Dunkeswell Aerodrome is an
airfield
An aerodrome ( Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for pub ...
in East
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. It is located approximately north of the town of
Honiton
Honiton ( or ) is a market town and civil parish in East Devon, situated close to the River Otter, north east of Exeter in the county of Devon. Honiton has a population estimated at 11,822 (based on mid-year estimates for the two Honiton Ward ...
and northeast
of
Exeter. It is a busy civilian airfield with a mix of
light aircraft
A light aircraft is an aircraft that has a maximum gross takeoff weight of or less.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 308. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997.
Light aircraft are used as utility aircraft co ...
,
microlight
Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and conventional three-axis control aircraft with aile ...
s and
parachuting.
Nearby () to the southwest is North Hill, an airstrip run by the local
gliding club.
Dunkeswell Aerodrome has a
CAA
CAA may refer to:
Law
* Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 of India
** Citizenship Amendment Act protests, Protests regarding the Citizenship (Amendment) Act
* Copyright transfer agreement, Copyright assignment agreement, to transfer copyright to ...
Ordinary Licence (Number P674) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction as authorised by the licensee (Air Westward Limited). The aerodrome is not licensed for night use.
Dunkeswell Airfield Heritage Centre, is situated to one side of the large propeller memorial.
History
The airfield opened in 1943, during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
, as RAF Dunkeswell. The station was originally planned as a
No. 10 Group,
RAF Fighter Command
RAF Fighter Command was one of the commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It served throughout the Second World War. It earned near-immortal fame during the Battle of Brita ...
, then a
No. 19 Group RAF Coastal Command
RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was founded in 1936, when the RAF was restructured into Fighter, Bomber and Coastal Commands and played an important role during the Second World War. Maritime Aviation ...
airfield, but was transferred for use by American units.
[www.controltowers.co.uk Dunkeswell](_blank)
/ref>
It was first used by the American United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
Antisubmarine Command, 479th Antisubmarine Group
The 479th Antisubmarine Group was a group of the United States Army Air Forces. Throughout its existence it was assigned to the Army Air Forces Antisubmarine Command. It was last based at RAF Podington, England. It was inactivated on 11 November ...
, as a base of operations to fly antisubmarine missions over the Bay of Biscay using specialized Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers from August until November 1943.
In November the United States Army Air Forces turned over the antisubmarine mission to the United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
and its Liberators were reassigned to Navy Patrol Bomber Squadron VPB-103
VPB-103 was a Patrol Bombing Squadron of the U.S. Navy. The squadron was established as Bombing Squadron 103 (VB-103) on 15 March 1943, redesignated as Patrol Bombing Squadron 103 (VPB-103) on 1 October 1944 and disestablished on 31 August 1945.
...
, Fleet Air Wing 7, which continued aerial antisubmarine operations from the station, the AAF aircraft being redesignated under the USN/USMC system of the time as PB4Y-1 Liberators. This was the first United States Navy unit to train with the RAF, later followed by VB-105 and VB-110. The Naval antisubmarine squadrons moved to RAF Upottery
RAF Upottery (also known as Smeatharpe) is a former World War II airfield in East Devon, England. The airfield is located near the village of Upottery, approximately north-northeast of the town of Honiton.
Opened in 1944, it was used by the ...
in November 1944.
/ref>
With the departure of the Americans, the RAF used the airfield from August 1945 to April 1946 for ferrying aircraft to the Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...
by No. 16 Ferry Unit RAF, RAF Transport Command. After September 1946 the station was put on care and maintenance status until the end of 1948, when it was sold by the Ministry of Defence.No. 208 Advanced Flying School RAF
The numero sign or numero symbol, №, (also represented as Nº, No, No. or no.), is a typographic abbreviation of the word ''number''(''s'') indicating ordinal numeration, especially in names and titles. For example, using the numero sign, t ...
(November 1951 - June 1954)
* No. 265 Maintenance Unit RAF (August 1946 - December 1948)
* Sub site for No. 267 Maintenance unit RAF (November 1946 - December 1948)
* No. 2778 Squadron RAF Regiment
* No. 2854 Squadron RAF Regiment
See also
*List of former Royal Air Force stations
This list of former RAF stations includes most of the stations, airfields and administrative headquarters previously used by the Royal Air Force.
The stations are listed under any former county or country name which was appropriate for the du ...
References
Citations
Bibliography
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunkeswell, RAF
Airports in South West England