I AM writing with reference to your article Make old RAF base museum (Last Saturday’s Oxford Mail).

As a person who has been involved to a certain extent with aircraft museums, the RAF Museum at Hendon and the Shuttleworth Collection, since both took shape, I have to point out a number of mistakes in the article.

Also, I have a number of suggestions to make which may help Tony Baldry MP have a more and better informed argument to make to Parliament and the Ministry of Defence.

RAF Bicester was never a major bomber base. Second World War bomber bases were all situated in the east and north of England.

In fact a shot was never fired in anger from a plane based at RAF Bicester.

Like all the surrounding RAF stations, it was an Operational Training Unit (OTU), No 13.

The OTU trained aircrew for bombing missions – if they survived. It has to be remembered that 7,000, airmen lost their lives training with these units.

The Handley Page Halifax bomber depicted would never have operated out of Bicester.

The Blenheim crews that did train there had to use the grass runway, which became totally useless after heavy rain.

Later operations were transferred to RAF Finmere, five miles to the north, which was built by early 1942 with three concrete runways.

The only Halifax to fly from RAF Bicester was the prototype L7244, which was assembled there in October 1939, then flown out to RAF Boscombe Down.

The reason for RAF Bicester’s original condition all these years later is that RAF Finmere served all the flying needs that Bicester wasn’t able to cope with, but Bicester did supply a great deal of accommodation and mess facilities for the airmen.

Turning the ex-RAF station into a museum and heritage centre is no more than a pipe dream, not forgetting the millions of pounds that would be needed and the lack of aircraft to exhibit.

It would take many large museum organisations, already established in the exhibiting world in other fields of transport, who might be keen maybe lighten the strain on their facilities, to join in. Their knowledge and expertise would be invaluable.

My advice to Mr Baldry is that before he puts his well-meaning demands to Parliament, he goes out and studies the bigger picture on aviation museums, in order to get his facts right, or he may get shot down in flames.

TONY O’GORMAN, Main Street, Hethe