Editing Croydon Airport (section)

==History==
[[File:Aa oldcroydonairport.jpg|thumb|right|Area around Croydon Airport as it was in the 1920s or 1930s]]

===Origin===
In December 1915, [[Beddington]] Aerodrome was established – one of a number of small airfields around London that were created for protection against [[Zeppelin]] airship raids during the [[First World War]]. In January 1916, the first two aircraft, [[Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2|B.E.2C]]s, arrived at the aerodrome as part of Home Defence. [[Waddon]] Aerodrome opened in 1918 as part of the adjoining [[National Aircraft Factory]] No. 1, to serve aircraft test flights. The two airfields were on each side of Plough Lane, Beddington to the west and Waddon to the east.

Beddington Aerodrome became a large Reserve Aircraft and Training aerodrome for the [[Royal Flying Corps]]. After the end of the [[First World War]] the aerodrome became an important training airfield for the newly formed [[Royal Air Force]]. During 1919, Prince Albert (later [[George VI]]) gained his "[[Aircrew brevet|wings]]" here with No. 29 Training Squadron, the first member of the royal family to learn to fly. His elder brother, the Prince of Wales (later [[Edward VIII]]), also received flying training with No. 29 Training Squadron at Beddington during 1919.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1919/1919%20-%200473.html?search=Prince%20Albert|title=prince {{!}} prince albert {{!}} rome {{!}} 1919 {{!}} 0473 {{!}} Flight Archive|website=Flightglobal.com|access-date=27 December 2017}}</ref>

The following units were also here at some point:<ref name="ABCT">{{cite web|url=https://www.abct.org.uk/airfields/airfield-finder/croydon-beddington-london-waddon/ |title=Croydon (Beddington) (London) (Waddon) |publisher=[[Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust]]|access-date=11 April 2022}}</ref>
{{columns-list|colwidth=50em|
* No. 17 Reserve Aeroplane Squadron
* No. 17 Reserve Squadron
* No. 17 Training Squadron
* No. 19 Reserve Squadron
* 24th Aero Squadron
* No. 40 Training Squadron
* No. 65 Reserve Squadron
}}

Beddington and Waddon aerodromes were combined to become Croydon Aerodrome, the gateway for all international flights to and from London. The new, single aerodrome opened on 29 March 1920, replacing the temporary civil aerodrome at a Cavalry ground on Hounslow Heath.<ref name="cp-flypast">{{cite news|url=http://www.thisiscroydontoday.co.uk/news/Fly-past-mark-50th-anniversary-Croydon-Airport/article-1308837-detail/article.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130505143351/http://www.thisiscroydontoday.co.uk/news/Fly-past-mark-50th-anniversary-Croydon-Airport/article-1308837-detail/article.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 May 2013|title=Fly past to mark 50th anniversary of Croydon Airport|last=Millard|first=Neil|date=3 September 2009|work=The Croydon Post (online and in print)|publisher=[[Northcliffe Media]]|access-date=14 September 2009}}</ref> Plough Lane remained a public road crossing the site. Road traffic was halted when necessary, first by a man with a red flag and later by a gate.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.croydononline.org/history/places/airports.asp|title=Online communities|date=22 January 2016|access-date=9 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120131012117/http://www.croydononline.org/history/places/airports.asp|archive-date=31 January 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> The aerodrome stimulated a growth in regular scheduled flights carrying passengers, mail and freight, the first destinations being [[Paris–Le Bourget Airport|Paris]],<ref name="cp-flypast"/> [[Amsterdam]] and [[Rotterdam]]. Two flights daily from Paris were scheduled for ease of communication with London during the [[Paris Peace Conference, 1919|Paris Peace Conference]]. In 1923, flights to [[Berlin Tempelhof Airport]] began.

[[Penshurst Airfield]] was an alternative destination for airliners when Croydon was closed on account of fog. One such diversion was on 24 September 1921, when a [[de Havilland DH.18]] aircraft was diverted to Penshurst.<ref name=Flight290921>{{cite magazine|title=London Terminal Aerodrome |magazine=Flight |issue=29 September 1921 |page=649 |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1921/1921%20-%200649.html}}</ref> This situation lasted until Penshurst closed on 28 July 1936.<ref name=Flight300736>{{cite magazine|title=Penshurst Closed |magazine=Flight |issue=30 July 1936 |page=141 |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1936/1936%20-%202116.html?search=penshurst}}</ref>

