EGHH.Lat/Long 50 47 00N/ 01 50 18W .Grid ref SU 115980.34 feet ASL.Ident(RAF Hurn)"KU"(Red).Ident "HR".4 miles NNE of Bournemouth.USAAF Station #492.(1944 RT Callsign "Rumpus",HF/DF LO6)

RUNWAYS(1941):Concrete:26/08 2000x50 yds:17/35 1600x50 yds(Out of use July 2003):13/31 1130x50 yds:(abandoned after WW2).26/08 extended to total length of 2211 metres by 1996

Maps show Hurn in 1972(left) and in 1996(right)after runway extention

In 1950 Vickers Armstrong moved into the hangars vacated by BOAC and started production of Varsities.This was followed by Viscounts,and later,as the British Aircraft Corporation,production of the BAC-111.

Postcard showingV745D Viscount N7403 of Capital Airlines. Postcards showing(Left) Prototype BAC111 G-ASHG on it's First Flight 20th August 1963,and BAC111 N1544 of Braniff

Airline services continued but only at a low level,mainly to the Channel Islands .Other companies arrived,such as De Havillands ,to use the vacant hangars,and Airwork started operating the FLEET REQUIREMENTS UNIT in 1952.Another arrival was INDEPENDENT AIR TRANSPORT,later known as BLUE-AIR,a charter airline which closed in 1959.A short history of Blue-Air may be found by following the preceding link.In spite of economic ups and downs, Hurn Airport continued to survive throughout the following decades.On 1/4/69 the airport was purchased by the Bournemouth Corporation and Dorset County Council.This partnership continued to run the airport as "Bournemouth Airport"(later Bournemouth International Airport) until 1995,when it was sold to National Express.The intervening 25 years have seen many changes,perhaps the most important being the final departure of BAC in the 80s,On the plus side,the arrival of Flight Refuelling (FR aviation) and of Jet heritage,have served to keep Hurn very much "on the map".Airline services continue to be part of the business with a increasing number of charter flights in addition to a number of UK and European scheduled destinations.

This brief summary can be only that,and if you really want to get a detailed history of Hurn,I recommend the book"A History of Hurn Airport,by Mike Phipp,published by the RAeS in 1991.

Those with an interest in the Vickers Viscount should visit the Vickers Viscount Network Virtual Museum.

Alternatively,you may download the BAC-111 and Viscount Production Histories by clicking the links below

BAC-111 detailed Production list and History

The BAEG(Bournemouth Airport Enthusiast's Group) group at Yahoo provides very up-to-the-minute information on all movements etc. at Bournemouth.You need to follow the link and join the group to receive the Emails(Either individually or as a daily digest)