Ken Ellis contrasts the legacy of two famous aircraft manufacturers, Handley Page and de Havilland
Not all airfields owe their heritage to frontline squadrons, conversion and training units or experimental flying. A significant number were adjacent to factories and were the bases for the maiden flights of types that changed the course of aeronautical history and the debuts of tens of thousands of aircraft fresh off the production line.
Today, only a handful of Britain’s airfields function as assembly lines and flight test centres. The most prolific is Warton in Lancashire, home to BAE Systems and the Eurofighter Typhoon. Nearby is Samlesbury, no longer a venue for flying, but a massive factory heavily involved in the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter programme.
At another BAE Systems plant at Brough, near Hull, the Hawk advanced trainer is built. Once completed, they are flown westwards over the Pennines to Warton for test and delivery.
In Somerset is Yeovil, the ancestral home of Westland. Known as AgustaWestland from 2000, last year the enterprise adopted the new name of Leonardo Helicopter Division. Yeovil builds Merlin and Wildcat military and AW189 search and rescue helicopters.
But there w…
