Royal Marines Barracks Chivenor is a British military base used primarily by

3 Commando Brigade 3 Commando Brigade (3 Cdo Bde), previously called the 3rd Special Service Brigade, is a commando formation of the British Armed Forces. It is composed of the Royal Marine Commandos, alongside commando qualified sailors, soldiers and airmen f ...

. It is situated on the northern shore of the

River Taw The River Taw () rises at Taw Head, a spring on the central northern flanks of Dartmoor, crosses North Devon and at the town of Barnstaple, formerly a significant port, empties into Bideford Bay in the Bristol Channel, having formed a large ...

estuary, adjacent to the

South West Coast Path The South West Coast Path is England's longest waymarked long-distance footpath and a National Trail. It stretches for , running from Minehead in Somerset, along the coasts of Devon and Cornwall, to Poole Harbour in Dorset. Because it rises a ...

, on the north coast of

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. Devon is ...

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 ...

. The nearest towns are

Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town in North Devon, England, at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool and won great wealth. Later it imported Irish wool, bu ...

and

Braunton Braunton is a large village, civil parish, ecclesiastical parish and former manor in Devon. The village is situated west of Barnstaple. It is one of the largest villages in Devon with a population at the 2021 census of 10,217 people. There a ...

. Originally a civil airfield opened in the 1930s, the site was taken over by the

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 ...

(RAF) and was operational between May 1940 and 1995 when it was transferred to the Royal Marines.

History

RAF Chivenor

In February 1940 the

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...

constructed an aerodrome on the site of Chivenor farm near a civilian airfield. RAF Chivenor opened on 25 October 1940 within No. 17 Group,

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 ...

. There were two units based there initially,

No. 3 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit RAF No. 3 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit RAF (3 OTU) was a training unit of Royal Air Force Coastal Command, operating from 27 November 1940 and disbanding 4 January 1944, being absorbed into No. 6 OTU. History The unit formed at RAF Chivenor ...

and No. 252 Squadron RAF, both operating

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 ...

Bristol Blenheim The Bristol Blenheim is a British light bomber aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company (Bristol) which was used extensively in the first two years of the Second World War, with examples still being used as trainers until ...

s and

Bristol Beaufort The Bristol Beaufort (manufacturer designation Type 152) is a British twin-engined torpedo bomber designed by the Bristol Aeroplane Company, and developed from experience gained designing and building the earlier Blenheim light bomber. At l ...

s. Originally a civil airfield opened in the 1930s, the site was taken over by the

(RAF) in May 1940 for use as a

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 ...

Station, and was known as RAF Chivenor. After 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 opposin ...

, the station was largely used for training, particularly weapons training. During the 1950s and 1960s,

No. 229 Operational Conversion Unit RAF Conversion units and operational conversion units (OCUs) were training units of the Royal Air Force (RAF). History With the introduction of new heavy bombers, the four-engined Short Stirling, Avro Lancaster, and Handley Page Halifax, the Roya ...

(229 OCU) used

Hawker Hunter The Hawker Hunter is a transonic British jet-powered fighter aircraft that was developed by Hawker Aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It was designed to take advantage of the newly developed Rolls-R ...

aircraft for training. In 1974 229 OCU left for

RAF Brawdy RAF Brawdy is a former Royal Air Force satellite station located east of St Davids, Pembrokeshire and south west of Fishguard, Pembrokeshire, Wales. It was operational between 1944 and 1992 being used by both the Royal Air Force and the Royal N ...

(where it was renamed as the Tactical Weapons Unit), with Chivenor placed into "care and maintenance" status for rebuilding, though No. 624 Volunteer Gliding Squadron (624 VGS) continued to fly from there. The RAF returned in 1981, with 2 Tactical Weapons Unit (2 TWU) and their

BAE Hawk The BAE Systems Hawk is a British single-engine, jet-powered advanced trainer aircraft. It was first flown at Dunsfold, Surrey, in 1974 as the Hawker Siddeley Hawk, and subsequently produced by its successor companies, British Aerospace and B ...

s, moving in from

RAF Lossiemouth Royal Air Force Lossiemouth or more commonly RAF Lossiemouth is a military airfield located on the western edge of the town of Lossiemouth in Moray, north-east Scotland. Lossiemouth is one of the largest and busiest fast-jet stations in the ...

. In 1992 2 TWU was renamed as 7 FTS before leaving in 1994 to merge with 4 FTS at

RAF Valley Royal Air Force Valley or more simply RAF Valley ( cy, Llu Awyr Brenhinol Y Fali) is a Royal Air Force station on the island of Anglesey, Wales, and which is also used as Anglesey Airport. It provides both basic and advanced fast-jet training ...

, and the airfield was handed over to the RM.

Transfer to Royal Marines

From 1 October 1995 onwards, the Royal Marines took control of the base, it being renamed Royal Marines Base Chivenor (RMB Chivenor) and is home to the Commando Logistics Regiment, Royal Marines and

24 Commando Regiment Royal Engineers 24 Commando Royal Engineers is a unit of the British Army's Royal Engineers supporting 3 Commando Brigade. History The regiment, which was formed in April 2008, is one of two British Army units attached to 3 Commando Brigade, Royal Marines, th ...

. The airfield is still an operational airfield used by the Royal Navy, Royal Marines and RAF Search and Rescue Force (

No. 22 Squadron RAF Number 22 Squadron of the Royal Air Force is an operational testing and evaluation squadron for all the Joint Helicopter Command helicopter types including Chinook, Puma HC2, Merlin HC4, Apache and Wildcat AH1. Formerly the Rotary Wing Op ...

