Royal Air Force Christchurch or more simply RAF Christchurch 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 ...

satellite station and was located southeast of the A337/B3059 junction in Somerford,

Christchurch, Dorset Christchurch () is a town and civil parish in Dorset on the south coast of England. The town had a population of 31,372 in 2021. For the borough the population was 48,368. It adjoins Bournemouth to the west, with the New Forest to the east. Pa ...

, England.

Christchurch Airfield : ''For the World War II use of this facility, see RAF Christchurch'' Christchurch Airfield was located southeast of the A337/B3059 intersection in Somerford, Christchurch, Dorset, England. It was a civil airfield starting from 1926, then it wa ...

was a civil airfield that started operation from 1926, enlarged for wartime operations in 1941, Christchurch was used during World War II by the

and the

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 ...

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 ...

. It returned to civilian flying postwar before being taken over by what became British Aerospace to manufacture jet fighters and civilian airliner types. The airfield complex was finally closed down and demolished in 1966 when housing was built on the site.

History

USAAF use

In 1943, the USAAF

required several temporary advanced landing grounds along the southern

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

coast prior to the Normandy invasion to provide tactical air support for the ground forces landing in France. Christchurch was provided to support this mission. Christchurch was known as USAAF Station AAF-416 for security reasons by the USAAF during the war, and by which it was referred to instead of location. Its USAAF Station Code was "CH".

405th Fighter Group

Christchurch airfield saw the arrival of the USAAF

405th Fighter Group 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

on 4 April 1944, the group arriving from

Walterboro Army Airfield Lowcountry Regional Airport is a public use airport located two nautical miles (4 km) northeast of the central business district of Walterboro, a city in Colleton County, South Carolina, United States. It is owned by the city and cou ...

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

. The 405th had the following operational squadrons: * 509th Fighter Squadron (G9) * 510th Fighter Squadron (2Z) * 511th Fighter Squadron (K4) The 405th was a group of

's 84th Fighter Wing,

IX Tactical Air Command The IX Tactical Air Command was a formation of the United States Army Air Forces. It fought in the European theater of World War II. Its last assignment was at Camp Shanks, New York, where it was inactivated on 25 October 1945. History Formed ...

. It flew the

Republic P-47D Thunderbolt The P-47 Thunderbolt was a World War II fighter aircraft built by Republic Aviation from 1941 to 1945. Early designs XP-47 (AP-10) In response to a USAAC requirement for a new fighter aircraft, Republic Aviation engineer Alexander Kartveli p ...

. The 405th moved to its Advanced Landing Ground at Picauville, France (ALG A-8) on 22 June 1944, ending the USAAF's use of Christchurch. Additional units:

Current use

The airfield complex was demolished in 1966 and there is housing and The Runway Industrial Park located on the site.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * Freeman, Roger A. (1994) ''UK Airfields of the Ninth: Then and Now 1994''. After the Battle * Freeman, Roger A. (1996) ''The Ninth Air Force in Colour: UK and the Continent-World War Two''. After the Battle * Maurer, Maurer (1983). ''Air Force Combat Units Of World War II''. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. . *

External links

* rmyAirForces.com 404th Fighter Group https://web.archive.org/web/20070930013102/http://www.armyairforces.com/dbgroups.asp?Group=226
Aerial Photo of RAF Christchurch from Multimap.Com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Christchurch History of Christchurch, Dorset Airfields of the IX Fighter Command in the United Kingdom Buildings and structures demolished in 1966 Royal Air Force stations in Dorset Royal Air Force stations in Hampshire