No. 3 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit RAF
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No. 3 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit RAF (3 OTU) was a training unit of
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 ...
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 ...
, operating from 27 November 1940 and disbanding 4 January 1944, being absorbed into No. 6 OTU.


History

The unit formed at
RAF Chivenor Royal Air Force Chivenor or RAF Chivenor was a Royal Air Force station located on the northern shore of the River Taw estuary, on the north coast of Devon, England. The nearest towns are Barnstaple and Braunton. Originally a civil airfield op ...
training crews for various aircraft including
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 le ...
s,
Avro Anson The Avro Anson is a British twin-engined, multi-role aircraft built by the aircraft manufacturer Avro. Large numbers of the type served in a variety of roles for the Royal Air Force (RAF), Fleet Air Arm (FAA), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) ...
s,
Vickers Wellington The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engined, long-range medium bomber. It was designed during the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey. Led by Vickers-Armstrongs' chief designer Rex Pierson; a key feature of the aircraft is its ...
s and
Armstrong Whitworth Whitley The Armstrong Whitworth A.W.38 Whitley was a British medium bomber aircraft of the 1930s. It was one of three twin-engined, front line medium bomber types that were in service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) at the outbreak of the Second World ...
s. On 29 July 1941 the Whitleys and Wellingtons moved to
RAF Cranwell Royal Air Force Cranwell or more simply RAF Cranwell is a Royal Air Force station in Lincolnshire, England, close to the village of Cranwell, near Sleaford. Among other functions, it is home to the Royal Air Force College (RAFC), which trai ...
and the Beaufort section became No. 5 Operational Training Unit RAF (5 OTU) when it re-formed at Chivenor on 1 August 1941. 3 OTU then moved to
RAF Haverfordwest Royal Air Force Haverfordwest or more simply RAF Haverfordwest is a former Royal Air Force station located north of Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire and south of Fishguard, Pembrokeshire, Wales. It was operational between 1943 and 1945 and w ...
in
Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; cy, Sir Benfro ) is a county in the south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and the rest by sea. The county is home to Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. The Park oc ...
where it was disbanded on 4 January 1944 and absorbed into No. 6 Operational Training Unit RAF (6 OTU).


Airfields used

The main airfield for the unit was RAF Chivenor however a number of different airfields were also used. *
RAF Chivenor Royal Air Force Chivenor or RAF Chivenor was a Royal Air Force station located on the northern shore of the River Taw estuary, on the north coast of Devon, England. The nearest towns are Barnstaple and Braunton. Originally a civil airfield op ...
. * RAF Skellingthorpe. * RAF Bottesford. *
RAF Wellingore Royal Air Force Wellingore or more simply RAF Wellingore is a former Royal Air Force fighter relief landing ground located south of Navenby, Lincolnshire and south of Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England. History The airfield was originally open ...
. *
RAF Langham Royal Air Force Langham or more simply RAF Langham is a former Royal Air Force station, located at Langham, northwest of Norwich in the English county of Norfolk. It operated between 1940 and 1961. The airfield was the most northerly of the w ...
. *
RAF Squires Gate Blackpool Airport is an airport on the Fylde coast of Lancashire, England, in the Borough of Fylde, just outside the Borough of Blackpool. It was formerly known as Squires Gate Airport and Blackpool International Airport. Ownership of the ai ...
. *
RAF Barkston Heath Royal Air Force Barkston Heath or RAF Barkston Heath is a Royal Air Force station near Grantham, Lincolnshire, England. RAF Barkston Heath has the Naval Element of No. 3 Flying Training School RAF (No. 3 FTS) which, for a period between app ...
. * RAF Steeple Morden. * RAF Templeton. *
RAF Haverfordwest Royal Air Force Haverfordwest or more simply RAF Haverfordwest is a former Royal Air Force station located north of Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire and south of Fishguard, Pembrokeshire, Wales. It was operational between 1943 and 1945 and w ...
.


See also

* List of conversion units of the Royal Air Force


References


Citations


Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:No. 3 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit Operational training units of the Royal Air Force Military units and formations established in 1940 Military units and formations disestablished in 1944