EXTRA INFO
PHOTO RAF CULMHEAD (AKA RAF CHURCH STANTON): A TOUR OF A WW2 AIRFIELD (1) THIS ILLUSTRATED HISTORY AND PLAN OF THE WARTIME AIRFIELD CAN BE FOUND IN TRICKY WARREN LANE WHICH IS NOT WHERE THE TOUR STARTS BUT COMMENCES AT THE TOP OF THE AIRFIELD TO THE NORTH EAST AND THEN CONTINUES SOUTH IN AN ANTI-CLOCKWISE DIRECTION. NOTE THAT THE NUMBERS IN SOME OF THE TITLES REFER TO THE IDENTITY OF BUILDINGS IN THE AIR MINISTRY AIRFIELD PLAN.BUT FIRST A BRIEF HISTORY. THIS WAS THE FIRST OF THREE AIRFIELDS TO HAVE BEEN BUILT ON THE PLATEAU OF THE BLACKDOWN HILLS THAT ALSO INCLUDED RAF UPOTTERY (AKA RAF SMEATHARPE) AND RAF DUNKESWELL. THE AIRFIELD OF RAF CULMHEAD WAS CONSTRUCTED AS RAF CHURCH STANTON IN 1940 - 41 AND WAS OFFICIALLY OPENED IN AUGUST 1941 ALTHOUGH TWO MONTHS PRIOR TO THIS IT WAS BROUGHT INTO USE AS A SATELLITE TO PROVIDE SHELTER FROM BOMBING RAIDS FOR AIRCRAFT NORMALLY BASED AT RAF EXETER. CONFUSION WITH OTHER AIRFIELDS PREFIXED 'CHURCH' LED TO THE STATION BEING RENAMED RAF CULMHEAD IN DECEMBER 1943. FIGHTER SQUADRONS WHO FLEW FROM HERE PERFORMED MANY ROLES THROUGHOUT THE WAR THAT INCLUDED DEFENDING EXETER AND BRISTOL ESCORTING NAVAL CONVOYS AND PROTECTING BOMBER FORMATIONS. THE FIRST SQUADRONS TO ARRIVE WERE POLISH OF 302 AND 316 SQUADRONS WITH MK IIB HURRICANES. WHILST 302 SQUADRON LEFT IN SEPTEMBER 1941 316 FLEW ON CONVOY PATROLS AND LATER WHEN EQUIPPED WITH MK V SPITFIRES TOOK ON CHANNEL SWEEPS AND BOMBER ESCORTS. THEY TOO LEFT IN DECEMBER 1941 FOR RAF NORTHOLT WHO WERE REPLACED BY ANOTHER POLISH SQUADRON 306 SQUADRON WHO FLEW CHANNEL SWEEPS AND FIGHTER PATROLS OVER BRISTOL AND EXETER. A RESEARCH FLIGHT WAS ALSO BASED HERE INVOLVED IN BARRAGE BALLOON CABLE CUTTING EXPERIMENTS IN AIRCRAFT FLOWN BY VERY BRAVE PILOTS! INEVITABLY SOME ACCIDENTS DID OCCUR. JUNE 1942 SAW THE ARRIVAL OF SEVERAL DIFFERENT CZECH SPITFIRE SQUADRONS WHO TOOK OVER FROM THE POLISH. THEY CONTINUED THE FIGHT BY TAKING THE BATTLE TO THE ENEMY WITH CROSS CHANNEL SORTIES INTO ENEMY HELD TERRITORY. SPITFIRES OF 66 AND 504 SQUADRONS REPLACED THE CZECH WING IN JUNE 1943 WHO CONTINUED WITH CHANNEL PATROLS AND FIGHTER ESCORT DUTIES. ON 31 DECEMBER 1943 RAF CULMHEAD AS IT WAS NOW KNOWN PROVIDED COVER FOR A LARGE USAAF FORCE OF B-17 AND B-24 BOMBERS ATTACKING THE BORDEAUX AREA. THEY WENT ON WITH MORE ESCORT DUTIES IN THE EARLY PART OF 1944 BEFORE MOVING TO RAF COLERNE. THEY WERE REPLACED BY 610 SQUADRON FROM RAF EXETER EQUIPPED WITH SPITFIRES IN APRIL 1944. DURING THE SUMMER OF 1944 RAF CULMHEAD BECAME THE BASE FOR 587 SQUADRON AND 616 SQUADRON WITH SPITFIRE VIIS AND ALSO THE SPITFIRE IXS OF 126 AND 131 SQUADRONS. INTENSIVE OPERATIONS LEADING UP TO AND FOLLOWING D-DAY COMMENCED IN JUNE 1944 ATTACKING GOODS TRAINS AND VEHICLE CONVOYS.THE FIRST BRITISH JET FIGHTERS ARRIVED AT RAF CULMHEAD IN THE SHAPE OF TWO GLOSTER METEOR MK I FIGHTERS FROM THE RAE FACTORY AT FARNBOROUGH ON 12 JULY 1944 FOR TESTING BY 616 SQUADRON. LATER IN THE YEAR RAF CULMHEAD WAS TRANSFERRED TO 23 GROUP FLYING TRAINING COMMAND AND IN DECEMBER 1944 NO. 3 GLIDER TRAINING SCHOOL MOVED TO RAF CULMHEAD FROM RAF ZEALS WITH THEIR MILES MASTER TUGS AND HOTSPUR GLIDERS. THE TRAINING SCHOOL WAS THEN MOVED TO RAF EXETER IN JANUARY 1945 WITH CULMHEAD BECOMING THE BASE FOR THE GLIDERS INSTRUCTORS SCHOOL. IN AUGUST 1945 RAF CULMHEAD WAS USED AS A DETACHED STORAGE SITE AND IN AUGUST 1946 THE STATION CLOSED. 2019 COPYRIGHT MIKE SEARLEPHOTO PAPER THICKNESS NORMAL PHOTOGRAPH THICKNESS
NOTES
REF NO MSV-2445
PHOTO SIZE SIZE 6 X 4 inches
CONDITION: SOME CROPPING OR WHITE LINES TOP/BOTTOM MAY OCCUR DUE TO PHOTO RATIO
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