Chalgrove Airfield
Encyclopedia
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
airfield in Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The airfield is located approximately 3 mi (4.8 km) north-northeast of Benson
Benson, Oxfordshire
Benson is a village and civil parish in South Oxfordshire, England. It is about north of Wallingford at the foot of the Chiltern Hills at the confluence of a chalk stream and the River Thames, next to Benson Lock...
; about 42 mi (67.6 km) north-northwest of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Opened in 1943, it was used by both the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
and United States Army Air Force. During the war it was used primarily as a combat Reconnaissance airfield. After the war it was closed in late 1946.
Today, the airfield is primarily used by the Martin-Baker
Martin-Baker
Martin-Baker Aircraft Co. Ltd. is a manufacturer of ejection seats and safety related equipment for aviation. The company origins were as an aircraft manufacturer before becoming a pioneer in the field of ejection seats...
company for testing ejector seat
Ejector seat
In aircraft, an ejection seat is a system designed to rescue the pilot or other crew of an aircraft in an emergency. In most designs, the seat is propelled out of the aircraft by an explosive charge or rocket motor, carrying the pilot with it. The concept of an eject-able escape capsule has also...
s.
Overview
ChalgroveChalgrove
Chalgrove is a village and civil parish of some . It is in South Oxfordshire about southeast of Oxford. The parish includes the hamlet of Rofford and the former parish of Warpsgrove with which it merged in 1932....
Airfield was one of 16 airfields west of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and south of Oxford built to bomber standards for use by American transport or reconnaissance units, and was constructed in 1943 primarily by Alfred McAlpine
Alfred McAlpine
Alfred McAlpine plc was a British construction firm headquartered in London. It was a major road builder, and constructed over 10% of Britain's motorways, including the M6 Toll...
.
The airfield conformed to the Class A airfield
Class A airfield
Class A airfields were military installations originally built for the Royal Air Force in the Second World War. Several were transferred to the U.S...
standard, the main feature of which was a set of three converging runways each containing a concrete runway for takeoffs and landings, optimally placed at 60 degree angles to each other in a triangular pattern. It had a 6004 ft (1,830 m) main runway (13/31) and secondary runways of 4347 ft (1,325 m) (06/24) and 4186 ft (1,276 m) (18/36) respectively. 50 hardstands were also constructed of standard loop type along with two T-2 hangars connecting to an enclosing perimeter track, of a width of 50 ft (15.2 m).
The ground support station was constructed largely of Nissen hut
Nissen hut
A Nissen hut is a prefabricated steel structure made from a half-cylindrical skin of corrugated steel, a variant of which was used extensively during World War II.-Description:...
s of various sizes. The support station was where the group and ground station commanders and squadron headquarters and orderly rooms were located. Also on the ground station were where the mess facilities; chapel; hospital; mission briefing and debriefing; armory and bombsite storage; life support; parachute rigging; supply warehouses; station and airfield security; motor pool and the other ground support functions necessary to support the air operations of the group. These facilities were all connected by a network of single path support roads.
The technical site, connected to the ground station and airfield consisted of at least two T-2 type hangars and various organizational, component and field maintenance shops along with the crew chiefs and other personnel necessary to keep the aircraft airworthy and to quickly repair light and moderate battle damage. Aircraft severely damaged in combat were sent to repair depots for major structural repair. The Ammunition dump was located on the northwest side of the airfield, outside of the perimeter track surrounded by large dirt mounds and concrete storage pens for storing the aerial bombs and the other munitions required by the combat aircraft.
Various domestic accommodation sites were constructed dispersed away from the airfield, but within a mile or so of the technical support site, also using clusters of Maycrete or Nissen huts. The Huts were either connected, set up end-to-end or built singly and made of prefabricated corrugated iron with a door and two small windows at the front and back. They provided accommodation for 2,557 personnel, including communal and a sick quarters
The RAF opening party arrived on 21 November 1943 and the airfield was first opened in January 1944 when the first US personnel arrived.
