RAF Warmwell
Encyclopedia
RAF Warmwell was a Royal Air Force
station near Warmwell
in Dorset
, England
from 1937 to 1946, located about 5 miles east-southeast of Dorchester; 100 miles southwest of London
.
During World War II
it was used by the Royal Air Force
and the United States Army Air Force Ninth Air Force
.
The airfield consisted of free draining grass landing runways, with a strip oriented 2700 ft (823 m) north-east/south-west and the same for a south-east/north-west run, but the longest strip was west-northwest/east-south-cast covering 5.04 ft (1.5 m) Two Bellman hangar
s were erected on the technical site and there were eight Blisters. Six double pens, 12 single pens and 18 small pan aircraft standings were sited around the perimeter along with accommodations for 1,675 personnel.
during the Second World War, including a flight from 609 Sqn
which was Dorset's only RAF fighter base during the Battle of Britain
. It was not long before the Luftwaffe turned its attention to the airfield with a daylight attack in August 1940 and several hit-and-run had weather raids, plus some night bombing on a number of occasions during the spring of 1941.
Warmwell was home or temporary station to fighter squadrons engaged on both offensive and defensive operations and 33 different RAF fighter squadrons are known to have used the airfield between the autumn of 1940 and January 1944, predominantly those with Supermarine Spitfire
s but Hawker Hurricane
s, Hawker Typhoon
s, Westland Whirlwinds and North American Mustangs were also present at times.
squadrons occasionally made use of the airfield as a forward or transit base. There were several US Emergency 'lame duck' landings, the most spectacular being an unannounced Twelfth Air Force Martin B-26 Marauders
that had been en route to North Africa
in November 1942 with two other Marauders which had been shot down when flying over occupied France
.
Warmwell was an unsuitable landing ground for a B-26 in good conditions, but the wet slippery turf caused this attempted B-26 landing to end in a crash with the crew being slightly hurt. With the Ninth Air Force
requirement for airfields around the New Forest
area for Operation "Overlord"
, Warmwell airfield was allocated for use by USAAF tactical fighters.
While under USAAF control, Warmwell was known as USAAF Station AAF-454 for security reasons, and by which it was referred to instead of location. It's Station-ID was "XW".
flying Lockheed P-38 "Lightnings". Operational squadrons of the group were:
The 474th was a group of Ninth Air Force
's 70th Fighter Wing
, IX Tactical Air Command
.
Probably because they detrained at Moreton railway station - the group often referred to the Warmwell as Moreton. Squadron markings on the vertical tail surfaces were a square for the 428th, a triangle for the 429th and it circle for the 430th. The 474th FG was the only one of the three Ninth Air Force groups equipped with the P-38 in England that had trained with the type in the United States.
The 474th carried out its first mission on 25 April with a sweep along the French coast. The P-38's ability to carry two 1000 lb (453.6 kg) bombs with ease, and its heavy nose-mounted armament, made it an excellent ground attack aircraft. although it appeared to he far more vulnerable to light anti-aircraft and small arms fire than the redoubtable P-47. During 15 weeks of operations from Warmwell. 27 P-38s were missing in action, all but five known or suspected lost due to ground fire. Three of these were lost to a 'bounce' by FW 190Ds while escorting B-26s on 7 May.
On the night of June 5/6, the group flew patrols over the invasion fleet and the two aircraft lost are believed to have collided. On the credit side, during an armed reconnaissance on 18 July, a 474th formation led by Lieutenant Colonel Henry Darling surprised a force of bomb-carrying Focke-Wulf Fw 190
s and shot down 10 Luftwaffe
aircraft with the loss of only one P-38.
The 474th FG was the last of the Ninth Air Force's 18 fighter groups to move to an Advanced Landing Ground
(ALG) in France, departing from Warmwell for St. Lambert, France
(ALG A-11) during the first week of August 1944, the main body of aircraft departing on the 6th. The last mission from Warmwell, the group's 108th, was flown on the previous day.
The group continued operations on the continent providing tactical air support in support of U.S. First Army until V-E Day
, being stationed at Bad Langensalza, Germany
(ALG R-2) at the end of hostilities. The 474th FG returned to Camp Kilmer, New Jersey
during November 1945 and was inactivated on 8 December 1945.
Throughout the 474th's tenure, the RAF's No. 275 Squadron,an air-sea rescue unit with Westland Walrus
amphibians, also used Warmwell to cover the sea area between England and Normandy and remained in residence until February 1945 when the Squadron was disbanded. After the USAAF's move to France, it was not long before Warmwell was once again in use by various RAF units wanting to use the Chesil Rank bombing range and this continued until mid-September 1945. In October 1945 Warmwell was reduced to caretaker party status and eventually disposed of in 1950.
