RAF Blakelaw

RAF Blakelaw
Near Kenton Bar, Tyne and Wear in England
RAF Blakelaw
Shown within Tyne and Wear
Coordinates 55°00′03″N 001°39′45″W / 55.00083°N 1.66250°W / 55.00083; -1.66250Coordinates: 55°00′03″N 001°39′45″W / 55.00083°N 1.66250°W / 55.00083; -1.66250
Type Royal Air Force station
Site information
Owner Air Ministry
Operator Royal Air Force
Site history
Built 1939 (1939)
In use 1939-1945 (1945)
Battles/wars Battle of Britain
No.13 Group Fighter Command, Europe December 1939 - May 1945

RAF Blakelaw (sometimes known as RAF Newcastle) was a Royal Air Force station which acted as headquarters for No.13 Group during the Second World War and which was located in Blakelaw, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England.

Function

The station was established in Spring 1940 to act as headquarters for No.13 Group whose area encompassed North of the Humber and all of Scotland.[1] No.13 Group merged with No. 14 Group in July 1943.[2]

Operations room (55°00′04″N 1°39′47″W / 55.001°N 1.663°W / 55.001; -1.663 (Operations room))
The operations room, responsible for directing RAF aircraft in the No. 13 Group area, was located in a bunker at Kenton Bar. It was fully operational by December 1939. When No.13 Group merged with No. 14 Group in July 1943 the operations room was converted for use as a sector operations room and continued in that use until Summer 1945. The operations room was used as a regional war room from the early 1950s until the early 1960s.[3]

Filter room (54°59′46″N 1°40′05″W / 54.996°N 1.668°W / 54.996; -1.668 (Filter room))
The Filter room, responsible for filtering large quantities of intelligence on enemy activity before it was passed to the operations room, was located in a bunker at Blakelaw Quarry. It was fully operational by late 1940. When No.13 Group merged with No. 14 Group in July 1943 the filter room was taken out of use. The filter room was acquired by Newcastle City Council and was used as a civil defence centre from 1952 until 1968.[2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Site Name: Kenton Bar - 13 Group Fighter Command Headquarters and Region 1 Regional War Room". Subterranea Britannica. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  2. 1 2 "Blakelaw 13 Fighter Group Filter room". Pastscape. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  3. ↑ "RAF Blakelaw 13 Group Fighter Command". Bunker 13. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
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