RAF Colerne


Royal Air Force Colerne or more simply RAF Colerne is a former Royal Air Force station located on the outskirts of the village of Colerne in Wiltshire, in use from 1939 to 1976.
The site is now known as Azimghur Barracks and is home to 21 Signal Regiment, Royal Signals and 93 Air Training Corps detached flight.

History

Second World War

Originally there had been a farm called Doncombe and a vineyard on the site of the airfield, the name of Doncombe Lane and Doncombe Hill being the last link to the farm.
From 1940 to 1955 RAF Fighter Command units were based here. During the Battle of Britain the airfield served as a satellite field to RAF Middle Wallop, and squadrons rotated back and forth from there on a daily basis.
Later it was a Training station for Night Fighter navigators. Using the latest night fighter procedures, the unit involved was No. 238 Operational Conversion Unit and Bristol Brigand twin engine aircraft was used for this purpose. Also on this unit they operated Bristol Buckmaster Aircraft for Pilot Training, and a number of Boulton Paul Balliol aircraft which basically was an advanced pilot trainer powered by a Rolls Royce Merlin engine. Both the Pilot and Trainee sat side by side in the wide fuselage and the Balliols were used as targets for the Brigand aircraft to practice radar interceptions on.
SquadronEquipmentFromToDeparted ToNotes
No. 19 Squadron RAFSupermarine Spitfire VB23 July 194231 July 1942RAF Perranporth
No. 29 Squadron RAFde Havilland Mosquito XIIII/XXX22 February 194511 May 1945RAF Manston
No. 87 Squadron RAFHawker Hurricane I
Hurricane IIC		28 November 1940
7 August 1941		18 December 1940
27 January 1942		RAF Charmy DownDetachment at RAF Charmy Down.
Det at RAF St Mary's.
No. 89 Squadron RAFBristol Beaufighter IF25 September 194119 November 1941en route EgyptReformed here.
No. 118 Squadron RAFSpitfire IIA7 April 19419 April 1941RAF Warmwell
No. 124 Squadron RAFSpitfire VIIMarch 194326 July 1943RAF NortholtAs an detachment from RAF North Weald.
No. 125 Squadron RAFBoulton Paul Defiant I
Defiant II
Beaufighter IIF		16 June 1941
25 January 1942		7 August 1941
14 May 1942		RAF Charmy Down
RAF Fairwood Common		Full Squadron
Det at RAF Fairwood Common
Det at RAF Charmy Down.
No. 131 Squadron RAFSpitfire IX
Spitfire VII		10 February 1944
29 February 1944		22 February 1944
24 March 1944		RAF Fairwood Common
Harrowbeer
No. 137 Squadron RAFHurricane IV
Hawker Typhoon IB		2 January 19444 February 1944RAF Lympne
No. 151 Squadron RAFDefiant I
Mosquito II/XII/VI/XIII		30 April 1943
17 November 1943		16 August 1943
25 March 1944		RAF Middle Wallop
RAF Predannack
No. 165 Squadron RAFSpitfire VC/IXB10 February 1944
7 March 1944		1 March 1944
10 March 1944		RAF Fairwood Common
RAF Culmhead
No. 175 Squadron RAFHurricane IIB
Typhoon IB		8 April 194329 May 1943RAF Lasham
No. 183 Squadron RAFTyphoon IB24 March 19438 April 1943RAF Gatwick
No. 184 Squadron RAFHurricane IID1 December 19421 March 1943RAF ChilboltonDet at RAF Milfield.
No. 219 Squadron RAFMosquito XVII26 March 19441 April 1944RAF Bradwell Bay
No. 256 Squadron RAFDefiant I6 February 194126 March 1941RAF Squires GateDet at RAF Middle Wallop.
No. 263 Squadron RAFWestland Whirlwind I28 January 1942
15 August 1942		10 February 1942
13 September 1942		RAF Fairwood Common
RAF Warmwell
No. 264 Squadron RAFDefiant II
Mosquito II
Mosquito XIII		1 May 1942
30 November 1944		30 April 1943
1 December 1944		RAF Odiham
No. 285 Squadron RAFDefiant III
Martinet I		25 August 194319 November 1944RAF AndoverAs an detachment from RAF Woodvale.
No. 286 Squadron RAFMiles Master III
Defiant III/I
Hurricane I
Airspeed Oxford		30 December 1941
2 March 1942		24 January 1942
30 April 1942		RAF Lulsgate Bottom
RAF Lulsgate Bottom
No. 307 Polish Night Fighter SquadronDefiant I26 March 194126 April 1941RAF Exeter
No. 316 Polish Fighter SquadronHurricane I/IIA/IIB18 June 19412 August 1941RAF Northolt
No. 317 Polish Fighter SquadronHurricane I26 June 194127 June 1941RAF Fairwood Common
No. 402 Squadron RAFHurricane IB
Spitfire VB		4 March 194217 March 1942RAF Fairwood Common
No. 406 Squadron RAFMosquito XXX17 September 194427 November 1944RAF Manston
No. 410 Squadron RAFMosquito XIII/XXX28 July 19449 September 1944RAF Hunsdon
No. 417 Squadron RAFSpitfire IIA/VB26 January 194224 February 1942RAF Tain
No. 456 Squadron RAAFBeaufighter IIF/VIF
Mosquito II
Mosquito VI		December 1942
17 August 1943		29 March 1943
17 November 1943		RAF Middle Wallop
RAF Fairwood Common
No. 488 Squadron RNZAFMosquito XIII3 May 1944
29 July 1944		12 May 1944
9 October 1944		RAF Zeals
RAF Hunsdon
No. 501 Squadron RAFSpitfire I/IIA9 April 194125 June 1941RAF Chilbolton
No. 504 Squadron RAFSpitfire IXE
Meteor III		28 March 194510 August 1945DisbandedDets at RAF Andrews Field and Lübeck.
No. 587 Squadron RAFOxford
Hawker Henley III
Hurricane IV
Miles Martinet
Hurricane IIC		10 April 19441 October 1944RAF Weston ZoylandAs an detachment from RAF Culmhead.
No. 600 Squadron RAFBeaufighter IIF27 April 1941
27 June 1941		18 June 1941
6 October 1941		RAF Fairwood Common
RAF Predannack
Det at RAF Predannack.
No. 604 Squadron RAFMosquito XIII
Mosquito XII		13 July 1944
28 July 1944		25 July 1944
6 August 1944		RAF Zeals
A-8 Picauville
Det at A-15 Maupertus.
No. 616 Squadron RAFMeteor I/III17 January 194528 February 1945RAF Andrews FieldDet at B 58 Melsbroek.