) as well as No. 624 Volunteer Gliding Squadron RAF (624 VGS) operating

Grob Vigilant T1 The Grob G109 is a light aircraft developed by Grob Aircraft AG of Mindelheim Mattsies in Germany. It first flew (G109 prototype and then production G109A form) in 1980. The G109B followed in 1984. It is a two-seat self-launching motor glider ...

motor gliders, providing flights for the

Air Training Corps The Air Training Corps (ATC) is a British volunteer-military youth organisation. They are sponsored by the Ministry of Defence and the Royal Air Force. The majority of staff are volunteers, and some are paid for full-time work – including C ...

and

Combined Cadet Force The Combined Cadet Force (CCF) is a youth organisation in the United Kingdom, sponsored by the Ministry of Defence (MOD), which operates in schools, and normally includes Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force sections. Its aim is to "provide a ...

Proposed closure

''A Better Defence Estate'', published in November 2016, indicated that the Ministry of Defence would dispose of RMB Chivenor by 2027. However, following a concerted campaign to keep the base open, the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

announced in February 2019 that the base would remain open.

Based units

Notable units based at RMB Chivenor.

Royal Navy

Royal Marines (

) *

Commando Logistic Regiment The role of the Commando Logistic Regiment (CLR), Royal Marines is to provide second line Combat Service Support to 3 Commando Brigade. It is 3 Commando Brigade's dedicated logistic unit and provides all second line Combat Service Support to the ...

** Headquarters Squadron ** Equipment Support Squadron ** Landing Force Support Squadron ** Logistic Support Squadron ** Medical Squadron ** Viking Squadron

British Army

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

(3 Commando Brigade) * 24 Commando Regiment **56 Commando Headquarters and Support Squadron **54 Commando Engineer Squadron **59 Commando Engineer Squadron **131 Commando Engineer Squadron **24 REME Workshop

Cadets

In December 2020 the

Volunteer Cadet Corps The Volunteer Cadet Corps (VCC) is a national youth organisation managed by the United Kingdom's Royal Navy and sponsored by the UK's Ministry of Defence. The VCC comprises: * Headquarters VCC. Based at in Gosport. * VCC Training Centre. Base ...

started a unit of Royal Marines Cadets at RMB Chivenor. Due to COVID-19, face to face activities were put on hold but as of October 2021 the first cadets and adult volunteers will be starting training on site.

Role and operations

Commando Logistic Regiment

The

's role is to ensure the re-supply of ammunition, water, fuel and food, known as "combat supplies" to the ground forces, and to provide first-line medical care to any service person or civilian. It also provides specialist services to sustain the brigade's operation.

24 Commando Regiment Royal Engineers

Formed in April 2008, 24 Commando Engineer Regiment is a unit of the British Army's Royal Engineers which supports 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines.

RMB Chivenor in the media

On 21 November 2008 the BBC

Top Gear Top Gear may refer to: * "Top gear", the highest gear available in a vehicle's manual transmission Television * ''Top Gear'' (1977 TV series), a British motoring magazine programme * ''Top Gear'' (2002 TV series), a relaunched version of the or ...

series filmed segments near to Chivenor. In the segments the presenter Jeremy Clarkson takes part in a mock battle on the beach at

Instow Instow is a village in north Devon, England. It is on the estuary where the rivers Taw and Torridge meet, between the villages of Westleigh and Yelland and on the opposite bank to Appledore. There is an electoral ward with the same name. The w ...

with around 30 marines from Chivenor and elsewhere. The Sea Kings from 22 squadron A-Flight at Chivenor took a starring role in Episode 6 of the

National Geographic Channel National Geographic (formerly National Geographic Channel; abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo or Nat Geo TV) is an American pay television television network, network and flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel owned by the National Geograp ...

documentary television series Sea Patrol UK, with B-Flight of 22 Squadron at AAC Wattisham alongside Royal Navy and Coastguard units. The 2011 BBC television series '' The Choir: Military Wives'' featured Chivenor. The programme documented choirmaster

Gareth Malone Gareth Edmund Malone (born 9 November 1975) is an English choirmaster and broadcaster, self-described as an "animateur, presenter and populariser of choral singing". He is best known for his television appearances in programmes such as '' The ...

forming a choir of wives and partners of Chivenor personnel deployed on active service in the

Afghanistan War War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC) *Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709) *Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see als ...

. In forming a choir, Malone aimed to raise the women's morale and raise their profile in the public perception. The song '' Wherever You Are'' was recorded by the Military Wives Choir and was released as a single in December 2011, with proceeds going to the

Royal British Legion The Royal British Legion (RBL), formerly the British Legion, is a British charity providing financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants, as well as all others in ne ...

and

SSAFA Forces Help SSAFA – the Armed Forces charity, the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association, is a UK charity that provides lifelong support to serving men and women and veterans from the British Armed Forces and their families or dependents. Anyone ...

References

External links

Volunteer Cadet Corps

624 Volunteer Gliding Squadron

BBC News, 15 October 2004

722 (Chivenor) Sqn ATC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chivenor Organisations based in Devon Airports in Devon 624 VGS Royal Marines bases Barnstaple Royal Air Force stations in Devon Military history of Devon Royal Navy bases in England