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

station in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

, England. The airfield is near the village of

Ibsley Ibsley is a village in Hampshire, England. It is about 2.5 miles (4 km) north of the town of Ringwood. It is in the civil parish of Ellingham, Harbridge and Ibsley. Overview The village of Ibsley lies to the east of the River Avon on the m ...

, about north of Ringwood and about southwest of

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

. A perimeter track with three runways were laid out and 18 fighter pens allowing 46 fighters to stand in relative safety. 12 Blister and two Bellman hangars were built and ten dispersed accommodation sites were laid out to the north for the airmen & women. A double cupola Battle Head Quarters, two Control Towers (one small and one large)

History

Royal Air Force

The airfield was initially used by

No. 32 Squadron RAF Number 32 (The Royal) Squadron (sometimes abbreviated as No. 32 (TR) Squadron) of the Royal Air Force operates in the Very Important Person, VIP and general air transport roles from RAF Northolt in Greater London. Originally formed in 1916 as ...

with

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness b ...

s, followed by No. 118 Squadron RAF with Supermarine Spitfires. In 1941 it was used as a location for the film

The First of the Few ''The First of the Few'' (US title ''Spitfire'') is a 1942 British black-and-white biographical film produced and directed by Leslie Howard, who stars as R. J. Mitchell, the designer of the Supermarine Spitfire fighter aircraft. David Niven co ...

. The following units were here at some point: Ibsley was also used, for short periods, in 1942 and 1944, by the United States Army Air Forces

United States Army Air Forces use

Ibsley was known as USAAF Station AAF-347 for security reasons by the USAAF during the war, and by which it was referred to instead of location. Its USAAF Station Code was "IB". USAAF Station Units assigned to RAF Ibsley were: * 327th Service Group : 329th and 79th Service Squadrons; HHS 327th Service Group * 21st Weather Squadron * 32nd Mobile Reclamation and Repair Squadron * 3rd Radio Squadron * 40th Mobile Communications Squadron * 83rd Airdrome Squadron * 98th Station Complement Squadron * Headquarters & Headquarters Squadron (70th Fighter Wing) Regular Army Station Units included: * 555th Signal Aircraft Warning Battalion * 692nd Quartermaster Battalion * 926th Signal Battalion * 1113th Signal Company * 1180th Quartermaster Company * 1292nd Military Police Company * 1829th Ordnance Supply & Maintenance Company * 2200th Quartermaster Truck Company * 332nd Signal Company * 807th Chemical Company (Air Operations) * 878th Signal Depot Company * 900th Signal Depot Company

1st Fighter Group

The first USAAF unit to use Ibsley was the Eighth Air Force

1st Fighter Group 001, O01, or OO1 may refer to: *1 (number), a number, a numeral *001, fictional British agent, see 00 Agent *001, former emergency telephone number for the Norwegian fire brigade (until 1986) *AM-RB 001, the code-name for the Aston Martin Valkyr ...

, equipped with Lockheed P-38 Lightnings. The 1st FG arrived from

RAF Goxhill Royal Air Force Goxhill or RAF Goxhill is a former Royal Air Force station located east of Goxhill, on the south bank of the Humber Estuary, opposite the city of Kingston upon Hull, in north Lincolnshire, England. Origins During the First World ...

on 24 August 1942. Tactical squadrons of the group and squadron fuselage codes were: *

27th Fighter Squadron The 27th Fighter Squadron is a unit of the United States Air Force 1st Operations Group located at Joint Base Langley–Eustis, Virginia. The 27th is equipped with the F-22 Raptor. The 27th Fighter Squadron is the oldest active fighter squad ...

(HV) *

71st Fighter Squadron 020 is the national dialling code for London in the United Kingdom. All subscriber numbers within the area code consist of eight digits and it has capacity for approaching 100 million telephone numbers. The code is used at 170 telephone exch ...

(LM) *

94th Fighter Squadron The 94th Fighter Squadron is a unit of the United States Air Force 1st Operations Group located at Joint Base Langley–Eustis, Virginia. The 94th is equipped with the F-22 Raptor. The 94 FS is one of the oldest units in the United States Ai ...

(UN) The stay of the 1st FG was short, being assigned to

Twelfth Air Force The Twelfth Air Force (12 AF; Air Forces Southern, (AFSOUTH)) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. The command is the air component to ...

for duty in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

theater in support of the Operation Torch

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

n landings. On 16 October 1943 RAF Ibsley was allocated to the

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 ...

48th Fighter Group

With construction completed, on 29 March 1944 the

48th Fighter Group arrived at Ibsley from Waterboro AAF,

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 48th flew the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt and had the following fighter squadrons and fuselage codes: * 492d Fighter Squadron (F4) *

493d Fighter Squadron ("Death to the Enemy") , colors= Black/Gold , march= , mascot= , equipment = , battles=European Theater of OperationsWar in KosovoGlobal War on Terror , notable_commanders= , anniversaries= , decorations=Distinguished Unit CitationNavy Meritorious ...

(I7) * 494th Fighter Squadron (6M) The 48th was a group of

70th Fighter Wing The 70th Fighter Wing (70th FW) is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the United States Air Forces in Europe, based at Neubiberg Air Base, Germany. It was inactivated on 25 September 1947. History Established ...

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 ...

. Ibsley continued to be used by the 48th FG until 4 July when the last personnel left.

367th Fighter Group

Arriving on the heels of the departing 48th FG, the

367th Fighter Group 367th may refer to: * 367th Fighter Group, later the 133d Operations Group, the flying component of the Minnesota Air National Guard's 133d Airlift Wing * 367th Fighter Squadron Inactivated in 1945, then reactivated at Homestead Air Reserve Base ...

arrived at Ibsley on 6 July 1944 from

RAF Stoney Cross Royal Air Force Stoney Cross or more simply RAF Stoney Cross is a former Royal Air Force station in the New Forest, Hampshire, England. The airfield is located approximately northwest of Lyndhurst and west of Southampton. Opened in 1942 ...

. The 367th flew Lockheed P-38 Lightnings. Tactical squadrons of the group and squadron fuselage codes were: * 392d Fighter Squadron (H5) *

393d Fighter Squadron 393rd or 393d may refer to: *393d Bomb Squadron (393 BS) is part of the 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri *393d Bombardment Group, inactive United States Air Force unit *393d Bombardment Squadron (Medium) (1942), inactive United ...

(8L) *

394th Fighter Squadron The 394th Fighter Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was assigned to the 367th Fighter Group and was last stationed at Seymour Johnson Field, North Carolina, where it was inactivated on 7 November 1945. The squadron was ac ...

(4N) The 367th was a group of

. The 392d and 393d and 394th Fighter Squadrons went to Carentan (ALG A-10), Cretteville (ALG A-14) and Reuxeville (ALG A-6) respectively.

Current use

Today the airfield consists mostly of a series of gravel pits and large landscaped lakes. One lake is overlooked by the derelict, windowless control tower. A very small section of the end of runway 01 still exists south of Ellingham Drive at the southern part of the airfield. A small memorial is located near the control tower .

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. .
www.controltowers.co.uk RAF Ibsley
* British Automobile Association (AA), (1978), Complete Atlas of Britain,

External links

Lakenheath Airmen attend World War II ceremony 3/1/2006

RAF Ibsley Airfield Heritage Trust
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ibsley Airfields of the VIII Fighter Command in the United Kingdom Airfields of the IX Fighter Command in the United Kingdom Military airbases established in 1941 Military installations closed in 1947 Royal Air Force stations in Hampshire Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom 1941 establishments in England 1947 disestablishments in England