White Waltham Airfield and the ATA
An online talk by Dr Richard Marks
The Second World War was the first conflict in which aircraft played a major role.
The Royal Air Force expanded hugely in the late 1930s in anticipation of a probable global conflict, and needed massive numbers of new state of the air aircraft. Losses would also need to be replaced quickly, with aircraft to be delivered directly to squadrons ready for service. But how was this to be done ? The system used in the First World War of sending a pilot to collect a new aeroplane from an aircraft park just would not work. So, something else was needed. The Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) was created in 1940 to support the RAF by ferrying new, damaged and repaired aircraft to where they needed to be. The men and women of the ATA were expected, and did, fly anything that the RAF was using with little training other than a copy of the pilots notes.
This is their story, and the story of the ATA headquarters at White Waltham Airfield.
2 - 3.15pm
This is an online talk using Zoom technology and so pre-booking is required. Bookings close one day before the event.
Image: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons
About Berkshire Family History Society
This talk is organised by Berkshire Family History Society CIO, a registered charity number 1204390.