The following units were here during the Second World War:
Between 4 May 1948 and 1 March 1962, No. 49 Maintenance Unit RAF was based at the airfield.
After this period it became a Transport Command airfield, and Handley Page Hastings aircraft were flown from RAF Colerne. After the demise of the Hastings and the delivery of the new Lockheed C-130 Hercules being introduced to the RAF Air Support Command, the front line transport role was relinquished. The Hercules were based at RAF Lyneham and for many years major servicing of the Hercules was carried out at RAF Colerne by the Air Engineering Squadron until the station closed in 1976. C-130 Hercules aircraft XV198 crashed, killing all crew on board here in September 1973.
Colerne was also the home of No. 2 Field Squadron RAF Regiment from 1962 to 1975. For a number of years up until its closure as an RAF station it housed one of the RAF's regional collections of historic aircraft including Neville Duke's world record breaking Hawker Hunter and a rare example of the rocket-engined Messerschmitt Me 163 B, Werknummer 191904.
In 1985 the entire former RAF married quarter housing estate known as The Thickwood Estate was sold to Roger Byron-Collins company the Welbeck Estate Group. All 80 houses were upgraded and converted to civilan use.
SquadronEquipmentFromToDeparted ToNotes
No. 24 Squadron RAFHandley Page Hastings C.11 January 19575 January 1968RAF Lyneham
No. 36 Squadron RAFHastings C.1/C.21 September 19581 July 1967RAF Lyneham
No. 74 Squadron RAFGloster Meteor F.315 February 1946
9 June 1946		2 June 1946
14 August 1946		RAF Bentwaters
RAF Horsham St Faith
No. 114 Squadron RAFHastings C.1/C.213 April 195930 September 1961DisbandedReformed here.
No. 245 Squadron RAFMeteor F.310 August 194518 February 1946RAF Fairwood CommonReformed here.
No. 511 Squadron RAFHastings C.1/C.21 May 19571 September 1958Disbanded
No. 662 Squadron RAFAuster AOP 5/6/41 February 194910 March 1957Disbanded

The following units were here during the Cold War:
Used by the British Army as its training facility for the Junior Leaders Regiment of the Royal Corps of Transport and Royal Army Ordnance Corps. Young men from the age of 16 were trained in a variety of the skills needed to enable them to become better soldiers in the army. Basic driver training was done on simulators, car driver training to licence level and motorcycle training were undertaken here.
The Regiment consisted of:-
30 Squadron RCT,
57 Squadron RCT and
90 Squadron RCT.
88 Coy RAOC.
Estranged from the regiment at Driffield in Yorkshire was 32 Driver Training Squadron RCT. Here young soldiers were sent to the ASMT at Defence School of Transport to be taught to drive the basic vehicles of the Army and to qualify as Driver Trade B3 before being posted to a full-time working regiment where their technical trade training would be continued.

Current Use

Colerne Airfield is now home to 21 Signal Regiment, Royal Signals, and the 93 Squadron Air Training Corps detached flight and Bristol University Air Squadron, who operate the Grob Tutor in a flying training role for the RAF. BUAS recruits from several universities in the South-West and has been stationed at Colerne, alongside 3 Air Experience Flight, for many years. They fly the Air Training Corps cadets. Several other military cadet units use Colerne for training.

Units

Citations