USAAF use
Chalgrove was allocated to the USAAF by the Ministry of Defence on 1 November 1942. The station's proximity to the RAF photographic reconnaissance base at RAF BensonRAF Benson
RAF Benson is a Royal Air Force station near Benson in South Oxfordshire, England. It is home to the Royal Air Force's support helicopters, the Aérospatiale Puma and the EH-101 Merlin, known as the Puma HC.Mk 1 and the Merlin HC.Mk 3 and Mk 3a....
and the Eighth Air Force
Eighth Air Force
The Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana....
's similar installation at RAF Mount Farm
RAF Mount Farm
RAF Mount Farm is a former World War II airfield in England. The field is located three miles north of Dorchester, Oxfordshire.-USAAF use:Mount Farm was originally a satellite airfield for the RAF Photographic Reconnaissance Unit at RAF Benson. The airfield was originally a grass field, but...
earmarked the base for the photoreconnaissance mission of the Ninth Air Force.
It was known as USAAF Station AAF-465 for security reasons by the USAAF during the war, and by which it was referred to instead of location.
10th Reconnaissance Group
The first residents of the airfield was the 10th Reconnaissance Group which arrived from Key FieldMeridian Regional Airport
Meridian Regional Airport is a public airport located on Key Field, a joint civil-military airfield located southwest of the city of Meridian in Lauderdale County, Mississippi, United States. It is owned by Meridian Airport Authority....
, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
in January 1944. The group consisted of the following operational squadrons:
- 15th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron
- 30th Photographic Reconnaissance
- 31st Photographic Reconnaissance
- 33d Photographic Reconnaissance
- 34th Photographic Reconnaissance
- 423d/155th Photographic Reconnaissance45th Reconnaissance SquadronThe 45th Reconnaissance Squadron is a United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the 55th Operations Group and stationed at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska.-Overview:...
The 30th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron (PRS) arrived in January and early February. The 31st, 33rd and 34th PRS became operational at Chalgrove in April.
The primary aircraft flown by the group consisted of photographic versions of the P-38 Lightning
P-38 Lightning
The Lockheed P-38 Lightning was a World War II American fighter aircraft built by Lockheed. Developed to a United States Army Air Corps requirement, the P-38 had distinctive twin booms and a single, central nacelle containing the cockpit and armament...
(F-5) and P-51 Mustang
P-51 Mustang
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and in several other conflicts...
(F-6). In addition the unit also flew the Stinson L-1 Vigilant
Stinson Vigilant
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Donald, David . American Warplanes of World War II. London: Aerospace Publishing, 1995. ISBN 1-874023-72-7.* Eden, Paul and Soph Moeng . The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. Amber Books Ltd., 2002. ISBN 0-7607-3432-1* Merriam, Ray . World War II Journal #15: U.S....
and L-5 Sentinel
L-5 Sentinel
The Stinson L-5 Sentinel was a World War II era liaison aircraft used by all branches of the U.S. military and by the British Royal Air Force. Along with the Stinson L-1 Vigilant, the L-5 was the only other American liaison aircraft of WWII that was purpose-built for military use and had no...
along with the Piper L-4 Grasshopper
Piper J-3
The Piper J-3 Cub is a small, simple, light aircraft that was built between 1937 and 1947 by Piper Aircraft. With tandem seating, it was intended for flight training but became one of the most popular and best-known light aircraft of all time...
light observation aircraft.
The group photographed airfields, coastal defences, ports, and made bomb-damage assessment photographs of airfields, marshalling yards, bridges, and other targets in preparation for the Normandy invasion. The 10th received a Distinguished Unit Citation for flying at low altitude to photograph the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
coast from Blankenberge
Blankenberge
Blankenberge is a town and a municipality in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the town of Blankenberge proper and the settlement of Uitkerke.On 1 January 2010 Blankenberge had a total population of 18,907...
to Dunkirk and from Le Touquet
Le Touquet-Paris-Plage
Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, commonly referred to as Le Touquet, is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. It has a population of 5,355....
to Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue
Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue
Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France.-Geography:Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue is situated in the Manche département, in the Basse-Normandie région. It is in the Quettehou canton, of the Cherbourg arrondissement. The town had a population of 2,097...
prior to the D-Day invasion during 6 May 1944 – 20 May 1944.