The site on which RAF Warmwell once lay is now a small village called Crossways, the original taxiway is still in use as a road through the village (where two dispersal pans still remain), and the old station cinema is now the , the old ATC tower has now been converted into a dwelling that has been extensively modified and is not easily recognisable as such. still remain, rumoured to be used by local farmers for fertilizer storage, and other buildings exist in the woodland areas surrounding Crossways, although some have been demolished. One of the base's billet
s is now one of the local shops. During clearance work in preparation for new buildings on the North East side of the old airfield a brick block house and a concrete rifle range were revealed. Both have now been demolished but the photographs shown were taken just prior to their removal.
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...
station near Warmwell
Warmwell
Warmwell is a hamlet in south west Dorset, England, situated five miles south east of Dorchester. The village has a population of 97 .Warmwell contains several historic buildings and was the home of Dorset RAF Warmwell Air Station, dating back to the late 1930's...
in Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
, 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...
from 1937 to 1946, located about 5 miles east-southeast of Dorchester; 100 miles 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...
.
During World War II
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...
it was used by 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 the United States Army Air Force 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....
.
Overview
Construction of No. 6 Armament Training Camp began in 1936 and upon completion in 1937 the 300 acres (1.2 km²) of former farmland was known as RAF Woodsford, after the village a mile to the north, and it soon played host to target-towing aircraft and a variety of visitors from RAF squadrons wishing to use the Chesil Bank range. In the spring of 1938, its name was officially changed to RAF Warmwell to avoid confusion with Woodford aerodrome in Cheshire, Warmwell being a village a mile and a half to the south of the airfield.The airfield consisted of free draining grass landing runways, with a strip oriented 2700 ft (823 m) north-east/south-west and the same for a south-east/north-west run, but the longest strip was west-northwest/east-south-cast covering 5.04 ft (1.5 m) Two Bellman hangar
Bellman hangar
The Bellman Hangar was designed in the United Kingdom in 1936 by the Directorate of Works structural engineer, N. S. Bellman, as a temporary hangar capable of being erected or dismantled by unskilled labour with simple equipment and to be easily transportable. Commercial manufacturing rights were...
s were erected on the technical site and there were eight Blisters. Six double pens, 12 single pens and 18 small pan aircraft standings were sited around the perimeter along with accommodations for 1,675 personnel.
RAF Fighter Command use
The station hosted RAF fightersFighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
during the Second World War, including a flight from 609 Sqn
No. 609 Squadron RAF
No. 609 Squadron of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, originally formed as a bomber squadron and in World War II active as fighter squadron, nowadays provides personnel to augment and support the operations of the Royal Air Force. The squadron is no longer a flying Squadron, but instead has the role...
which was Dorset's only RAF fighter base during the Battle of Britain
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...
. It was not long before the Luftwaffe turned its attention to the airfield with a daylight attack in August 1940 and several hit-and-run had weather raids, plus some night bombing on a number of occasions during the spring of 1941.
Warmwell was home or temporary station to fighter squadrons engaged on both offensive and defensive operations and 33 different RAF fighter squadrons are known to have used the airfield between the autumn of 1940 and January 1944, predominantly those with Supermarine Spitfire
Supermarine 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 but Hawker Hurricane
Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd for the Royal Air Force...
s, Hawker Typhoon
Hawker Typhoon
The Hawker Typhoon was a British single-seat fighter-bomber, produced by Hawker Aircraft. While the Typhoon was designed to be a medium-high altitude interceptor, and a direct replacement for the Hawker Hurricane, several design problems were encountered, and the Typhoon never completely satisfied...
s, Westland Whirlwinds and North American Mustangs were also present at times.
USAAF use
Warmwell had been allocated for use by American fighter units in August 1942 but was not taken up at that time and RAF units continued in residence. USAAF Spitfire and Republic P-47 ThunderboltP-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...
squadrons occasionally made use of the airfield as a forward or transit base. There were several US Emergency 'lame duck' landings, the most spectacular being an unannounced Twelfth Air Force Martin B-26 Marauders
B-26 Marauder
The Martin B-26 Marauder was a World War II twin-engine medium bomber built by the Glenn L. Martin Company. First used in the Pacific Theater in early 1942, it was also used in the Mediterranean Theater and in Western Europe....
that had been en route to North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
in November 1942 with two other Marauders which had been shot down when flying over occupied 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...
.
Warmwell was an unsuitable landing ground for a B-26 in good conditions, but the wet slippery turf caused this attempted B-26 landing to end in a crash with the crew being slightly hurt. With 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....
requirement for airfields around the New Forest
New Forest
The New Forest is an area of southern England which includes the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in the heavily-populated south east of England. It covers south-west Hampshire and extends into south-east Wiltshire....
area for Operation "Overlord"
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...
, Warmwell airfield was allocated for use by USAAF tactical fighters.
