RAF Christchurch

For the civil use of this facility, see Christchurch Airfield.

RAF Christchurch USAAF Station AAF-416
Christchurch, Dorset in England
Christchurch Airfield - 4 March 1944. Christchurch was unusual as it was constructed on an existing airfield. However the airfield used before the war for club and commercial flying was too small to accommodate wartime aircraft so the airfield was expanded by building further runway areas to the south of the existing.
RAF Christchurch Shown within Dorset
Coordinates	50°44′23″N 001°44′22″W
Type	Royal Air Force satellite station
Code	XC[1]
Site information
Owner	Air Ministry
Operator	Royal Air Force United States Army Air Forces
Controlled by	RAF Fighter Command 1941-44 * No. 10 Group RAF * No. 11 Group RAF RAF Transport Command 1945 * No. 46 Group RAF[1]
Site history
Built	1935 (1935) & 1941
In use	1941 - 1946 (1946)
Battles/wars	European theatre of World War II
Airfield information
Elevation	6 metres (20 ft)[1] AMSL
Runways Direction Length and surface 00/00  Sommerfeld Tracking 00/00  Grass 00/00  Concrete 00/00  Unknown 00/00  Unknown

Royal Air Force Christchurch or more simply RAF Christchurch is a former Royal Air Force satellite station and was located southeast of the A337/B3059 junction in Somerford, Christchurch, Dorset, England.

Christchurch Airfield was a civil airfield that started operation from 1926, enlarged for wartime operations in 1941, Christchurch was used during the Second World War by the Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Forces Ninth Air Force. It returned to civilian flying postwar before being taken over by what became British Aerospace to manufacture jet fighters and civilian airliner types. The airfield complex was finally closed down and demolished in 1966 when housing was built on the site.

History

USAAF use

Republic P-47D-25-RE Thunderbolt 42-276552 of the 405th Fighter Group, 510th Fighter Squadron

Republic P-47D-27-RE Thunderbolt 42-227312 of the 405th Fighter Group, 510th Fighter Squadron

In 1943, the USAAF Ninth Air Force required several temporary advanced landing grounds along the southern English Channel coast prior to the Normandy invasion to provide tactical air support for the ground forces landing in France. Christchurch was provided to support this mission.

Christchurch was known as USAAF Station AAF-416 for security reasons by the USAAF during the war, and by which it was referred to instead of location. Its USAAF Station Code was "CH".

405th Fighter Group

Christchurch airfield saw the arrival of the USAAF 405th Fighter Group on 4 April 1944, the group arriving from Walterboro Army Airfield South Carolina. The 405th had the following operational squadrons:

• 509th Fighter Squadron (G9)
• 510th Fighter Squadron (2Z)
• 511th Fighter Squadron (K4)

The 405th was a group of Ninth Air Force's 84th Fighter Wing, IX Tactical Air Command. It flew the Republic P-47D Thunderbolt. The 405th moved to its Advanced Landing Ground at Picauville, France (ALG A-8) on 22 June 1944, ending the USAAF's use of Christchurch.

Additional units:[2]

• 'H' Flight of No. 1 Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit RAF (October 1940 - July 1941)[3]
• No. 89 Gliding School RAF (March 1944 - September 1955)[4] became No. 622 Gliding School RAF (September 1955 - July 1963)[5]
• No. 420 Flight RAF (September 1940)[6]
• No. 2758 Squadron RAF Regiment
• No. 2773 Squadron RAF Regiment
• No. 2799 Squadron RAF Regiment
• No. 2888 Squadron RAF Regiment
• Air Defence Research and Development Establishment
• HQ and 'B' Flight of the Special Duty Flight RAF (May 1940 - Nov 1941)[7]
• Detachment of Telecommunications Flying Unit RAF (November 1941 - May 1942)[8]

Current use

The airfield complex was demolished in 1966 and there is housing and The Runway Industrial Park located on the site.

See also

• List of former Royal Air Force stations

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

Citations

1. Falconer 2012, p. 65.
2. "Christchurch (Somerford)". Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
3. Sturtivant, Hamlin & Halley 1997, p. 69.
4. Sturtivant, Hamlin & Halley 1997, p. 165.
5. Sturtivant, Hamlin & Halley 1997, p. 168.
6. Sturtivant, Hamlin & Halley 1997, p. 131.
7. Sturtivant, Hamlin & Halley 1997, p. 273.
8. Sturtivant, Hamlin & Halley 1997, p. 291.

Bibliography

• Falconer, J. (2012). RAF Airfields of World War 2. UK: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85780-349-5.
• Freeman, Roger A. (1994) UK Airfields of the Ninth: Then and Now 1994. After the Battle ISBN 0-900913-80-0
• Freeman, Roger A. (1996) The Ninth Air Force in Colour: UK and the Continent-World War Two. After the Battle ISBN 1-85409-272-3
• Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.
• Sturtivant, R.; Hamlin, J.; Halley, J. (1997). Royal Air Force flying training and support units. UK: Air-Britain (Historians). ISBN 0-85130-252-1.

Further reading

• White, Allen (1987) Christchurch Airfield - 40 Years Of Flying

External links

• [ArmyAirForces.com 404th Fighter Group https://web.archive.org/web/20070930013102/http://www.armyairforces.com/dbgroups.asp?Group=226]
• Aerial Photo of RAF Christchurch from Multimap.Com
• Photos of the 405FG at Christchurch. Archived 16 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine