RAF Chilbolton

Infobox Military Structure
name= Royal Air Force Station Chilbolton
USAAF Station 404
location= Located Near Chilbolton, Hampshire, England
coordinates=coord|51|08|37|N|001|26|34|W|


caption= Aerial Photo of Chilbolton Airfield - 20 April 1944
type= Military airfield
code=CB ?
built=1940
builder=
materials=
height=
used=1940-1946
demolished=
condition=
ownership=
controlledby=Royal Air Force
United States Army Air Forces
garrison=RAF Fighter Command
Ninth Air Force
commanders=
occupants=No. 238 Squadron
368th Fighter Group
442d Troop Carrier Group
battles= European Theatre of World War II
Air Offensive, Europe July 1942 - May 1945 Location map|Hampshire
caption= RAF Chilbolton, shown within Hampshire
lat= 51.1569
long= -1.4387
width= 200

RAF Chilbolton was a World War II airfield in England located 4 miles SE of Andover in Hampshire. During World War II it was used by the Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Force Ninth Air Force as USAAF station 404.

RAF Fighter Command use

Chilbolton airfield was opened in September 1940 as a satellite of RAF Middle Wallop and was used as a relief landing ground for Hurricane squadron, No. 238. It was developed piecemeal with the addition of the necessary facilities that gradually took it towards existence as an independent base. Like many other airfields in the area once the threat of invasion had passed and the major Luftwaffe raids ceased, Chilbolton played host to Army Co-operation Command units.

USAAF use

The airfield consisted of free draining grass landing runways however when allocated for USAAF use in 1942, hardened runways were scheduled, but work did not commence until the spring of 1943.

The three concrete runways were 5,400 ft (12-30), 4,814 ft (02-20) and 4,200 ft (07-25). The existing tarmac perimeter track was extended and strengthened and 48 loop hardslandings built plus a bomb and ammunition store off the south side of the airfield. Two T-2 hangars were erected although Chilbolton had previously gained eight Blister hangars, but five of these were apparently dismantled. A new technical site was added and accommodation expanded.

5th Tactical Air Depot

During the course of this construction. Chilbolton was selected for the site of an aircraft maintenance depot and this was established on the north-east side with large Nissen and Romney buildings erected for workshops.

It was determined that the USAAF would operate six tactical air depots in the UK and the locations had already been decided before the Ninth Air Force was established in the UK . However, the conditions at one was found to be unsatisfactory for the operation of Republic P-47 Thunderbolts and it was decided to shift this depot to Chilhollun. THe first USAAF personnel arrived in December 1943 and by January the 5th Tactical Air Depot, and its 10th and 86th Air Depot Groups, were in residence, although construction of the depot was still in progress in many areas.

During the early months of 1944, the P-47 Thunderbolt became a very common sight in the vicinity of Chilbolton as the 5th TAD prepared new P-47s for operational units, made theatre modifications and carried out major maintenance on the type for Ninth Air Force units.

368th Fighter Group

On 1 March 1944 the 12th and 15th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadrons from the 67th Reconnaissance Wing, flying Spitfires and Mustangs, moved in from RAF Aldermaston to make way for a C-47 group, only to he ejected two weeks later when a new fighter group arrived, The numbers of P-47s increased dramatically on 15 March when Colonel Gil Meyers brought his 368th Fighter Group in from RAF Greenham Common which was also required for transports. At times there were more than 150 P-47s at Chilbolton, the 368th's three squadrons having a combined total of more than 70. The 368th had the following fighter squadrons and fuselage codes:

* 395th Fighter Squadron (A7)
* 396th Fighter Squadron (C2)
* 397th Fighter Squadron (D3)

The 368th was a group of Ninth Air Force's 71st Fighter Wing, IX Tactical Air Command.

The group had flown its first combat mission the day before the move to Chilbolton and armed patrols, escort and fighter-bombing missions followed, although ground attack was their primary duty. Before the launch of Operation 'Overlord' losses were light, but intensive action in early June brought an increase in the numbers of P-47s failing to return to Chilbolton. Even so, the total 12 missing in action during the 368th's stay was considerably lower than the losses of many other P-47 groups. A total of 15 enemy aircraft were credited shot down while flying from Chilbolton, the most extra-ordinary combat being that of Major Randall Hendricks of 397th Fighter Squadron who, in quick succession, shot down four Focke-Wulf Fw 190s he had surprised on 12 June.

Chilhollon was one of the two Thunderbolt bases furthest removed from the battle-front consequently, these were the groups that the Ninth Air Force earmarked for early movement to the Advanced Landing Grounds (ALGs) being carved out of farmland on the Normandy bridgehead. On 16 June the 397th FS started to use the A-3 ALG at Cardonville, thus becoming the first Ninth Air Force unit to transfer to the Continent to provide tactical air support in support of U.S. First Army. The main party of the group took up residence on 20 June, although Chilbolton was still used as a reserve base for a few days.

