Hatfield has played an important role in the development of equipment for the British Army, Royal Air Force and Navy.
To mark Armed Forces Day, the Welwyn Hatfield Times looks at the impact of the town on the services.
De Havilland
Hatfield’s de Havilland Aircraft Company was intrinsically linked with aviation and the Royal Air Force, with their innovative designs becoming favourites with the service.
Introduced in 1932, the Tiger Moth biplane acted as the RAF’s primary training aircraft, with many pilots who served during the Second World War earning their wings in it.
Following the end of the war, it was replaced by another de Havilland design, the Chipmunk, as the company continued to supply the RAF with aircraft to train the next generation of pilots.
De Havilland’s most iconic and innovative plane, the Mosquito, is often credited with helping to alter the course of the Second World War.
With metals in short supply early on in the conflict and the RAF’s cumbersome bombers suffering heavy loses, Geoffrey de Havilland proposed an unarmed, twin-engine aircraft made from wood and canvas.
It was met with concern and reservation from the Air Ministry, but after tests in which the Mosquito demonstrated unparalleled mobility and speed, it was introduced into service in late 1941.
Operating at low-level at speeds in excess of 400mph, the "Wooden Wonder" allowed the RAF to attack precision targets and escape the area before the Axis powers could mount a response, demonstrated during daylight raids on Berlin and the Amiens prison raid, Operation Jericho.
More than 7,700 Mosquitos would be built by de Havilland, with the aircraft fulfilling a number of roles including pathfinding, photo-reconnaissance and naval strike attacks.
Post-war, de Havilland’s innovation continued, providing the RAF with jet fighters the Vampire and the Venom, as well as equipping the Fleet Air Arm with the supersonic Sea Vixen before the company was absorbed by Hawker Siddeley in 1960.
Hatfield House tank tests
Warfare changed forever in September 1916 when tanks arrived on the battlefield as part of the Somme Offensive, but a select few saw this new vehicle in action during tests at Hatfield House earlier that year.
Built in Lincoln in late 1915, His Majesty’s Land Ship Centipede – also known as Big Willie or Mother – was shipped down to Hertfordshire by rail and then driven to the house under the cover of night on January 28, 1916.
Chosen for its security and proximity to London, Hatfield House saw a number of demonstrations at the start of 1916 following the initial three-day trial period, with military personnel, politicians and King George V all attending to see the vehicle in action.
At the end of the First World War, Winston Churchill presented the 4th Marquess of Salisbury with a Mark I tank used in the trials. It would be displayed in the grounds of Hatfield House until 1969 before being moved to the Tank Museum in Bovington after falling into a state of disrepair.
HMS Tweed
During the Second World War, a number of National Savings campaigns were launched, with towns and villages going head-to-head to raise money for the armed forces.
As part of Warship Week, the 1942 National Savings campaign, Hatfield & District planned to raise £120,000 to equip the Royal Navy with a river class frigate.
A small ship designed for anti-submarine operations, the frigates and their crews served with distinction during the Battle of the Atlantic as German U-boats looked to sink Allied ships bringing supplies to Britain from America.
By the end of Warship Week, the people of Hatfield & District had raised more than £150,000, enough for the Royal Navy to build a river class frigate named HMS Tweed.
The Tweed launched in November 1942, with Hatfield adopting the ship at a ceremony at Countess Anne Science School in May 1943. A rectangular plaque bearing the district's coat of arms, mounted on a block of oak from Hatfield Park, was later installed on the ship.
HMS Tweed would go on to serve in convoy escort missions in the Atlantic, helping to sink U-536 just a year after being pressed into service.
The ship would meet its fate on January 7, 1944 when it was struck by a torpedo fired from U-305, slipping beneath the waves 600 miles west of Cape Ortegal, Spain. 83 lives were lost when the ship sank, while 44 were rescued by the nearby HMS Nene.
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