Royal Air Force Welford or more simply RAF Welford is an active
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 ...
station in
Berkshire
Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...
, England. The station is located approximately northwest of
Newbury; about west-southwest of
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
Opened in 1943, it was used 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 opposin ...
by both 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 ...
and
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 ...
. During the war it was used primarily as a transport airfield. After the war it was closed in 1946 and placed in reserve status. As a result of the
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
, the station was reopened in 1955 as a munitions depot by the
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
.
Today it is one of the largest
ammunition compound
An ammunition dump, ammunition supply point (ASP), ammunition handling area (AHA) or ammunition depot is a military storage facility for live ammunition and explosives.
The storage of live ammunition and explosives is inherently hazardous. The ...
s for the
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
in Western Europe for heavy
munition
Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weapo ...
s.
Location
RAF Welford is located in
West Berkshire
West Berkshire is a local government district in Berkshire, England, administered from Newbury by West Berkshire Council.
History
The district of Newbury was formed on 1 April 1974, as a merger of the borough of Newbury, Bradfield Rural Distric ...
with a dedicated and rarely used
access road
A frontage road (also known as an access road, outer road, service road, feeder road, or parallel road) is a local road running parallel to a higher-speed, limited-access road. A frontage road is often used to provide access to private drivew ...
leading to the station from the eastbound
M4 motorway
The M4, originally the London-South Wales Motorway, is a motorway in the United Kingdom running from west London to southwest Wales. The English section to the Severn Bridge was constructed between 1961 and 1971; the Welsh element was largely ...
between junctions 13 and 14 to the west of the
A34 junction with the M4.
The access road from the M4 is signposted "Works Unit Only". The 1 mile marker sign did have the distinctive
red border of a defence establishment until changes made in 2015.
History
USAAF use
In October 1943 the airfield was allocated to
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 ...
IX Troop Carrier Command (TCC). While under USAAF control, Welford was known as USAAF Station AAF-474.
315th Troop Carrier Group
The
315th Troop Carrier Group arrived at Welford on 6 November 1943 from
RAF Aldermaston
Royal Air Force Aldermaston or more simply RAF Aldermaston is a former Royal Air Force station located east of Newbury, Berkshire and southwest of Reading, Berkshire, England.
Originally built as an RAF Bomber Command airfield during 1941-1 ...
flying C-47s and C-53s. Its squadrons and fuselage codes were:
* 34th Troop Carrier Squadron (NM)
* 43d Troop Carrier Squadron (UA)
* 309th Troop Carrier Squadron (M6)
* 310th Troop Carrier Squadron (4A)
The 315th TCG was part of the 52nd Troop Carrier Wing. On 7 February 1944 the group was transferred to
RAF Spanhoe
Royal Air Force Spanhoe or more simply RAF Spanhoe (also known as Harringworth or Wakerley) is a former Royal Air Force station near Uppingham in Northamptonshire, England. The airfield is located approximately east of Uppingham; about north ...
.
[
]
435th Troop Carrier Group
As part of the IX Troop Carrier Command
The IX Troop Carrier Command was a United States Army Air Forces unit. Its last assignment was with the Ninth Air Force, based at Greenville Army Air Base, South Carolina. It was inactivated on 31 March 1946. As a component command of the Ninth ...
's desire to have its C-47 groups commence training with paratroops of the 101st Airborne Division
The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute multiple battalion-size air assault operati ...
deployed in the Salisbury Plain
Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in the south western part of central southern England covering . It is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group and largely lies wi ...
area, the squadrons of the 435th Troop Carrier Group 435th may refer to:
*435th Air Ground Operations Wing, the first USAFE wing solely dedicated to supporting battlefield Airmen
*435th Bombardment Squadron, an inactive United States Air Force unit
* 435th Fighter Training Squadron (435 FTS), part of ...
arrived at Welford on 25 January 1944 from RAF Langar
Royal Air Force Station Langar or more simply RAF Langar is a former Royal Air Force station located near the village of Langar, Nottinghamshire, England. The airfield is located approximately east-southeast of Radcliffe on Trent and about nor ...
flying C-47s and C-53s. Its squadrons and fuselage codes were:
* 75th Troop Carrier Squadron (SH)
* 76th Troop Carrier Squadron 76th may refer to:
*76th Academy Awards ceremony honored films of 2003
*76th Air Army, an air army of the Soviet Air Forces from 1949 to 1980 and from 1988 to 1998
*76th Air Assault Division (Russia), a division of the Russian Airborne Troops based ...
(CW)
* 77th Troop Carrier Squadron (IB)
* 78th Troop Carrier Squadron (CM)
The 435th TCG was assigned to the 53d Troop Carrier Wing. In early February 1945 the group was moved to an Advanced Landing Ground at Breigny France (A-48).[
]
USAF ammunition store use
After being placed on a care and maintenance basis after the war, the station re-opened as the home of the 7531st Ammunition Squadron in September 1955. In 2009 USAF staffing at Welford was reduced as part of USAF wide budgetary adjustments. The munitions base's function is described as "at its busiest when the US government deploys bombers to a forward air station at RAF Fairford". The bombers at RAF Fairford can include B-1, B-2 and B-52.
In May 2019, the USAF moved of explosives to RAF Welford, then the second largest ammunition store in United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa
The United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA) is a United States Air Force (USAF) major command (MAJCOM) and a component command of both United States European Command (USEUCOM) and United States Africa Command ( ...
(USAFE).
Based units
Welford is now under the command of the 420th Munitions Squadron, and comes under the command of the 501st Combat Support Wing
The 501st Combat Support Wing (501 CSW) is an administrative support wing of the United States Air Force, based at RAF Alconbury, United Kingdom. It is one of three wings located in the United Kingdom as components of the Third Air Force and Uni ...
, with headquarters at RAF Alconbury
Royal Air Force Alconbury or more simply RAF Alconbury is an active Royal Air Force station near Huntingdon, England. The airfield is in the civil parish of The Stukeleys, close to the villages of Great Stukeley, Little Stukeley, and Alconbury. ...
, which provides support to the Geographically Separated Units (GSU)s in the United Kingdom.
See also
*List of Royal Air Force stations
The Royal Air Force (RAF) operates several stations throughout the United Kingdom and overseas. This includes front-line and training air bases, support, administrative and training stations with no flying activity, unmanned airfields used fo ...
References
Citations
Bibliography
*Freeman, Roger A. (1994) ''UK airfields of the Ninth: then and now'', London : Battle of Britain Prints International,
*Maurer, Maurer (1983) ''Air Force combat units of World War II'', Washington, D.C. : Office of Air Force History,
External links
420th Munitions Squadron
- History of RAF Welford
{{DEFAULTSORT:Welford
Royal Air Force stations in Berkshire
Installations of the United States Air Force in the United Kingdom
Airfields of the IX Troop Carrier Command in the United Kingdom
RAF
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 ...