RAF Chilbolton
Encyclopedia
RAF Station Chilbolton is a former World War II
airfield in Hampshire
, England
. The airfield is located approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) south-southeast of Andover
; about 62 miles (99.8 km) southwest of London
Opened in 1940, it was used by both the Royal Air Force
and United States Army Air Force. During the war it was used primarily as a troop carrier airfield for parachutists. After the war it was used for jet aircraft testing before being closed in 1946.
Today the remains of the airfield are located on private property being used as agricultural fields.
raids ceased, Chilbolton played host to Army Co-operation Command units.
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.
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 connecting to an enclosing perimeter track, of a width of 50 feet.
The ground support station was constructed largely of Nissen hut
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; 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. Air depot personnel performed depot-level maintenance on aircraft as well as performed major structural repair on aircraft severely damaged in combat. The Ammunition dump was located on the south side of the airfield, outside of the perimeter track surrounded by large dirt mounds and concrete storage pens.
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 2.841 personnel, including communal and a sick quarters.
During airborne operations, when large numbers of airborne parachutists were moved to the airfield, tents would be pitched on the interior grass regions of the airfield, or wherever space could be found to accommodate the airborne forces for the short time they would be bivouacked at the station prior to the operation.
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.
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:
The 368th was a group of Ninth Air Force
's 71st Fighter Wing
, IX Tactical Air Command
. Recipient of the Presidential Unit Citation, the 368th was the highest scoring Ninth Air Force P-47 only unit with 149 victories. It was the first unit to attack V-1 buzz-bomb sites, the first use Napalm
bombs, and pioneered the role of pilots as forward air controllers.
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 extraordinary combat being that of Major Randall Hendricks of 397th Fighter Squadron who, in quick succession, shot down four Focke-Wulf Fw 190
s he had surprised on 12 June. His fifth victory came 10 days later, making him the first post-invasion Allied ace. The Group produced two other aces: Lt. Col. Paul P. Douglas of the 396th FS (8), and Captain William Garry of the 395th FS (6).
Chilbolton 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 1946at Straubing, Germany.
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.
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.
s and Hawker Tempest
s 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.
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 by the end of 1961. With their departure, the wartime airfield began to be dismantled, with large sections of runway, perimeter track and loop hardstands being removed for hardcore.
The next organization 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 radio telescope, known as the Chilbolton Observatory
, which was built almost in the centre of the airfield, on the wartime main runway. When constructed, the north end of the runway was removed, with a two lane access road replacing the runway and connecting to the local road network. 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 organization were in residence using a grass strip built parallel to the main north-south 12/30 runway. 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. A large section of the 07/25 secondary runway still exists, although reduced to half width. In aerial photography, however, much of the former wartime airfield's runways and hardstands can be seen as disturbances on the landscape, giving a ghostly appearance to the area.
The use for the airfield is purly agricultural now, the runways, all bar one have been reduced to either half width or completely destroyed, there is still a few areas which have not been fully described and explored yet but I am working towards getting this done and then posting the details and pictures on here, please just keep visiting this page to watch the development.
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 Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, 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 4 miles (6.4 km) south-southeast of Andover
Andover, Hampshire
Andover is a town in the English county of Hampshire. The town is on the River Anton some 18.5 miles west of the town of Basingstoke, 18.5 miles north-west of the city of Winchester and 25 miles north of the city of Southampton...
; about 62 miles (99.8 km) southwest 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 1940, 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 troop carrier airfield for parachutists. After the war it was used for jet aircraft testing before being closed in 1946.
Today the remains of the airfield are located on private property being used as agricultural fields.
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 LuftwaffeLuftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
raids ceased, Chilbolton played host to Army Co-operation Command units.
Overview
The airfield consisted of free draining grass landing runways however when allocated for USAAF use in 1942. Once turned over to the Americans hardened runways were scheduled, but work did not commence until the spring of 1943. Construction was to the Class A airfieldClass 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.
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 connecting to an enclosing perimeter track, of a width of 50 feet.
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; 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. Air depot personnel performed depot-level maintenance on aircraft as well as performed major structural repair on aircraft severely damaged in combat. The Ammunition dump was located on the south side of the airfield, outside of the perimeter track surrounded by large dirt mounds and concrete storage pens.
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 2.841 personnel, including communal and a sick quarters.
During airborne operations, when large numbers of airborne parachutists were moved to the airfield, tents would be pitched on the interior grass regions of the airfield, or wherever space could be found to accommodate the airborne forces for the short time they would be bivouacked at the station prior to the operation.
USAAF use
Chilbolton was known as USAAF Station AAF-404 for security reasons by the USAAF during the war, and by which it was referred to instead of location. It's USAAF Station Code was "CB".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
Ninth Air Force
The Ninth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command . It is headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina....
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
P-47 Thunderbolt
Republic Aviation's P-47 Thunderbolt, also known as the "Jug", was the largest, heaviest, and most expensive fighter aircraft in history to be powered by a single reciprocating engine. It was heavily armed with eight .50-caliber machine guns, four per wing. When fully loaded, the P-47 weighed up to...
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 AldermastonRAF Aldermaston
RAF Aldermaston was a World War II airfield. It was used by the Royal Air Force and the United States Army Eighth and Ninth Air Force as a troop carrier group base, and was assigned USAAF station No 467.-Origins:...
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
368th Fighter Group
The 368th Fighter Group is an inactive United States Army Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the XII Tactical Air Command stationed at Fliegerhorst Straubing , Germany. It was deactivated on 20 August 1946....
in from RAF Greenham Common
RAF Greenham Common
RAF Station Greenham Common is a former military airfield in Berkshire, England. The airfield is located approximately south-southwest of Thatcham; about west of London....