In May 1944 the 30th PRS moved to RAF Middle Wallop
Army Air Corps Middle Wallop
Army Air Corps Middle Wallop is a British Army base near the Hampshire village of Middle Wallop. The base hosts 2 Regiment Army Air Corps and the School of Army Aviation. The role of 2 Regiment is training and so AAC Middle Wallop is the base where most Army Air Corps pilots begin their careers...
and it was replaced by the 423rd Night Fighter Squadron with A-20 Havocs
Douglas DB-7
The Douglas A-20/DB-7 Havoc was a family of American attack, light bomber and night fighter aircraft of World War II, that served with several Allied air forces, principally those of the Soviet Union, United Kingdom, and United States. The DB-7 was also used by the air forces of Australia, South...
(F-3A) from RAF Charmy Down
RAF Charmy Down
RAF Station Charmy Down is a former World War II airfield in Somerset, England. The airfield is located approximately north-northeast of Bath; about west of London...
which was used for night photo reconnaissance. In June the 423d was renamed the 155th Photo Reconnaissance Squadron.
The group paved the way for the Normandy landings by carrying-out low-level "dicing" reconnaissance missions of beach approaches in May, 1944 and further supported the Normandy invasion in June by making visual and photographic reconnaissance of bridges, artillery, road and railway junctions, traffic centres, airfields, and other targets. A deployment re-apprasial in June 1944 led to the decision to assign a tactical recon squadron to support the needs of the ground forces on the continent. To this end, the 15th Tactical Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron was transferred in from RAF Middle Wallop on 27 June flying F-6/P-51B Mustangs. The mission of the 15th TPRS was to fly low level missions whereas the F-5 Lightnings would fly at higher altitudes.
After the invasion the 15th TPRS moved into France first, to the Advanced Landing Ground
Advanced Landing Ground
Advanced Landing Ground was the term given to the temporary advance airfields constructed by the Allies during World War II in support of the invasion of Europe...
at Rennes - St-Jacques
Rennes - Saint-Jacques Airport
Rennes – Saint-Jacques Airport or Aéroport de Rennes - Saint-Jacques is an airport about 6 km southwest of Rennes, Ille-et-Vilaine, in the region of Brittany, France....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
(ALG A-27) on 10 July. The other squadrons of the 10th moved over the next few weeks, the last being the 155th which moved to France in mid-August.
On the continent, the 10th RG aided the US Third Army and other Allied organizations in the battle to breach the Siegfried Line
Siegfried Line
The original Siegfried line was a line of defensive forts and tank defences built by Germany as a section of the Hindenburg Line 1916–1917 in northern France during World War I...
, September–December 1944. The group participated in the Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...
, December 1944-January 1945, by flying reconnaissance missions in the combat zone. From February 1945 to V-E Day
Victory in Europe Day
Victory in Europe Day commemorates 8 May 1945 , the date when the World War II Allies formally accepted the unconditional surrender of the armed forces of Nazi Germany and the end of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich. The formal surrender of the occupying German forces in the Channel Islands was not...
, the 10th RG assisted the advance of Third Army across the Rhine, to Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
and into Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, eventually being stationed at Fürth
Fürth
The city of Fürth is located in northern Bavaria, Germany in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. It is now contiguous with the larger city of Nuremberg, the centres of the two cities being only 7 km apart....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
(ALG R-30) when hostilities ended.
The 10th remained in Germany after the war as part of the army of occupation, being assigned to United States Air Forces in Europe
United States Air Forces in Europe
The United States Air Forces in Europe is the United States Air Force component of U.S. European Command, a Department of Defense unified command, and is one of two Air Force Major Commands outside of the continental United States, the other being the Pacific Air Forces...
. It was transferred without personnel or equipment back to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in June 1947, becoming part of Tactical Air Command
Tactical Air Command
Tactical Air Command is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 being headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia...
.
