Hatfield Aerodrome
| Hatfield Aerodrome | |||||||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Closed | ||||||||||||||
| Owner |
de Havilland Aircraft Company (1930 - 1960) Hawker Siddeley (1960 - 1977) British Aerospace (1977 - closure) |
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| Location |
Hatfield, Hertfordshire 3NM NE of St Albans |
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| In use | 1930 - 1994 | ||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 254 ft / 77 m | ||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 51°45′57″N 0°15′03″W / 51.76583°N 0.25083°WCoordinates: 51°45′57″N 0°15′03″W / 51.76583°N 0.25083°W | ||||||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||||||
 Hatfield Aerodrome
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Source: Pooley's Flight Guide United Kingdom & Ireland 1988
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Hatfield Aerodrome, formerly (IATA: HTF, ICAO: EGTH), was a private airfield and aircraft factory located in the town of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England from 1930 until its closure and redevelopment in the 1990s.
Geoffrey de Havilland, pioneering aircraft designer and founder of the de Havilland Aircraft Company purchased some farmland close to Hatfield as his existing site at Stag Lane, Edgware was being encroached upon by expanding housing developments in the London suburbs. Flying commenced in 1930, but the clubhouse buildings and adjacent recreational facilities, fuel pumps and sheds were not completed until 1933.
The ICAO code, EGTH, has subsequently been reallocated to Old Warden Aerodrome in Bedfordshire.
In 1934 significant works were undertaken at the site and a large factory and imposing Art Deco administration buildings were constructed together with a flying school building which also housed flying control. Later, an experimental block was added to the north of the factory. Production of aircraft, moved from Stag Lane and during this time principally consisted of a range of small biplanes such as the Moth family, DH.84 Dragon, DH.86 Express and DH.89 Dragon Rapide.
During the Second World War, de Havilland was most noted for its Mosquito fighter bomber, the famous 'Wooden wonder'. This was developed privately at Salisbury Hall, outside of Hatfield to avoid being targeted by German bombers. The Hatfield site itself was camouflaged but was bombed on 3 October 1940 by a Junkers Ju 88. Four bombs hit the '94 shop' building, killing 21, injuring 70 and disrupting work on the Mosquito. The Junkers 88 was hit and brought down by the crew of a Bofors gun on the airfield commanded by Sgt 'Mont' Chapman, crashing near East End Green Hertfordshire: the crew survived and were captured by local farm workers.
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