Fly Past

and Beaufighters of 9 OTU from
September 1942.
The ‘residents’ changed again
in August 1944 with the arrival
of Douglas Dakotas for the
newly established 109 OTU. The
unit became 1383 (Transport)
Conversion Unit a year later and
the RAF pulled out in late 1946.
Crosby reverted largely to
agriculture, and during the 1950s
the buildings lapsed into decay.
Thankfully, in 1960 Carlisle
Corporation recognised its
importance to both the city and

the region, transforming it into

Carlisle Airport. Stobart Aviation,

which also runs London Southend

Airport (previously Rochford),

acquired the site in 2009. The

name Carlisle Lake District Airport

was chosen to emphasise the

catchment area.

The pioneering Solway Aviation

Society opened a visitor centre

at the airfield in 1983. After much

hard work the first phase of a

real gem, the Solway Aviation

Museum, was inaugurated on May

18, 1996. This has blossomed into

an exceptional museum,

charting the history of Cumbrian

aviation through its display halls

and impressive aircraft park. It is

also an ideal place to follow the

activity at the expanding airport.

Coastal ‘heavies’

Head for the Scottish border,

north out of Carlisle along the A7

road, and to the east of Longtown

is a wartime airfield of the same

name. Opened in the summer of

1941 and closed five years later,

Longtown largely served as an

RLG for Crosby-on-Eden to the

south, Silloth to the southwest and

Annan, across the border.

Tasked with training Coastal

Command crews to handle four-

engined patrollers, 1674 Heavy

Conversion Unit (HCU) moved from

Aldergrove, near Belfast, in

name Carlisle Lake District Airport

The Solway Aviation Museum’s Vulcan B.2 XJ823 was fl own in on January 24, 1983. It is kept on

a disused taxi track alongside Runway 25, not far from the museum buildings.

Carlisle Airport’s tower and

terminal building.

Right

Displays within the Solway Aviation

Museum include much material on Crosby

and local airfi elds.

September 2018 FLYPAST 101