While under USAAF control, Warmwell was known as USAAF Station AAF-454 for security reasons, and by which it was referred to instead of location. It's Station-ID was "XW".
474th Fighter Group
The sandy soil at Warmwell was considered suitable to support the 80 aircraft of a fighter group without metal tracking support and the personnel of the 474th Fighter Group arrived on 12 March from Oxnard Flight Strip CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
flying Lockheed P-38 "Lightnings". Operational squadrons of the group were:
- 428th Fighter Squadron428th Fighter SquadronThe 428th Fighter Squadron is part of the 366th Fighter Wing at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. Currently, it operates F-15SG Strike Eagle aircraft conducting formal training missions to qualify Republic of Singapore Air Force crew in the F-15SG under the auspices of Peace Carvin...
(F5) - 429th Fighter Squadron (7Y)
- 430th Fighter Squadron (K6)
The 474th 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 70th Fighter Wing
70th Fighter Wing (World War II)
The 70th Fighter Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with thr United States Air Forces in Europe, based at Neubiberg Air Base, Germany...
, 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...
.
Probably because they detrained at Moreton railway station - the group often referred to the Warmwell as Moreton. Squadron markings on the vertical tail surfaces were a square for the 428th, a triangle for the 429th and it circle for the 430th. The 474th FG was the only one of the three Ninth Air Force groups equipped with the P-38 in England that had trained with the type in the United States.
The 474th carried out its first mission on 25 April with a sweep along the French coast. The P-38's ability to carry two 1000 lb (453.6 kg) bombs with ease, and its heavy nose-mounted armament, made it an excellent ground attack aircraft. although it appeared to he far more vulnerable to light anti-aircraft and small arms fire than the redoubtable P-47. During 15 weeks of operations from Warmwell. 27 P-38s were missing in action, all but five known or suspected lost due to ground fire. Three of these were lost to a 'bounce' by FW 190Ds while escorting B-26s on 7 May.
On the night of June 5/6, the group flew patrols over the invasion fleet and the two aircraft lost are believed to have collided. On the credit side, during an armed reconnaissance on 18 July, a 474th formation led by Lieutenant Colonel Henry Darling surprised a force of bomb-carrying 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 and shot down 10 Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
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....
aircraft with the loss of only one P-38.
The 474th FG was the last of the Ninth Air Force's 18 fighter groups to move to an Advanced Landing Ground
Advanced Landing Ground
Advanced Landing Ground was the term given to the temporary advance airfields constructed by the Allies during World War II in support of the invasion of Europe...
(ALG) in France, departing from Warmwell for St. Lambert, France
Saint-Lambert, Calvados
Saint-Lambert-sur-Dives, commonly called Saint-Lambert, is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.-World War II:...
(ALG A-11) during the first week of August 1944, the main body of aircraft departing on the 6th. The last mission from Warmwell, the group's 108th, was flown on the previous day.
The group continued operations on the continent providing tactical air support in support of U.S. First Army until V-E 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...
, being stationed at Bad Langensalza, Germany
Bad Langensalza
Bad Langensalza is a city in the County of Unstrut-Hainich, Thuringia, Germany, with a population of c. 18,500 .-History:...
(ALG R-2) at the end of hostilities. The 474th FG returned to Camp Kilmer, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
during November 1945 and was inactivated on 8 December 1945.
Postwar RAF use
Westland Walrus
|-References:...
amphibians, also used Warmwell to cover the sea area between England and Normandy and remained in residence until February 1945 when the Squadron was disbanded. After the USAAF's move to France, it was not long before Warmwell was once again in use by various RAF units wanting to use the Chesil Rank bombing range and this continued until mid-September 1945. In October 1945 Warmwell was reduced to caretaker party status and eventually disposed of in 1950.
Civil use
Upon its release from military use, the airfield had been surrounded by gravel workings and over the following years the airfield site itself was gradually eaten away for aggregate. One remnant is the control tower which, having been given a conventional tiled roof to convert it to a private residence, effectively disguises its original use.The site on which RAF Warmwell once lay is now a small village called Crossways, the original taxiway is still in use as a road through the village (where two dispersal pans still remain), and the old station cinema is now the , the old ATC tower has now been converted into a dwelling that has been extensively modified and is not easily recognisable as such. still remain, rumoured to be used by local farmers for fertilizer storage, and other buildings exist in the woodland areas surrounding Crossways, although some have been demolished. One of the base's billet
Billet
A billet is a term for living quarters to which a soldier is assigned to sleep. Historically, it referred to a private dwelling that was required to accept the soldier....
s is now one of the local shops. During clearance work in preparation for new buildings on the North East side of the old airfield a brick block house and a concrete rifle range were revealed. Both have now been demolished but the photographs shown were taken just prior to their removal.