'Royal Air Force Kingston Bagpuize or more simply RAF Kingston Bagpuize 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 airfield located near to Kingston Bagpuize,

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

, England.

History

RAF operations started in January 1942 as a Relief Landing Ground (RLG) with 3 EFTS who left in May. From March to July 1 GTS at

RAF Thame Thame is a market town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, about east of the city of Oxford and southwest of Aylesbury. It derives its name from the River Thame which flows along the north side of the town and forms part of the county border wi ...

used it as a satellite airfield for training with

General Aircraft Hotspur The General Aircraft GAL.48 Hotspur was a military glider designed and built by the British company General Aircraft Limited, General Aircraft Ltd during World War II. When the British airborne forces, airborne establishment was formed in 1940 ...

gliders and their tugs. Between January and April 1943, 4 GTS operated from here. In March 1943 20 (P) AFU used the airfield as a satellite for the Airspeed Oxfords, but left in July. The airfield was then closed while contractors enlarged it. The works were completed by January 1944 when the USAAF Ninth Air Force moved in. They used the airfield for maintenance work, mainly on

Lockheed P-38 Lightning The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinctive twi ...

fighters and the photo-reconnaissance version, the F-5, and North American P-51 Mustang fighters. Their main use for the airfield appears to have been the testing of wire mesh as a runway surface, and some intensive testing was done from March to May, mainly with large numbers of

Republic P-47 Thunderbolt The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bombe ...

s and several Douglas C-47 transports. The testing was completed by August 1944 when the airfield was handed over to 3 MU who used it for storage. The site was permanently closed on 14 June 1954. Most of the land reverted to agriculture, but some buildings remain in agricultural and industrial use, and some other buildings, including the control tower, remain in a derelict condition.

Units

The following units were here at some point: * No. 3 Elementary Flying Training School RAF * No. 3 Maintenance Unit RAF * No. 4 Glider Training School RAF * No. 20 (Pilots) Advanced Flying Unit RAF * No. 2722 Squadron RAF Regiment *

No. 2786 Squadron RAF Regiment This is a list of units of the Royal Air Force Regiment. The RAF Regiment is the ground fighting force of the Royal Air Force and is charged mainly with protecting military airfields, among other duties. First formed in 1942 to protect the airfi ...

No. 2796 Squadron RAF Regiment This is a list of units of the Royal Air Force Regiment. The RAF Regiment is the ground fighting force of the Royal Air Force and is charged mainly with protecting military airfields, among other duties. First formed in 1942 to protect the airfi ...

History

Units

References

Citations

Bibliography