Royal Air Force Castle Combe or more simply RAF Castle Combe 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 airfield located southeast of
Castle Combe
Castle Combe is a village and civil parish within the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Wiltshire, England. The village is around north-west of Chippenham. A castle once stood in the area, but was demolished centuries ago.
The vil ...
,
Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershir ...
,
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 ...
.
History
The Castle Combe airfield opened in May 1941. The land which the airfield occupied belonged to the Castle Combe estate, which was owned by the Gorst family.
It was used as a practice landing ground by nearby
RAF Hullavington
RAF Hullavington was a Royal Air Force station located at Hullavington, near Chippenham, Wiltshire, England. The station opened in June 1937 and was predominantly used for various training purposes. It closed on 31 March 1992 when it was transf ...
, home of
No. 9 Service Flying Training School RAF 09 may refer to:
* 2009, the year, or any year ending with 09, which may be written as '09
* September, the ninth month
* 9 (number)
* Ariège (department)
Ariège (; oc, Arièja ) is a department in southwestern France, located in the region ...
. Flying training expanded considerably and the facilities were upgraded. Waterlogging was a frequent problem for the grass surface, so two runways of
Sommerfeld Tracking were laid and a tarmac perimeter track constructed around the field. There were five hangars on the eastern and south-eastern side of the site; the control tower is still extant.
No. 15 (Pilots) Advanced Flying Unit RAF
The numero sign or numero symbol, №, (also represented as Nº, No, No. or no.), is a typographic abbreviation of the word ''number''(''s'') indicating ordinal numeration, especially in names and titles. For example, using the numero sign, t ...
and
No. 3 Flying Instructors School RAF was also present at some point.
The airfield functioned for seven years before being decommissioned on 18 October 1948.
Current use
The perimeter track of the airfield was opened to motor racing in 1950 as
Castle Combe Circuit
Castle Combe Circuit is a motor racing circuit in Wiltshire, England, approximately from Bristol. The circuit is based on the perimeter track of a former World War II airfield, and was opened for racing in 1950.
History
The Castle Combe a ...
.
See also
*
List of former Royal Air Force stations
This list of former RAF stations includes most of the stations, airfields and administrative headquarters previously used by the Royal Air Force.
The stations are listed under any former county or country name which was appropriate for the ...
References
External links
History of Castle Combe
Royal Air Force stations in Wiltshire
Castle Combe
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