In August 1959, the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
10th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing
10th Air Base Wing
The 10th Air Base Wing is a non-flying United States Air Force unit that is the host wing for the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado.-Components:...
, the successor to the USAAF 10th Reconnaissance Group, returned to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, being assigned to RAF Alconbury
RAF Alconbury
RAF Alconbury is an active Royal Air Force station in Cambridgeshire, England. The airfield is adjacent to the Stukeleys [Great and Little] and located about northwest of Huntingdon; about north of London....
in Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
where it performed reconnaissance missions throughout the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
until being relieved and transferred to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1994.
IX Troop Carrier Pathfinder Group (Provisional)
The IX Troop Carrier Pathfinder Group (Provisional) was formed within the 52nd Troop Carrier Wing to provide accurate guidance for the airborne troops to their drop zoneDrop zone
A drop zone is a place where parachutists or parachuted supplies land. It can be an area targeted for landing by paratroopers, or a base from which recreational parachutists and skydivers take off in aircraft and land under parachutes...
s (DZ) and landing zones (LZ). The group was stationed at RAF North Witham
RAF North Witham
RAF Station North Witham is a former World War II airfield in Lincolnshire, England. The airfield is located in Twyford Wood, approximately east-southeast of Cotgrave; about north-northwest of London...
, however the airfield was becoming overcrowded. The unit was moved to Chalgrove in September 1944 with its flying squadrons and associated units.
Pathfinder troop carrier crews and airborne troops were trained with radar transponder systems that were utilized as a navigational aid for incoming troop carrier serials. Parachutists were dropped with portable responder beacons that were placed on a drop zone or landing zone on the ground and after it was activated, it indicated its approximate location of the DZ/LZ on a receiver called Rebecca in the cockpit of inbound C-47
C-47 Skytrain
The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota is a military transport aircraft that was developed from the Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in front line operations through the 1950s with a few remaining in operation to this day.-Design and...
s of the main airborne force.
From September 1944 though March 1945 the group airlifted supplies from Chalgrove to the continent and provided pathfinder duties to support Operation Market Garden
Operation Market Garden
Operation Market Garden was an unsuccessful Allied military operation, fought in the Netherlands and Germany in the Second World War. It was the largest airborne operation up to that time....
in Holland and the airborne invasion of Germany across the Rhine (Operation Varsity
Operation Varsity
Operation Varsity was a successful joint American–British airborne operation that took place toward the end of World War II...
). It then moved on into France. This ended the Ninth Air Force's association with Chalgrove.
25th Bombardment Group (Reconnaissance)
In August 1944 the 653d Bombardment Squadron653d Bombardment Squadron
The 653d Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with VIII Fighter Command, based at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey...
of the 25th Bombardment Group based at RAF Watton
RAF Watton
Royal Air Force Station Watton is a former military airfield in Norfolk, England. The airfield is located approximately south-southwest of East Dereham....
moved to Chalgrove. The 653d was an Eighth Air Force
Eighth Air Force
The Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana....
unit equipped with special weather reconnaissance Mosquito
De Havilland Mosquito
The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito was a British multi-role combat aircraft that served during the Second World War and the postwar era. It was known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews and was also nicknamed "The Wooden Wonder"...
PRXVI's which operated over the waters adjacent to the British Isles and occasionally to the Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
to obtain meteorological data. The squadron also flew over mainland Europe for weather information needed in planning operations.
In November 1945 the squadron was inactivated.
7th Reconnaissance Group
In March 1945 the 13th13th Reconnaissance Squadron
The 13th Reconnaissance Squadron is part of the 940th Wing at Beale Air Force Base, California. It operates RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aircraft conducting reconnaissance and surveillance missions.-Mission:...
