Royal Air Force Down Ampney or more simply RAF Down Ampney 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) an ...
station located north east of
Cricklade
Cricklade is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in north Wiltshire, England, midway between Swindon and Cirencester. It is the first downstream town on the Thames. The parish population at the 2011 census was 4,227.
History
Cricklade ...
,
Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
and south west of
RAF Fairford
Royal Air Force Fairford or more simply RAF Fairford is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station in Gloucestershire, England which is currently a standby airfield and therefore not in everyday use. Its most prominent use in recent years has been as an ...
,
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 ...
. The airfield operated 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 ...
from February 1944 until February 1947.
Down Ampney was part of a group of airfields dedicated to air transportation, alongside
RAF Broadwell
Royal Air Force Broadwell or more simply RAF Broadwell is a former Royal Air Force station located 2 miles north of Broadwell and 3 miles southeast of Burford, Oxfordshire, and within 2 miles of RAF Brize Norton.
It opened on 15 November 19 ...
and
RAF Blakehill Farm.
Based units
No. 48 Squadron RAF and
No. 271 Squadron RAF flew
Douglas Dakota
The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF, and SAAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in ...
s on major missions. On
D-Day they dropped the main elements of the
3rd Parachute Brigade
The 3rd Parachute Brigade was an airborne forces brigade raised by the British Army during the Second World War. The brigade was initially part of the 1st Airborne Division, but remained in Britain when that division was sent overseas, and becam ...
in Normandy as well as towing
Airspeed Horsa gliders across the English Channel. They were also active in
Operation Market Garden (Arnhem) and the Rhine crossing.
The same squadrons also flew Casevac flights to bring home wounded personnel from B landing grounds and airfields after the D Day landings. These flights took about 80 minutes and included RAF nurses.
Memorial
A memorial has been erected at the southern end of what was the main runway.
which reads:
References
External links
The R.A.F Down Ampney Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Down Ampney
Royal Air Force stations in Gloucestershire
Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom
Defunct airports in England
1944 establishments in England
1947 disestablishments in England