The RAF Dispersal Caravan, 1940
$179.00
Item Number: RAF083
The RAF Dispersal Caravan 1940
After the Battle of France and before the Battle of Britain began, Britain’s Royal Air Force realized the urgent need to provide Emergency Airfields all over Southern Britain that could be utilized as and when the Luftwaffe attacked their long established airfields… as the enemy would surely do and indeed did. These temporary airfields seldom had any kind of regular accommodation or other facilities. This meant accommodation, workshops and even messing facilities were usually found under canvas. Wooden dispersal huts which on normal, regular airfields were located next to parked aircraft were obviously non existant on these temporary locations. These huts were where pilots could rest and relax before being ‘scrambled’ once more to their adjacent Spitfires and Hurricanes.
A solution had to be found…
One enterprising Squadron Leader used his own pre war Holiday Caravan as his mobile temporary ‘Dispersal Hut’ for his pilots. After having the civilian caravan ‘camouflaged’ in standard RAF ‘camo’ of that period, the moveable ‘dispersal hut’ began to be copied by other squadrons. Soon the Air Ministry itself heard about this simple and practical solution and ordered several hundred from a manufacturer and soon they appeared on virtually every temporary as well as regular RAF airfield all over Britain. Some were even sent overseas to North Africa and into Sicily, Italy, and France (after D.Day).
Our model is typical of the original ‘1940 Battle of Britain’ design and is the perfect accessory for our pilots, groundcrew, and aircraft.
Released in NOVEMBER 2020.
