Airports and airfields Gallery

Birmingham Eurohub interior JLP01_10_50359

Birmingham International Airport, Elmdon, Birmingham, Bickenhill, Solihull, West Midlands. The information desk in the Eurohub terminal at Birmingham International Airport soon after its completion, with an overhead sign in the foreground.
The contract for the construction of a new terminal building at Birmingham International Airport started in September 1989. The Eurohub terminal formed part of a hub and spoke style airline operation, and combined domestic and international flights. It was served by British Airways and Birmingham European Airways. The building was constructed around a steel frame with concrete foundations. Across three floors were facilities for baggage handling, and passenger arrivals and departures. The contract was completed in June 1991 and the building was officially opened in October 1991. The terminal was later known as Terminal 2

© Historic England Archive

Flying Boat JRU01_01_109

TOWER BRIDGE, TOWER HILL, TOWER HAMLETS, GREATER LONDON. A Short Sunderland flying boat on the River Thames at Tower Bridge, with the bridge in the background, during the Battle of Britain Week.
The Battle of Britain Week was an annual celebration by the Royal Air Force of the victory in September 1940. In 1951 it ran from 10th - 16th September, and included a fly-past over London on 15th September. The Short Sunderland was developed by Short Brothers as a flying boat and patrol bomber for the RAF, and was introduced in 1938. A Sunderland was shown on the River Thames every September in the 1950s as part of the Battle of Britain Week celebration, until the aircraft type was retired from the RAF in the late 1950s. In 1951, a Sunderland flying boat was moored on the River Thames opposite the Tower of London from 12th September

© Historic England Archive

Thurleigh Airfield, Bedford 18945_22

Bedford Airfield, Bedfordshire. Thurleigh Airbase hosted the 8th US Airforce during the Second World War and was known as station 111. Shortly after the War, Thurleigh was developed as a testing facility (and became known as the Royal Aerospace Establishment Bedford) that included wind tunnels and a proposed five mile long runway (never completed). The base, of which this turning apron is part, was closed in 1993. Photographed in September 2000

© Historic England Archive