Panshanger Aerodrome 1940 Some 248 acres of agricultural land which was part of the Panshanger estate was released to the Air Ministry under the terms of the Emergency Powers Act (1939). The Air Ministry gave de Havilland at Hatfield the authority and responsibility to construct a decoy aircraft factory to divert enemy bombers from their facility in Hatfield some 6 miles away. The decoy factory was constructed and then in use from November 1940, the fields around being used as a Reserve Landing Ground (known as Holwell Hyde) for flying training. The decoy factory was constructed on what is now Moneyhole Lane Park.
