1920. It became No 1 Equipment Depot in February 1937 and No 1 Maintenance Unit in April 1938. It was disbanded as a stores in February 1947, though its facilities remained in use but managed from elsewhere. During the Second World War, the base was expanded to include a barrage balloon depot, providing balloons to defend London against low-flying enemy aircraft. This was also the base for the No 1 Balloon Centre and 901 Squadron (a barrage balloon squadron of the Auxiliary Air Force) and No 2 Installation Unit, responsible for constructing and repairing Chain Home radar station masts. On adjacent land to the north of the railway line, No. 141 Gliding School RAF for the Air Training Corps operated from October 1942 to December 1945, after which it transferred to RAF Gravesend and then RAF Detling in north Kent. After the war, the radar installation Unit transferred to RAF West Drayton in Buckinghamshire.