Colerne Airfield
Encyclopedia
Colerne Airfield , formerly known as RAF Colerne
, is located at Colerne
, Wiltshire
, England
.
By October 1940 RAF Colerne was still partly in the course of construction being a fighter station for the defence of Bristol. At that date the contractors were still building and the ground was a quagmire in many areas. Unfinished barrack blocks were pretty cold and there was very little running water. Troops were taken in Bedford trucks once a week to the luxurious baths in Bath used in peacetime by wealthy invalids. These sunken baths, tiled and entered down steps by brass handrails were in contrast to conditions at the camp. The 87 squadron was there and a Polish fighter squadron.
Later Defiants came but they were not a success as nightfighters were superseded by the more suitable Beaufighter.
It was at a later time taken over by the Army, Former Regiments of Royal Corps of Transport and Royal Army Ordanance Corps.
Colerne Airfield was used as the location for the filming of Top Gear's Airport Vehicle Race featured in Series 14 Episode 4.
The airfield is a ground station for the Skynet 5 military satellite system that provides battlefield support (e.g. real-time imagery from remote-piloted drones in various theatres of war). It is also in close proximity to the underground Corsham Computer Centre
(that was established based around a system of Digital Equipment Corporation
VAX
computers).
The airfield (as RAF Colerne
) also provides a base for the Bristol University Air Squadron
(3 AEF
), that provides ab-initio
pilot training for the RAF.
RAF Colerne
RAF Colerne now known as Colerne Airfield or AEF Colerne is a former World War II RAF Fighter Command and Bomber Command airfield located on the outskirts of the village of Colerne, Wiltshire...
, is located at Colerne
Colerne
Colerne is a village and civil parish in the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, midway between Bath and Chippenham in Wiltshire, England. It has an elevated position above sea level and overlooks the Box Valley to the south...
, Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
, 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...
.
By October 1940 RAF Colerne was still partly in the course of construction being a fighter station for the defence of Bristol. At that date the contractors were still building and the ground was a quagmire in many areas. Unfinished barrack blocks were pretty cold and there was very little running water. Troops were taken in Bedford trucks once a week to the luxurious baths in Bath used in peacetime by wealthy invalids. These sunken baths, tiled and entered down steps by brass handrails were in contrast to conditions at the camp. The 87 squadron was there and a Polish fighter squadron.
Later Defiants came but they were not a success as nightfighters were superseded by the more suitable Beaufighter.
The entry under RAF Charmy Down suggests it was more active than Colerne but when I was sent there to open up a substore in late 1940 it was more of a satellite although some flying was taking place. I remember doing guard duty at night high up on Charmy Down and seing Bristol down below being pounded by enemy bombers. From Colerne we had periodic 24 hour passes during which we could travel down Bannerdown Hill into Bath and enjoy the many cultural activities there, the Pump Room, the Theatre Royal etc.
It was at a later time taken over by the Army, Former Regiments of Royal Corps of Transport and Royal Army Ordanance Corps.
Colerne Airfield was used as the location for the filming of Top Gear's Airport Vehicle Race featured in Series 14 Episode 4.
The airfield is a ground station for the Skynet 5 military satellite system that provides battlefield support (e.g. real-time imagery from remote-piloted drones in various theatres of war). It is also in close proximity to the underground Corsham Computer Centre
Corsham Computer Centre
Corsham Computer Centre is an underground British Ministry of Defence installation in Corsham, Wiltshire, built in the 1980s. According to the MoD, the centre "processes data in support of the Royal Navy"...
(that was established based around a system of Digital Equipment Corporation
Digital Equipment Corporation
Digital Equipment Corporation was a major American company in the computer industry and a leading vendor of computer systems, software and peripherals from the 1960s to the 1990s...
VAX
VAX
VAX was an instruction set architecture developed by Digital Equipment Corporation in the mid-1970s. A 32-bit complex instruction set computer ISA, it was designed to extend or replace DEC's various Programmed Data Processor ISAs...
computers).
The airfield (as RAF Colerne
RAF Colerne
RAF Colerne now known as Colerne Airfield or AEF Colerne is a former World War II RAF Fighter Command and Bomber Command airfield located on the outskirts of the village of Colerne, Wiltshire...
) also provides a base for the Bristol University Air Squadron
University Air Squadron
University Air Squadrons are training units of the Royal Air Force which primarily provide basic flying training, force development and adventurous training to undergraduate students at British universities...
(3 AEF
Air Experience Flight
An Air Experience Flight is a training unit of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve whose main purpose is to give introductory flying experience to Air Cadets or the RAF section of the Combined Cadet Force...
), that provides ab-initio
Ab Initio
The Ab Initio software is a fourth generation data analysis, batch processing, data manipulation graphical user interface -based parallel processing product which is commonly used to extract, transform, and load data...
pilot training for the RAF.