Full WW2 control tower details and photos for this wartime airfield are coming soon. Please check back later as this is work progress. If you would like to contribute information or photos please get in touch.
Overview
RAF Tatenhill was a wartime airfield at near Burton upon Trent in Staffordshire. During the Second World War it served as a bomber OTU satellite field supporting advanced crew training and later specialist explosives training. opened in 1941 as a satellite for bomber training; later transitioned to the RAF School of Explosives after wartime incidents affected local munitions storage.
Like most British wartime stations, RAF Tatenhill functioned as a small, self-contained town. Beyond the runways were technical areas for maintenance and armament, dispersed hardstandings to reduce losses during raids, and domestic sites where airmen, WAAFs or naval personnel lived, trained, and waited for the next tasking. On operational nights or intensive training days the routine revolved around briefings, meteorology, aircraft servicing, and a tight rhythm of take-off and recovery windows.
Who flew from here
Aircraft commonly associated with wartime flying here: Vickers Wellington, Avro Anson, Airspeed Oxford, Miles Master.
Records for RAF Tatenhill show a mix of operational and support activity. Some units were long-term residents with a stable identity, while others arrived as detachments – often for conversion training, gunnery work-ups, dispersal, or to cover a specific operational requirement. That pattern is typical of the RAF’s wartime system: stations were constantly re-tasked as the air war shifted from defence to offence, from the Battle of the Atlantic to the bomber offensive, and later to preparations for the invasion of Northwest Europe.
- Satellite for No. 27 OTU (Lichfield/Wheaton Aston)
- Training flights with Wellington bombers, plus Anson and Oxford for navigation/bombing/crew work
- Later Miles Master used in the training ecosystem; post-incident the site was linked with explosives/armament instruction
Operations and highlights
Supported the steady pipeline of bomber crews as the air war intensified, functioning as a relief field to spread traffic and reduce accident risk.
Post-war and late-war use tied to explosives and ordnance expertise as the RAF professionalised armament handling.
Research tip: if you’re tracing people connected to the airfield, look for unit Operational Record Books (ORBs), station diaries, and local newspaper reports. Squadron codes, aircraft serials and incident cards can often tie a single photograph to a precise date, aircraft and crew – turning a generic image into a documented historical moment.
Legacy and remains
Much of the site returned to civilian use; wartime layout – runways, pans and perimeter traces – can often be followed on aerial imagery.
Landscape and flying conditions: RAF Tatenhill’s geography influenced operations. Prevailing winds dictated runway selection, while local terrain and weather shaped training and safety. In winter, short daylight and low cloud increased the workload; in summer, longer hours enabled intensive training programmes and high sortie rates. These practical factors are often reflected in accident reports and ORBs, which mention crosswinds, icing, fog, and diversion landings.
Landscape and flying conditions: RAF Tatenhill’s geography influenced operations. Prevailing winds dictated runway selection, while local terrain and weather shaped training and safety. In winter, short daylight and low cloud increased the workload; in summer, longer hours enabled intensive training programmes and high sortie rates. These practical factors are often reflected in accident reports and ORBs, which mention crosswinds, icing, fog, and diversion landings.