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
Ninth Air Force
The Ninth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command . It is headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina....
's 71st Fighter Wing
71st Fighter Wing (World War II)
The 71st Fighter Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the Missouri Air National Guard. It was inactivated on 31 October 1950.-Lineage:* Organized as 71st Fighter Wing on 11 Ocg 1943-Assignments:...
, IX Tactical Air Command
IX Tactical Air Command
The IX Tactical Air Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the Ninth Air Force, based at Camp Shanks, New York...
. Recipient of the Presidential Unit Citation, the 368th was the highest scoring Ninth Air Force P-47 only unit with 149 victories. It was the first unit to attack V-1 buzz-bomb sites, the first use Napalm
Napalm
Napalm is a thickening/gelling agent generally mixed with gasoline or a similar fuel for use in an incendiary device, primarily as an anti-personnel weapon...
bombs, and pioneered the role of pilots as forward air controllers.
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'
D-Day
D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
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 extraordinary combat being that of Major Randall Hendricks of 397th Fighter Squadron who, in quick succession, shot down four Focke-Wulf Fw 190
Focke-Wulf Fw 190
The Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Würger was a German Second World War single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank in the late 1930s. Powered by a radial engine, the 190 had ample power and was able to lift larger loads than its well-known counterpart, the Messerschmitt Bf 109...
s he had surprised on 12 June. His fifth victory came 10 days later, making him the first post-invasion Allied ace. The Group produced two other aces: Lt. Col. Paul P. Douglas of the 396th FS (8), and Captain William Garry of the 395th FS (6).
Chilbolton 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
Cardonville
Cardonville is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.-World War II:After the liberation of the area by Allied Forces in early June 1944, engineers of the Ninth Air Force IX Engineering Command began construction of a combat Advanced Landing Ground...
, 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
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...
on VE-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 group served with 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 inactivated in Germany on 20 August 1946at Straubing, Germany.
Meanwhile, the 5th Tactical Air Depot continued to operate from Chilbolton, although its 10th ADG transferring to 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...
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 442d Troop Carrier Group based at RAF Weston ZoylandRAF Weston Zoyland
thumb|C-47s of the 306th Troop Carrier SquadronRAF Station Weston Zoyland is a former World War II airfield in Somerset, England. The airfield is located approximately east-southeast of Bridgwater; about west-southwest of London...
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
101st Airborne Division
The 101st Airborne Division—the "Screaming Eagles"—is a U.S. Army modular light infantry division trained for air assault operations. During World War II, it was renowned for its role in Operation Overlord, the D-Day landings on 6 June 1944, in Normandy, France, Operation Market Garden, the...
two flights of 442nd C-47s took off for drop-zones near Veghel
Veghel
Veghel is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands.Since 1994 Veghel and the neighbouring village of Erp have formed a single municipality.Veghel is twinned with Goch in Germany.- Population centres :*Boerdonk*Eerde*Erp*Keldonk...
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
RAF Greenham Common
RAF Station Greenham Common is a former military airfield in Berkshire, England. The airfield is located approximately south-southwest of Thatcham; about west of London....
, dropped supplies, and 12, from RAF Ranisbury dropped paratroops to the 101st Airborne. Thereafter, the group was returned to RAF Weston Zoyland
RAF Weston Zoyland
thumb|C-47s of the 306th Troop Carrier SquadronRAF Station Weston Zoyland is a former World War II airfield in Somerset, England. The airfield is located approximately east-southeast of Bridgwater; about west-southwest of London...
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 SpitfireSupermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
s and Hawker Tempest
Hawker Tempest
The Hawker Tempest was a British fighter aircraft primarily used by the Royal Air Force in the Second World War. The Tempest was an improved derivative of the Hawker Typhoon, and one of the most powerful fighter aircraft used during the war....
s as the RAF reduced its strength.
In March 1946, Chilbolton became the first RAF station to operate de Havilland Vampire
De Havilland Vampire
The de Havilland DH.100 Vampire was a British jet-engine fighter commissioned by the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. Following the Gloster Meteor, it was the second jet fighter to enter service with the RAF. Although it arrived too late to see combat during the war, the Vampire served...
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 SupermarineVickers
Vickers was a famous name in British engineering that existed through many companies from 1828 until 1999.-Early history:Vickers was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by the miller Edward Vickers and his father-in-law George Naylor in 1828. Naylor was a partner in the foundry Naylor &...
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
Folland Gnat
The Folland Gnat was a small, swept-wing British subsonic jet trainer and light fighter aircraft developed by Folland Aircraft for the Royal Air Force, and flown extensively by the Indian Air Force....
, but were gone by the end of 1961. With their departure, the wartime airfield began to be dismantled, with large sections of runway, perimeter track and loop hardstands being removed for hardcore.
The next organization 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 radio telescope, known as the Chilbolton Observatory
Chilbolton Observatory
The Chilbolton Observatory is a facility for atmospheric and radio research located on the edge of the village of Chilbolton near Stockbridge in Hampshire, England...
, which was built almost in the centre of the airfield, on the wartime main runway. When constructed, the north end of the runway was removed, with a two lane access road replacing the runway and connecting to the local road network. 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 organization were in residence using a grass strip built parallel to the main north-south 12/30 runway. 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. A large section of the 07/25 secondary runway still exists, although reduced to half width. In aerial photography, however, much of the former wartime airfield's runways and hardstands can be seen as disturbances on the landscape, giving a ghostly appearance to the area.
See also
The use for the airfield is purly agricultural now, the runways, all bar one have been reduced to either half width or completely destroyed, there is still a few areas which have not been fully described and explored yet but I am working towards getting this done and then posting the details and pictures on here, please just keep visiting this page to watch the development.