Croydon was the first airport in the world to introduce [[air traffic control]], a [[control tower]],<ref name="croydonairport.org.uk">{{cite web|url=http://croydonairport.org.uk/The-Airport/The-History|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909054148/http://croydonairport.org.uk/The-Airport/The-History|url-status=dead|archive-date=9 September 2017|title=Historic Croydon Airport|first=Tavis|last=Basing|website=Croydonairport.org.uk|access-date=3 February 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1920/1920%20-%201100.html?search=control%20tower |title=Air conference at Waddon: the Vickers "Viking III" Amphibian |website=Flightglobal.com|access-date=3 February 2018}}</ref> and radio position-fixing procedures.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1922/1922%20-%200299.html?search=wireless%20position%20findingr |title=Wireless position-finding for aircraft |website=Flightglobal.com|access-date=3 February 2018}}</ref> The "aerodrome control tower", {{cvt|15|ft}} high with windows on all four sides, was commissioned on 25 February 1920 and provided basic traffic, weather and location information to pilots.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kaminski-Morrow |first1=David |title=Colourised images mark centenary of world's first control tower |url=https://www.flightglobal.com/safety/colourised-images-mark-centenary-of-worlds-first-control-tower/136903.article |work=Flight Global |date=25 February 2020 |language=en}}</ref> There, [[Jimmy Jeffs]] was its first air traffic control officer.<ref name=Hales2020>{{cite book |last1=Hales-Dutton |first1=Bruce |title=Cross-Channel Aviation Pioneers: Blanchard and Bleriot, Vikings and Viscounts |date=2020 |publisher=Pen and Sword |location=Yorkshire |isbn=978-1-52677-559-7 |page=97 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S90SEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA97 |language=en |chapter=8. On silver wings}}</ref>

On the formation of Britain's first national airline, [[Imperial Airways]], on 31 March 1924, Croydon became the new airline's operating base. Imperial Airways was the British Government's chosen instrument to develop connections with the U.K.'s extensive overseas interests. It was therefore from Croydon that Britain first developed its European and longhaul routes to India, Africa, the Middle and Far East, Asia, Africa and Australia (in conjunction with [[Qantas]]).

Following the [[1924 Imperial Airways de Havilland DH.34 crash|Imperial Airways de Havilland DH.34 crash]] of December 1924, Britain's first major civil aviation accident, conditions at Croydon came under criticism from the [[public inquiry]] that investigated the causes.<ref name=Times110225>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Croydon Air Accident. Court of Enquiry's Report |date=11 February 1925 |page=17 |issue=43883 |column=A, B, C, D}}</ref> The inquiry was Britain's first into an aviation accident which led to an [[Act of Parliament]], the Croydon Aerodrome Extension Act 1925. The Croydon Aerodrome Extension Act led to large scale expansion, redevelopment and construction of an improved new airport with airport buildings constructed adjacent to the Purley Way, Croydon.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1927/1927%20-%200943.html|title=The Royal Aero Club and Christmas|website=Flightglobal.com|access-date=3 February 2018}}</ref>

===Expansion===
[[File:Croydon Airport aerial view.jpg|thumb|Aerial view of Croydon Airport in 1925]]
[[File:Jewish refugees at Croydon airport 1939.jpg|thumb|Unsuccessful forced deportation of Jewish refugees at Croydon Airport, 30 March 1939]]
Under the provisions of the Croydon Aerodrome Extension Act 1925, the airport was greatly enlarged between 1926 and 1928, with a new complex of buildings being constructed alongside [[Purley Way]], including the first purpose-designed airport terminal and air traffic [[control tower]], the world's first airport hotel, and extensive hangars. The development cost £267,000 (£{{Formatprice|{{inflation|UK|267000|1928}}}} in today's prices) {{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}}. Plough Lane was closed permanently to let heavier airliners land and depart safely. The airport's terminal building and control tower were completed in 1928, and the old wooden air traffic control and customs building demolished.<ref name="controltowers.co.uk">{{cite web|url=http://www.controltowers.co.uk/C/Croydon.htm|title=Croydon Airport & RAF Croydon Airfield|work=controltowers.co.uk}}</ref> The new buildings and layout began operations on 20 January 1928, and were officially opened on 2 May 1928 by [[Lady Maud Hoare]].

Croydon was where regular international passenger services began, initially using converted wartime bombers, and the Croydon–[[Paris–Le Bourget Airport|Le Bourget]] route soon became the busiest in the world. [[Air traffic control]] was first developed here, as was the "[[Mayday]]" distress call.<ref name="croydonairport.org.uk"/> [[Amy Johnson]] took off from Croydon on 5 May 1930 for her record-breaking flight to Australia. In 1927, [[Charles Lindbergh]] arrived in ''[[Spirit of St. Louis]]'', to be greeted by an enthusiastic crowd of over 100,000 people.<ref name="croydonairport.org.uk"/> [[Winston Churchill]] also took flying lessons.

