Royal Air Force Chedworth or more simply RAF Chedworth is a former
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
satellite
station located near
Chedworth
Chedworth is a village and civil parish in Gloucestershire, southwest England, in the Cotswolds. It is known as the location of Chedworth Roman Villa, administered since 1924 by the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beaut ...
,
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean.
The county town is the city of Gl ...
, England. It was used mostly for training during its existence and has been inactive since the 1980s.
History
Construction of the airfield began in late 1941 and it opened in April 1942 as a satellite station to
RAF Aston Down
Aston Down is in Gloucestershire, South West England, east of Minchinhampton, southeast of Stroud and west of Cirencester. The nearest settlement is the large village of Chalford, 1 mile (1.6 km) to the northwest.
The airfield was used ...
. The first users were detachments of
No. 52 Operational Training Unit (OTU), flying
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...
s and
Miles Magister
The Miles M.14 Magister is a two-seat monoplane basic trainer aircraft designed and built by the United Kingdom, British aircraft manufacturer Miles Aircraft. It was affectionately known as the ''Maggie''. It was authorised to perform aerobatics ...
s. In August two
flight
Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This can be a ...
s were transferred to Chedworth. On 15 January 1943, the flights were assigned to the
Flight Leaders School (FLS) within the OTU to teach tactics to fighter squadron and flight leaders. Chedworth proved to be too small and the FLS was transferred to
RAF Charmy Down
RAF Charmy Down is a former Royal Air Force (RAF) station in Somerset, England, approximately north-northeast of Bath and west of London.
Opened in 1941, it was used initially by the RAF and from 1943 by the United States Army Air Forces, pri ...
on 9 February.
[Berryman, p. 72]
The airfield came under the control of
RAF South Cerney
Royal Air Force South Cerney or more simply RAF South Cerney is a former Royal Air Force station located in South Cerney near Cirencester in Gloucestershire, England. It was built during the 1930s to conduct flying training. The airfield was tur ...
ten days later and was used for flight training by the
Airspeed Oxford
The Airspeed AS.10 Oxford is a twin-engine monoplane aircraft developed and manufactured by Airspeed. It saw widespread use for training British Commonwealth aircrews in navigation, radio-operating, bombing and gunnery roles throughout the Seco ...
s of
No. 3
''No. 3'' () is a 1997 Koreans, South Korean Kkangpae, gangster comedy film starring Han Suk-kyu as the titular no. 3 man of a gang who's aspiring to rise up the ranks and become the leader of his own gang. It was writer-director Song Nung-han's ...
and
No. 6 (Pilots) Advanced Flying Units and a detachment of 6(P)AFU was based there for a few months.
RAF Honiley
Royal Air Force Honiley or RAF Honiley is a former Royal Air Force station located in Wroxall, Warwickshire, southwest of Coventry, England.
The station closed in March 1958, and after being used as a motor vehicle test track, it has been sub ...
assumed control of Chedworth in October and it was used by No. 2 (Air Gunnery) Squadron of
No. 63 OTU and the Air Gunnery Squadron of
No. 60 OTU. They formed a combined gunnery squadron that flew
de Havilland Mosquito
The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito is a British twin-engined, shoulder-winged, multirole combat aircraft, introduced during the Second World War. Unusual in that its frame was constructed mostly of wood, it was nicknamed the "Wooden Wonder", or ...
es,
Bristol Beaufighter
The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter (often called the Beau) is a British multi-role aircraft developed during the Second World War by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It was originally conceived as a heavy fighter variant of the Bristol Beaufort ...
s and
Miles Master
The Miles M.9 Master was a British two-seat monoplane advanced trainer designed and built by aviation company Miles Aircraft Ltd. It was inducted in large numbers into both the Royal Air Force (RAF) and Fleet Air Arm (FAA) during the Second Wor ...
s until they returned home in January 1944. 3 (P) AFU returned in a few months later to relieve the congestion at South Cerney. No. 3 Tactical Exercise Unit RAF arrived 17 July 1944, becoming
No. 55 Operational Training Unit RAF on 18 December 1944 until 29 May 1945.
[Berryman, pp. 72–73]The site was also used by
No. 2800 Squadron RAF Regiment.
RAF Chedworth was also briefly home to the headquarters squadron of the
Ninth Air Force
The Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It is the Air Force Service Component of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), a joint De ...
of the
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 ...
units during 19 June–9 July 1944 and was used by
Piper L-4 Grasshopper
The Piper J-3 Cub is an American light aircraft that was built between 1938 and 1947 by Piper Aircraft. The aircraft has a simple, lightweight design which gives it good low-speed handling properties and short-field performance. The Cub is P ...
s and
Stinson L-5 Sentinel
The Stinson L-5 Sentinel is a World War II-era liaison aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces, U.S. Army Ground Forces, U.S. Marine Corps and the British Royal Air Force. It was produced by the Stinson Division of the Vultee Aircr ...
s of the
125th Liaison Squadron.
[
]
Current use
Much of the site remains, including most of the two runways, one blister hangar
A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...
(of 2 originally), the armoury, and the battle HQ building, but the site is now primarily agricultural.[
]
References
Bibliography
*
*}
External links
Photograph at Geograph
American Air Museum in Britain - RAF Chedworth
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chedworth
Royal Air Force stations in Gloucestershire