RAF Aldermaston

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RAF Aldermaston was an airfield near the village of Aldermaston in Berkshire during the Second World War.

In 1941 the higher part of the Aldermaston Court estate was chosen by the government as a site for development as a Bomber Operations Training Unit (OTU). The woodland was cleared and a standard 'A Class' airfield with three concrete runways was built. The workshops and administration buildings were on the south side, near the main entrance at Falcon Gate.There were five hangars. Four were built to take the largest RAF aircraft.

The fifth hangar, just off the airfield, was for the Ministry of Production where Spitfire fighter planes were assembled by Vickers Supermarine. The Spitfires were flight tested from the airfield. On the east side of the airfield there was a large bomb dump which covered nearly half the site.

The airfield was opened by No 92 Group of the RAF on 1 July 1942, but was never used by the intended Wellington bombers because, by then, it had been earmarked for the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF).

1 USAAF Event Diary
2 Post war
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] USAAF Event Diary

7 August 1942 HQ 60th Troop Carrier Group and 10th and 28th Troop Carrier Squadrons move from Chelveston and Podington to Aldermaston, England with C-47s.
15 August 1942 11th Troop Carrier Squadron, 60th Troop Carrier Group, moves from Chelveston to Aldermaston, England with C-47s.
14 September 1942 HQ 60th Troop Carrier Group and 10th, 11th, 12th and 28th Troop Carrier Squadrons at Aldermaston with C-47s.
October 1942 Aldermaston is officially allocated to the 8th USAAF as an air transport base and becomes USAAF station No 467.
25 November 1942 The 107th Observation Squadron, 67th Observation Group, moves from Membury to Aldermaston, England with A-20s, L-4s and Spitfires (first mission is 20 Dec 43).
1 December 1942 Headquarters 315th Troop Carrier Group and its 34th and 43d Troop Carrier Squadrons is established at Aldermaston, England upon arrival from the US. The air echelon is flying their C-47s across the North Atlantic with the first aircraft arriving on 12 Dec.
8 January 1943 The 107th Observation Squadron (originally a Michigan National Guard unit), 67th Observation Group moves its Spitfires and L-4s from Aldermaston to Membury, England.
29 May 1943 The 34th Troop Carrier Squadron, 315th Troop Carrier Group, based at Aldermaston, England, begins operating with C-47's from Blida, Algeria.
1 July 1943 During the month of July, HQ 99th Bombardment Wing (Heavy) arrives at Aldermaston, England from the US.
4 December 1943 HQ IX Air Support Command is activated at Aldermaston Court, England.
22 December 1943 The 15th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, 73d Tactical Reconnaissance Group, arrives at Aldermaston, England from the US without aircraft. They will be equipped with Spitfires and fly their first mission on 26 Mar 44.
14 January 1944 HQ 71st Fighter Wing transfers from Aldermaston to Greenham Common, England.
12 February 1944 HQ 370th Fighter Group and 401st, 402d and 485th Fighter Squadrons arrive at Aldermaston, England from the US with P-47's; the unit will transition to P-38s and fly their first mission on 1 May.
29 February 1944 HQ 370th Fighter Group and 401st Fighter Squadron from Aldermaston to Andover with P-38s (first mission is 1 May).
1 March 1944 402d and 485th Fighter Squadrons, 370th Fighter Group, from Aldermaston to Andover with P-38s (first mission 1 May).
3 March 1944 HQ 434th Troop Carrier Group and 71st, 72d, 73d and 74th Troop Carrier Squadrons from Fulbeck to Aldermaston with C-47s.
5 June 1944 Troops of the 101^st Airborne Division left from Aldermaston. They led the way on D-Day in the night drop prior to the invasion.
17 September 1944 Aldermaston was one of the lift points for Operation Market Garden the largest airborne operation in history.
1 July 1944 As the war front advanced across Europe, the USAAF transferred operations to the continent. HQ XIX Tactical Air Command moves from Aldermaston Court, England to France. The airfield was left with a skeleton crew that consisted of one sergeant with a bicycle and a Thompson submachine gun - he was there alone until well after VE-Day May 8, 1945.

[edit] Post war

The airfield was relinquished to the Air Ministry on 15 June 1945. It was to be the site for a flying school, where more than 1,000 former RAF pilots would be retrained to fly civil aircraft. Many of the buildings were refurbished and improved runway lights were installed.

In 1947, the Ministry of Civil Aviation designated the airfield as a temporary civil airport and possibly a third London airport. In April improved facilities installed when the training school was taken over by BOAC and BEA. On 30 September 1948 the school closed down.

For the next year or so the field was used for occasional test flights of the Westland Wyvern, and was eventually deserted. A number of model airplane clubs used the facilities for weekend meets.

In April 1950 the abandoned airfield was chosen as site for the United Kingdom's nuclear weapons program and the building firm W.E.Chivers embarked on a crash building program. Over 3,000 laborers, many Irish and Scots, moved into the abandoned crew quarters in Tadley. The first scientific staff arrived in 1951.

In 1952 the first building was handed over and the site was officially named the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment (AWRE).