On the morning of 11 July 1936, Major [[Hugh Pollard (Major)|Hugh Pollard]], and [[Cecil Bebb]] left Croydon Airport for the [[Canary Islands]] in a [[de Havilland Dragon Rapide]] aircraft, where they picked up [[General Francisco Franco]], taking him to [[Spanish Protectorate of Morocco|Spanish Morocco]] and thereby helping to trigger the outbreak of the [[Spanish Civil War]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://randompottins.blogspot.com/2006_09_01_archive.html|title=RandomPottins|work=randompottins.blogspot.com}}</ref>

Imperial Airways used the [[Handley Page]] [[Handley Page H.P.42|HP42/HP45]] four-engined biplanes from Croydon, and the [[Armstrong Whitworth Atalanta]], which was the first monoplane airliner used by the airline, intended for use on the African routes. In March 1937 [[British Airways Ltd]] operated from Croydon, moving to [[Heston Aerodrome]] in May 1938. Imperial Airways, serving routes in the British Empire, and British Airways Ltd, serving European routes, were merged by the [[Neville Chamberlain|Chamberlain]] government in November 1938 to become [[British Overseas Airways Corporation]] (BOAC). Larger four-engined monoplanes, [[Armstrong Whitworth Ensign]] series (G-ADSR) came into service that year.{{citation needed|date=March 2024}}

The airport also hosted a much-publicised visit by [[Gertrud Scholtz-Klink]], leader of the National Socialist Women's League (NS-Frauenschaft) and rumoured to be a spy; historians have speculated that she landed in Britain to cultivate German spies living here, in the run-up to WWII.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.historyextra.com/article/premium/when-hitlers-perfect-woman-came-call|title=When Hitler's perfect woman came to call|newspaper=History Extra|access-date=9 December 2016}}</ref>

===Second World War===

When the [[World War II|Second World War]] started in September 1939, Croydon Airport was closed to civil aviation but played a vital role as a fighter station during the [[Battle of Britain]]. [[No. 92 Squadron RAF|No. 92 Squadron]] flew [[Supermarine Spitfires]] from RAF Croydon during the early part of the Second World War and the Battle of Britain.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cambridgemilitaryhistory.com/2015/05/13/mk1-supermarine-spitfire-to-be-sold-to-benefit-raf-veterans-and-wildlife-charity/|title=MK1 Supermarine Spitfire to be sold to benefit RAF Veterans and Wildlife Charity|work=Cambridge Military History|date=13 May 2015}}</ref>

The following units were here at some point:<ref name="ABCT"/>
{{columns-list|colwidth=20em|
* [[No. 1 Squadron RAF]]
* [[No. 1 Squadron RCAF]]
* [[No. 2 Squadron RAF]]
* [[No. 3 Squadron RAF]]
* [[No. 10 Squadron RAF]]
* [[No. 17 Squadron RAF]]
* [[No. 22 Squadron RAF]]
* [[No. 32 Squadron RAF]]
* [[No. 39 Squadron RAF]]
* [[No. 41 Squadron RAF]]
* [[No. 72 Squadron RAF]]
* [[No. 83 Squadron RAF]]
* [[No. 84 Squadron RAF]]
* [[No. 85 Squadron RAF]]
* [[No. 92 Squadron RAF]]
* [[No. 93 Squadron RAF]]
* [[No. 111 Squadron RAF]]
* [[No. 116 Squadron RAF]]
* [[No. 145 Squadron RAF]]
* [[No. 147 Squadron RAF]]
* [[No. 167 Squadron RAF]]
* [[No. 207 Squadron RAF]]
* [[No. 271 Squadron RAF]]
* [[No. 285 Squadron RAF]]
* [[No. 287 Squadron RAF]]
* [[No. 302 Polish Fighter Squadron]]
* [[No. 317 Polish Fighter Squadron]]
* [[No. 414 Squadron RCAF]]
* [[435 Transport and Rescue Squadron|No. 435 Squadron RCAF]]
* [[437 Transport Squadron|No. 437 Squadron RCAF]]
* [[No. 501 Squadron RAF]]
* [[No. 605 Squadron RAF]]
* [[No. 607 Squadron RAF]]
* [[No. 615 Squadron RAF]]
}}
;Units:
{{columns-list|colwidth=25em|
* [[No. 1 Aircraft Delivery Flight RAF]] (January 1942 - July 1944){{sfn|Sturtivant|Hamlin|Halley|1997|p=47}}
* [[No. 110 Wing RAF|No. 110 (Transport) Wing RAF]] (July 1944 - February 1946){{sfn|Sturtivant|Hamlin|Halley|1997|p=321}}
* [[No. 143 Gliding School RAF]] (May 1945 - December 1946){{sfn|Sturtivant|Hamlin|Halley|1997|p=166}}
* No. 405 Aircraft Repair Flight
* No. 405 Repair & Salvage Unit
* No. 409 Repair & Salvage Unit
* No. 3202 Servicing Commando
* [[List of RAF Regiment units#Flights|No. 4007 Anti-Aircraft Flight RAF Regiment]]
}}

