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

Advanced Landing Ground previously in Hampshire but now, due to County boundary changes, in

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

, England. The airfield is located approximately north of

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

; about southwest of London, and is named after the nearby hamlet of Winkton. Although complete by September 1943 Winkton opened in March 1944 with Sommerfeld Mesh runways and pierced steel planking perimeter tracks, and was the prototype for the type of temporary Advanced Landing Ground type airfield that would be built in France after D-Day, when the need for advanced landing fields would become urgent as the Allied forces moved east across France and Germany. It was used by British, Dominion and the United States Army Air Forces. It was closed in July 1944, when the mesh runways were lifted for use on the Continent, and immediately returned to agriculture. Today the airfield is a mixture of agricultural fields with no recognizable remains.

History

USAAF use

While under USAAF control, Winkton was known as USAAF Station AAF-414 for security reasons, and by which it was referred to instead of location. Its Station-ID was "WT", Radio-Callsign "Drainsink"

404th Fighter Group

RAF Winkton saw the arrival of the USAAF

404th 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 smalle ...

on 4 April 1944, the group arriving from Myrtle Beach 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 404th had the following operational squadrons: * 506th Fighter Squadron (4K) * 507th Fighter Squadron (Y8) * 508th Fighter Squadron (7J) The 404th was a group of

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 ...

'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-47 Thunderbolt. On 6 July the 404th moved across the Channel to its Advanced Landing Ground at Chippelle (ALG A-5), France.

Current use

With the Americans moving to France, Winkton airfield was closed down and returned to agricultural use in July 1944. In January 1945, the airfield was officially closed. Today, the land is unrecognizable as a former airfield, and can only be located by comparing the road network on aerial photographs taken when the airfield was active to the current network. In 2009, there exists a private grass runway owned by Mr.I.C.Reid, who hangars his Tiger Moth biplane there.

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

Built Only For Battle - The story of Station 414 of the 9th Air Force, Winkton ALG in Hampshire, United Kingdom

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winkton Airfields of the IX Fighter Command in the United Kingdom Military units and formations established in 1943 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 Royal Air Force stations in Dorset Royal Air Force stations in Hampshire