Series
War Office, Army Air Transport Training and Development Centre and predecessor, and...
Catalogue reference: AIR 66
What's it about?
AIR 66
This series consists of a selection of reports of the Army Airborne Transport Development Centre, the Army Air Transport Training and Development Centre, the Transport Command Development Unit and the Air Transport Development Flight. Most of the...
Full description and record details
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Reference (The unique identifier to the record described, used to order and refer to it)
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AIR 66
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Title (The name of the record)
- War Office, Army Air Transport Training and Development Centre and predecessor, and Air Ministry, Transport Command Development Unit and successors: Reports
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Date (When the record was created)
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1944-1992
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Description (What the record is about)
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This series consists of a selection of reports of the Army Airborne Transport Development Centre, the Army Air Transport Training and Development Centre, the Transport Command Development Unit and the Air Transport Development Flight. Most of the reports concern technical trials of a wide range of equipment and operations, including the parachuting of ammunition and other equipment.
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Related material (A cross-reference to other related records)
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Related material can be found in: AIR 38
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Held by (Who holds the record)
- The National Archives, Kew
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Legal status (A note as to whether the record being described is a Public Record or not)
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Public Record(s)
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Language (The language of the record)
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English
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Physical description (The amount and form of the record)
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779 files and volumes
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Access conditions (Information on conditions that restrict or affect access to the record)
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Open unless otherwise stated
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Immediate source of acquisition (When and where the record was acquired from)
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From 1981 Ministry of Defence
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Accruals (Indicates whether the archive expects to receive further records in future)
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Series is accruing
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Administrative / biographical background (Historical or biographical information about the creator of the record and the context of its creation)
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In January 1944 the RAF's AFTDU was renamed Air Transport Tactical Development Unit (ATTDU) and moved to Netheravon: in August 1945 it was styled Transport Command Development Unit (TCDU) moving successively to Harwell November 1945 and Brize Norton January 1946.
In May 1946 AATDC also moved to Brize Norton to co-operate with TCDU, being joined by an American Airborne Detachment. Keeping the same abbreviation, AATDC was re-styled Army Airtransport Training Development Centre in June 1949, moving with TCDU to RAF Abingdon. In March 1951 AATDC moved to RAF Old Sarum working with Joint Warfare Establishment there.
TCDU was replaced in 1950 by an Air Transport Development Flight (within Flying Wing RAF Abingdon) achieving status of a separate unit October 1951 as the Transport Command Development Flight (TCDF), moving to Benson in January 1956 and disbanding in February 1957.
It was reformed as the Air Movements Development Unit (AMDU) at Abingdon in March 1958 being renamed in May 1965 the Air Transport Development Unit (ATDU).
The Joint Helicopter Development Unit (JHDU) was formed in 1968 at Old Sarum as part of JATE absorbing AATDC's Helicopter Section. Subsequently it was decided to base JATE at Abingdon. Accordingly HQ JATE moved there in 1970, the remaining elements following between April 1971 and February 1973. By then AATDC and ATDU had effectively been merged. The 1974 Defence Review led to the transfer of JATE to Brize Norton between November 1975 and February 1976, with December 1975 as the formal date for the establishment of HQ JATE at Brize Norton.
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Record URL
- https://beta.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/id/C2121/
Catalogue hierarchy
This record is held at The National Archives, Kew
Within the department: AIR
Records created or inherited by the Air Ministry, the Royal Air Force, and related...
You are currently looking at the series: AIR 66
War Office, Army Air Transport Training and Development Centre and predecessor, and Air Ministry, Transport Command Development Unit and successors: Reports