RAF Broadwell
Encyclopedia
RAF Broadwell was a Royal Air Force
station located 2 miles north of Broadwell
and 3 miles southeast of Burford
, Oxfordshire
, within 2 miles of RAF Brize Norton
. It opened on 15 November 1943 and closed on 31 March 1947, operating under RAF Transport Command
. It consisted of 3 concrete runways in triangular configuration.
Broadwell took part in the D-Day assaults with nearby RAF Down Ampney
and RAF Blakehill Farm
. Broadwell had two such squadrons, No. 512 Squadron RAF
and No. 575 Squadron RAF
were based here, flying the Douglas Dakota.
In February 1944 No. 512 Squadron was transferred to No. 46 Group at RAF Broadwell, it was a tactical Dakota squadron and started training glider towing and parachute dropping. Its first operation in the new role was a leaflet drop on the 5 June 1944 over France, this followed intensive flying in and out of France including dropping parachutists at Arnhem
.
On the eve of D-Day No. 575 Squadron dropped 5 Para into the invasion drop zone. On the 6 June it towed 21 Horsa gliders into France. In the next few weeks it started a casualty evacuation service from France back to England. In September 1944 it was involved in operations at Arnhem where it suffered severe casualties.
A chronological diary of events at RAF Broadwell was produced by the RAF and can be accessed here:
The airfield continued to be a terminus for long-range transport operations to Europe, the Middle East and India.
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 located 2 miles north of Broadwell
Broadwell, Oxfordshire
Broadwell is a village and civil parish about south-west of Carterton in West Oxfordshire.-Parish church:The Church of England parish church of Saint Peter and Paul is a late Norman church built in about AD 1190...
and 3 miles southeast of Burford
Burford
Burford is a small town on the River Windrush in the Cotswold hills in west Oxfordshire, England, about west of Oxford, southeast of Cheltenham and only from the Gloucestershire boundary...
, Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
, within 2 miles of RAF Brize Norton
RAF Brize Norton
RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, about west north-west of London, is the largest station of the Royal Air Force. It is close to the settlements of Brize Norton, Carterton and Witney....
. It opened on 15 November 1943 and closed on 31 March 1947, operating under RAF Transport Command
RAF Transport Command
RAF Transport Command was a Royal Air Force command that controlled all transport aircraft of the RAF. It was established on 25 March 1943 by the renaming of the RAF Ferry Command, and was subsequently renamed RAF Air Support Command in 1967.-History:...
. It consisted of 3 concrete runways in triangular configuration.
Broadwell took part in the D-Day assaults with nearby RAF Down Ampney
RAF Down Ampney
RAF Down Ampney was a Royal Air Force station near Cricklade, Gloucestershire during World War II from February 1944 to February 1947.Down Ampney was part of a group of 3 airfields with RAF Broadwell and RAF Blakehill Farm dedicated to air transportation....
and RAF Blakehill Farm
RAF Blakehill Farm
RAF Blakehill Farm was an RAF base situated in Wiltshire, England. The station was opened in 1944 as a base for transport aircraft of No. 46 Group Transport Command. In 1948 the airfield was a satellite of RAF South Cerney and used by training aircraft before the airfield closed in 1952 and was...
. Broadwell had two such squadrons, No. 512 Squadron RAF
No. 512 Squadron RAF
No. 512 Squadron was a Second World War Royal Air Force transport squadron.-History:No. 512 Squadron was formed on 18 June 1943 from the Dakota element of 24 Squadron at RAF Hendon. It operated on supply routes from the United Kingdom to Gibraltar and Algeria to support the campaign in North West...
and No. 575 Squadron RAF
No. 575 Squadron RAF
No. 575 Squadron RAF was a transport squadron of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.-History:The squadron was formed at RAF Hendon on 1 February 1944 from elements of 512 Squadron. Just two weeks later it moved to RAF Broadwell to work-up as a tactical transport squadron with the...
were based here, flying the Douglas Dakota.
In February 1944 No. 512 Squadron was transferred to No. 46 Group at RAF Broadwell, it was a tactical Dakota squadron and started training glider towing and parachute dropping. Its first operation in the new role was a leaflet drop on the 5 June 1944 over France, this followed intensive flying in and out of France including dropping parachutists at Arnhem
Operation Market Garden
Operation Market Garden was an unsuccessful Allied military operation, fought in the Netherlands and Germany in the Second World War. It was the largest airborne operation up to that time....
.
On the eve of D-Day No. 575 Squadron dropped 5 Para into the invasion drop zone. On the 6 June it towed 21 Horsa gliders into France. In the next few weeks it started a casualty evacuation service from France back to England. In September 1944 it was involved in operations at Arnhem where it suffered severe casualties.
A chronological diary of events at RAF Broadwell was produced by the RAF and can be accessed here:
The airfield continued to be a terminus for long-range transport operations to Europe, the Middle East and India.