RAF Upottery (also known as Smeatharpe) is a former

World War II 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 opposing ...

airfield in

East Devon East Devon is a local government district in Devon, England. Its council has been based in Honiton since February 2019, and the largest town is Exmouth (with a population of 34,432 at the time of the 2011 census). The district was formed ...

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 airfield is located near the village of

Upottery Upottery (originally Up Ottery) is a rural village, civil parish and former manor in East Devon, England. Location Upottery takes up both sides of the upper vale of the Otter which flows to the English Channel south of Ottery St Mary and is a ...

, approximately north-northeast of the town of

Honiton Honiton ( or ) is a market town and civil parish in East Devon, situated close to the River Otter, north east of Exeter in the county of Devon. Honiton has a population estimated at 11,822 (based on mid-year estimates for the two Honiton Ward ...

. Opened in 1944, it was used 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) an ...

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 ...

(USAAF) and

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. During the war it was used primarily as a transport airfield and for antisubmarine patrols. It was closed in 1948 after the end of the war and today the remains of the airfield are located on private property being used as agricultural fields. Upottery received much attention in 2001 when it appeared in the first episode of the television mini-series '' Band of Brothers''. It was from Upottery that

Easy Company E Company, 2nd Battalion of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, the "Screaming Eagles", is a company in the United States Army. The company was referred to as "Easy" after the radio call for "E" in the p ...

of the

506th Parachute Infantry Regiment The 506th Infantry Regiment, originally designated the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment (506th PIR) during World War II, is an airborne light infantry regiment of the United States Army. Currently a parent regiment under the U.S. Army Regi ...

, 101st Airborne Division boarded

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals * Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking *Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civi ...

C-47 transports and made their first combat jump into

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

on 6 June 1944.

U.S. Army Air Forces use

Officially opened on 17 February 1944, it was known as AAF-462 for security reasons during the war, and by which it was referred to instead of by its location. Its ID code was "UO". 94tcg-c471

439th Troop Carrier Group

The 439th Troop Carrier Group and its four squadrons arrived in England on 10 March 1944 and were based at

RAF Balderton Royal Air Force Balderton or more simply RAF Balderton was a former Royal Air Force station located south of Newark-on-Trent, sandwiched between the now extinct Great Northern Railway (GNR) Bottesford-Newark line and the A1 road in Notting ...

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The trad ...

. The group was equipped with about 70 Douglas C-47 Skytrains and was assigned to the 50th Troop Carrier Wing,

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 ...

, Ninth Air Force. The four squadrons assigned to the group and their squadron fuselage codes were: * 91st Troop Carrier Squadron (L4) * 92d Troop Carrier Squadron (J8) * 93d Troop Carrier Squadron (3B) * 94th Troop Carrier Squadron (D8) The group moved to RAF Upottery on 26 April and trained for the invasion of France. On D-Day, 6 June 1944, the four squadrons dropped paratroopers of the U.S. 101st Airborne Division and released gliders with reinforcements on the following day. The group received two decorations for these actions, a U.S. Distinguished Unit Citation and a French Croix de Guerre with Palm. After the Normandy invasion the group ferried supplies in the United Kingdom until the air echelons of three squadrons, the 91st, 92d and 94th Troop Carrier Squadrons, began operating from Orbetello Airfield, Italy from 18 July to 24 August. Their mission was to transport cargo to Rome and evacuate wounded personnel. During the invasion of Southern France on 15 August, the three squadron dropped paratroops of the U.S. 517th Parachute Infantry Regiment along the Riviera, and later towed gliders to provide reinforcements. The group was awarded a second French Croix de Guerre for these missions. The 93d Troop Carrier Squadron had remained in England but operated from

RAF Ramsbury Royal Air Force Ramsbury or more simply RAF Ramsbury is a former Royal Air Force station, east-northeast of Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. Opened in 1942 to the south of Ramsbury village, it was used by both the Royal Air Force and United ...

, England on 7–16 August, and

RAF Membury Royal Air Force Membury or more simply RAF Membury is a former Royal Air Force station built in the civil parish of Lambourn in Berkshire, England. The airfield is located approximately north-northwest of Hungerford, at the Membury services ...

, England on 16–22 August. After the air echelon returned to England on 25 August the group resumed its cargo missions until 8 September when the group deployed to

Juvincourt Airfield Juvincourt Airfield is an abandoned military airfield, which is located near the Communes of France, commune of Juvincourt-et-Damary in the Aisne Departments of France, department of northern France. Built originally as a grass airfield by the ...

, France, also known as Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) A-68.

USN use

The airfield had been unoccupied since September 1944, and a detachment of SeaBees made it habitable. Two Patrol Bombing Squadrons (VPBs) flying Consolidated PB4Y-1 ''Liberators'' (USAAF B-24D, B-24J, B-24L and B-24M aircraft) on antisubmarine warfare patrols were assigned to Naval Air Facility (NAF) Upottery in 1945. The two squadrons were tasked to assist No. 19 Group,

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 ...

in patrols in the English Channel, Irish Sea and Bay of Biscay. NAF Upottery was a satellite field to NAF Dunkeswell, Devon, England and it was returned to RAF control on 31 July 1945. The two squadrons were: * VPB-107: This squadron was deployed at NAF Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil until being ordered to redeploy to NAF Upottery and being assigned to Fleet Air Wing Seven (FAW-7). While operating from NAF Natal, the squadron had sunk five German U-boats operating in the South Atlantic Ocean. Squadron headquarters was established at NAF Upottery on 10 January 1945 and the squadron became operational on 21 January. After the war, the squadron departed England aboard seaplane tender USS ''Albemarle'' (AV-5) on 4 June and arrived at Norfolk, Virginia on 14 June. * VPB-112: This squadron was deployed at NAF Port Lyautey, French Morocco when orders were received to cease operations and prepare to transfer to England. Squadron headquarters were established at NAF Upottery on 9 January 1945 and the squadron was assigned to FAW-7. Operations began from this base on 15 February. With the surrender of Germany the U-boats still at sea began to surrender to the Allies. Three U-boats surrendered to the aircraft of VPB-112: on 9 May ''U-249'' surrendered, on 10 May ''U-825'' surrendered and on 11 May ''U-516'' surrendered. On 5 June, squadron personnel boarded the seaplane tender USS ''Albemarle'' (AV-5) which arrived at Norfolk, Virginia on 14 June.

Civil use

Upon its release from military use, the airfield was returned to agriculture. All three runways remain with most of the concreted areas still intact. Part of the airfield is used by a small flying club and another section is used for stock car racing on a purpose built concrete oval, parts of it are also used for rallying, drag racing and drifting. Nearby is a free museum featuring a collection of weapons, militaria and documents connected with the D-Day invasion.

References

* Freeman, Roger A. (1994) UK Airfields of the Ninth: Then and Now 1994. After the Battle * Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. .
Upottery Airfield at ControlTowers.co.uk

External links