Low flying Spitfire

On a recent visit to some friends in Tees side I came across a rather interesting roundabout just out side Thornaby so time to stop in close and do a bit of digging.

Just down the road is the Douglas Bader Junior School which is a bit of hint there are some RAF links along with some of the local road names.

Just off the foot path next to the roundabout is the biggest clue which is an old airfield map set in a replica 3 blade propeller.

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And zooming in you can see a bit more detail on the old runway plan.

During WW2 RAF Thornaby on Tees was home to 608 squadron that was a fighter squadron with bomber squadrons 106 and 185 but I guess they would need a much bigger roundabout to put a model Handley Page Hampden on it.

Unfortunately the Spitfire is only a full size replica and installed on the roundabout in 2007.

But it does look great from any angle.

After the war the airfield became part of coastal command flying Lockheed Hudsons. The airfield was closed in around 1958 and the runways briefly served as a motorsports venue before they were swallowed up in the urban sprawl that is Tees side.

Oddly enough I can’t find any connection with Douglas Bader and RAF Thornaby but he did open the junior School that is named after him in 1971 which I guess is good enough.