, 14th
14th Fighter Squadron
The 14th Fighter Squadron is part of the 35th Fighter Wing at Misawa Air Base, Japan. It operates the F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft conducting air superiority missions.-History:...
and 22nd Photographic Reconnaissance Squadrons from the VII Air Service Command 7th Reconnaissance Group
7th Reconnaissance Group
The 7th Reconnaissance Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the United States Air Forces in Europe at the Hitcham Air Depot, England...
moved to Chalgrove from RAF Mount Farm
RAF Mount Farm
RAF Mount Farm is a former World War II airfield in England. The field is located three miles north of Dorchester, Oxfordshire.-USAAF use:Mount Farm was originally a satellite airfield for the RAF Photographic Reconnaissance Unit at RAF Benson. The airfield was originally a grass field, but...
flying P-51 Mustangs (F-6). Initially the group carried out photographic mapping missions for ground forces advancing across Germany, then took part in the final bomb-damage assessments following V-E Day.
Fuselage codes for the 13th PRS was "ES" and "G2" for the 22d. The unit also flew the Stinson L-5 Sentinel light observation aircraft.
The group was inactivated at the 4th Strategic Air Depot (Hitcham)
RAF Wattisham
RAF Wattisham was a Royal Air Force station located in East Anglia just outside the village of Wattisham, south of Stowmarket in Suffolk, England. During the Cold War it was a major front-line air force base...
on 21 November 1945.
RAF use
With the inactivation of the 25th Bomb Group, the USAAF returned the airfield to the RAF on 1 December 1945. During the late summer of 1946, the RAF No. 8 Operational Training Unit (OTU) used the facilities to train Spitfire and Mosquito photo-reconnaissance pilots and navigators. However the use was brief and Chalgrove was closed in the autumn.Civil use
With the end of military control, Chalgrove Airfield was leased by the MoD to Martin-Baker in July 1946 for development and testing of ejection seats. Today the airfield is surrounded by very high fences and access is restricted. Although most of the hardstands have been removed over the years, all of the runways and perimeter track exist and are still in use by Martin-Baker. Two of the wartime T-2 hangars are in use as part of the airfield and the Monument Industrial Estate site just to the southeast of the airfield contains some old USAAF buildings that were once part of the airfield.Chalgrove Aerodrome has a CAA
United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority
The Civil Aviation Authority is the public corporation which oversees and regulates all aspects of aviation in the United Kingdom. The CAA head office is located in the CAA House on Kingsway in Holborn, London Borough of Camden...
Ordinary Licence (Number P683) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction as authorised by the licensee (Martin Baker (Engineering) Limited). The aerodrome is not licensed for night use.
Chalgrove in the media
Chalgrove featured in an episode of the British TV series The ProfessionalsThe Professionals (TV series)
The Professionals was a British crime-action television drama series produced by Avengers Mk1 Productions and London Weekend Television that aired on the ITV network from 1977 to 1983. In all, 57 episodes were produced, filmed between 1977 and 1981. It starred Martin Shaw, Lewis Collins and Gordon...
, the Cessna 172
Cessna 172
The Cessna 172 Skyhawk is a four-seat, single-engine, high-wing fixed-wing aircraft. First flown in 1955 and still in production, more Cessna 172s have been built than any other aircraft.-Design and development:...
being used by an escapee supposedly crashing into an airfield building. An episode of the cult series The Prisoner
The Prisoner
The Prisoner is a 17-episode British television series first broadcast in the UK from 29 September 1967 to 1 February 1968. Starring and co-created by Patrick McGoohan, it combined spy fiction with elements of science fiction, allegory and psychological drama.The series follows a British former...
also featured Chalgrove, including sequences involving a Martin Baker
Martin Baker
Martin Baker may refer to:*Martin-Baker Aircraft Co. Ltd*Martin Baker , Scottish footballer*Martin Baker...
Gloster Meteor
Gloster Meteor
The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies' first operational jet. It first flew in 1943 and commenced operations on 27 July 1944 with 616 Squadron of the Royal Air Force...
.
Other sources
- Freeman, Roger A. (1994) UK airfields of the Ninth: then and now, London : Battle of Britain Prints International, ISBN 0-900913-80-0
- Maurer, Maurer (1983) Air Force combat units of World War II, Washington, D.C. : Office of Air Force History, ISBN 0-912799-02-1
- Truman, Robert (2006) RAF Chalgrove airfield, Control Towers.co.uk, www web site [accessed 30 July 2007]