The 368th moved across the continent, finally winding up at Frankfurt am Main (Y-73), Germany on VE-Day. The group served with the army of occupation, being assigned to United States Air Forces in Europe. It was inactivated in Germany on 20 August 1946.

Meanwhile, the 5th Tactical Air Depot continued to operate from Chilbolton, although its 10th ADG transferring to France in late July. The 86th ADG followed in September with most of the other units.

442nd Troop Carrier Group

Following the departure of the 368th FG to the continent, C-47s from various troop carrier groups used Chilbolton as an air evacuation station, ferrying in casualties from Normandy and taking supplies out on the flight from Chilbolton. From early September, personnel of the 442nd Troop Carrier Group based at RAF Weston Zoyland moved in support equipment to Chilbolton as the airfield had been selected as an advance base for the group's participation in the airborne landings in Holland.

On 11 September the group's C-47s arrived. Carrying parachutists of the 101st Airborne Division two flights of 442nd C-47s took off for drop-zones near Veghel and Son respectively on 17 September. Both formations met heavy flak and just after the drop had been made two of the first flight's aircraft were shot down. The second flight also met fierce AAA fire with two aircraft being lost and seven others badly damaged.

The next day, two flights of 40 C-47s, each towing CG-4A Waco gliders took off, this time faring better, with only one aircraft lost in a ditching. Things did not go smoothly on the 19th when another 40 C-47s towing 40 gliders experienced considerable difficulty in bad weather and only 28 of the latter were delivered to the landing zone. Seven gliders went into the sea and two C-47s were lost. A second flight of 41 C-47s with gliders met still more problems with none of the gliders reaching the Son DZ and two C-47s lost to flak.

There was reduced effort on 20 September when 20 planes, operating from RAF Greenham Common, dropped supplies, and 12, from RAF Ranisbury dropped paratroops to the 101st Airborne. Thereafter, the group was returned to RAF Weston Zoyland having sustained one of the higher aircraft losses of all the fourteen C-47 groups taking part in 'Market'.

Chilbolton continued to be retained by the USAAF for use by transports as a staging base for cargo operations to and from the Continent and it was not returned to the RAF until March 1945 by which time most of the C-47 groups had been transferred to bases in France.

RAF Training Command

In the hands of the RAF, Chilbolton played host to a fighter Operational Training Unit - No. 41 - for the rest of the European war, and then to several different fighter squadrons equipped with Supermarine Spitfires and Hawker Tempests as the RAF reduced its strength.

In March 1946, Chilbolton became the first RAF station to operate de Havilland Vampire jets when No. 247 squadron started to convert to the type, but by the late summer that year the station was on care and maintenance.

Civil Use

With the facility released from military control in 1946, Vickers Supermarine selected the airfield as a base for conducting flights with their jet prototypes and development aircraft, remained for the best part of ten years.

Folland Aircraft moved in to the other side of the airfield to conduct similar work on their products, chiefly the Midge and Gnat, but were gone bv the end of 1961. The next organisation to take an active interest in the site was the Space Research Council which set about building an observatory with what was to become a prominent local landmark - a giant radio telescope. Various other enterprises flourished or faded in the buildings on the periphery of the airfield.

Flying continued during the 1980s when helicopters and light aircraft serving a field spraying organisation were in residence. Today, the perimeter track has been largely reduced to a single-lane farm road as much of the airfield has been returned to agricultural use. Hardstands and most of the runways have been removed for hardcore with the exception of about a third of the eastern part of the 30 runway and the northern part of the 20 runway which is used as an access road for the Chilbolton Observatory.

ee also

* List of RAF stations
* USAAF Ninth Air Force - World War II

References

* Freeman, Roger A. (1994) UK Airfields of the Ninth: Then and Now 1994. After the Battle ISBN 0900913800
* Freeman, Roger A. (1996) The Ninth Air Force in Colour: UK and the Continent-World War Two. After the Battle ISBN 1854092723
* Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0892010924.
* [http://www.armyairforces.com/dbgroups.asp?Group=189 ArmyAirForces.com 368th Fighter Group]
* [http://www.armyairforces.com/dbgroups.asp?Group=254 ArmyAirForces.com 442d Troop Carrier Group]
* [http://home.att.net/~jbaugher/usafserials.html USAAS-USAAC-USAAF-USAF Aircraft Serial Numbers--1908 to present]

External links

* [http://www.multimap.com/map/photo.cgi?client=public&X=440000&Y=137500&width=700&height=400&gride=435000&gridn=140000&srec=0&coordsys=gb&db=freegaz&pc=&zm=0&scale=50000&multimap.x=280&multimap.y=125 Aerial photo of current-day Chilbolton Airfield at multimap.com]