An airport was opened on the site on 16 July 1938 by the Secretary of State for Air, Kingsley Wood.[3] During World War II, it was a base for Royal Air Force fighters. Situated where the valley of the River Lea cuts its way through the north-east end of the Chiltern Hills, the airport occupies a hill-top location, with a roughly 40 m (130 ft) drop-off at the western end of the runway[4][5][6]