====Battle of Britain====
On 15 August 1940, Croydon Airport was attacked in the first major air raid on the London area. At around 6.20 pm 22 [[Messerschmitt Bf 110]] and [[Messerschmitt Bf 109]] fighter-bombers of ''Erpr.Gr.210'' mounted a final raid of the day, intended for [[RAF Kenley]] nearby, but attacked Croydon (four miles further north) in error. The armoury was destroyed, the civilian airport terminal building was badly damaged, and a hangar was damaged by cannon fire and blast. Another hangar and about forty training aircraft in it went up in flames. Six airfield personnel died (four airmen from [[No. 111 Squadron RAF|No. 111 Squadron]], an officer of [[No. 401 Squadron RCAF|No. 1 Squadron RCAF]], and a female telephonist from Station HQ). Factories next to Croydon Airport took the worst of the bombing. The British NSF factory (making electrical components) was almost entirely destroyed, and the [[Bourjois]] perfume factory gutted. The [[Rollason Aircraft and Engines|Rollason Aircraft]] factory also received bomb hits and accounted for many of the 62 civilians (including five women) killed and 192 injured. Eight of the attacking aircraft were shot down by the Hurricanes of [[No. 32 Squadron RAF#Second World War|32]] and 111 Squadrons.<ref>Ramsey, "After the Battle"{{clarify|date=September 2022}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=Citation is to [[After the Battle]] magazine but no issue number so impossible to verify (there are 195 issues)|date=September 2022}}

=== Post-war developments and final closure ===
[[File:Croydon Airport 1945.png|thumb|Aerial photograph of Croydon Airport in 1945]]
Following the end of the war, it was realised that post-war airliners and cargo aircraft would be larger and that air traffic would intensify. The urban spread of south London and the growth of surrounding villages had enclosed Croydon Airport and left it little room for expansion. [[Heathrow Airport|Heathrow]] was therefore designated as London's airport.{{citation needed|date=March 2024}}

Croydon returned to civil control in February 1946; a diagram in the issue of ''[[Flight International|Flight]]'' magazine dated 11 April shows {{convert|1250|yd|m}} ground run in the 170–350 direction, {{convert|1150|yd|m}} 060-240 and {{convert|1100|yd|m}} 120–300 (''the numbers are degrees clockwise from north''). Northolt opened to the airlines soon after that, cutting Croydon's traffic, but the September 1946 ABC Guide shows 218 departures a week to Belfast, Dublin, Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow (Renfrew), Jersey, Guernsey, and several continental airports. A year later there were 56 departures a week, mostly [[British European Airways|BEA]] [[de Havilland Dragon Rapide]]s that weeks later left Croydon for good.{{citation needed|date=March 2024}}

It was decided in 1952 that the airport would eventually be closed, as [[Blackbushe Airport]] in [[Hampshire]] and [[RAF Northolt|Northolt Aerodrome]] in [[Middlesex]] could accommodate European flights during the 1950s. The last scheduled flight from Croydon departed at 18:15 on 30 September 1959,<ref name="cp-flypast"/> followed by the last aircraft (a private flight), at 19:45;<ref name="cp-flypast"/> the airfield officially closed at 22:20.<ref name="cp-milestone">{{cite news|title=Airport milestone marked by flypast|last=Austen|first=Ian|date=7 October 2009|work=The Croydon Post|publisher=[[Northcliffe Media]]|location=Croydon, UK}}</ref>

On 27 September 2009, to mark the 50th anniversary of the closing of the airport, eleven [[light aircraft]], including eight biplanes, staged a flypast.<ref name="cp-flypast"/><ref name="cp-milestone"/> A gold laurel leaf tribute was laid in the [[control tower]] to mark the anniversary.<ref name="cp-milestone"/>