 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(August 2024) |
| Airfield Construction Branch | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Active | 1939 - 1 April 1966 |
| Disbanded | 1 April 1966 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Role | Civil engineering and airfield construction / repair |
The RAF Airfield Construction Branch (previously called the RAF Airfield Construction Service) constructed and repaired runways, hard-standings, buildings and other facilities as required by the Royal Air Force in the United Kingdom and overseas.
Having gained consent from the French authorities, in 1939, to establish Flying Training Schools in France, the next step was to construct aerodromes. The RAF approached the army and were rebuffed. As a consequence, No. 1 Air Ministry Works Unit was established, its aim being to manage these construction projects, with French and Belgian civil engineering companies carrying out the construction. The unit was evacuated to the UK following the Fall of France in June 1940.
The unit was occupied in overseeing runway repairs for the rest of that year, with some assistance in filling-in craters being provided by the Royal Pioneer Corps. The latter were withdrawn at the end of 1940, which resulted in the RAF forming Nos. 1 & 2 Works Squadrons. By the end of 1941, this had grown to six squadrons and, in July 1942, these units were officially given the title of the RAF Works Service.
The service had grown to 19 squadrons and was re-titled RAF Airfield Construction Service in May 1943. The Service was now grouped into Wings, each wing consisting of four squadrons; one plant and three construction. The organisation grew to a point where it employed 30,000 people. It became clear that, when a second front opened in Northern Europe, there would be a need for the services of the ACS to deploy overseas. Acknowledging this, the RAF created No. 85 (Base) Group HQ at the end of 1943, and allocated five of the seven Wings to this Group, which deployed to Normandy after D-Day. It was perceived that the Luftwaffe would not be idle following the landings, and the two remaining wings were to be used repairing damage from Luftwaffe attrition raids. In preparation for the landings, in 1943, the RAF Airfield Construction Service built 23 Advanced Landing Grounds in Southern England.
The first overseas deployment was in May 1942, in Iceland, with 5201 Squadron being formed for that task. Similarly, the requirement to build and maintain an airstrip in the Azores saw the formation of 5020 Squadron in September 1943. An eighth Wing (5358) was created for deployment to the Far East, alongside 5353 Wing.
At the time of the Berlin Airlift, the service was renamed the Airfield Construction Branch. Its Wings were responsible for the construction and maintenance of RAF infrastructure in Germany (2nd TAF), until the Wings themselves were disbanded in 1957. The Branch Depot moved three times, starting first at RAF Church Lawford with plant training at Ryton-on-Dunsmore. It then moved to RAF Wellesbourne Mountford, using the sand and gravel quarries at Claverdon [1] before it moved finally with the plant training to RAF Waterbeach. The Squadrons were to support RAF operations in overseas deployments until 1966.
In November 1951, 5355 Wing was established at RAF Kasfareet, Suez, with Nos. 1 and 2 Squadrons. In June 1953, the Squadrons were renamed respectively Nos 5001 and 5002 Airfield Maintenance Squadrons. 5001 Squadron was based at Kasfareet, 5002 Squadron at RAF Abu Seir.
5002 Squadron was disbanded in October 1955 and in October 1956, it was re-formed at RAF Wellesbourne Mountford to prepare for duty in Egypt in support of British forces following President Nasser's nationalisation of the Suez Canal. The British action in Egypt was halted before the Squadron could be deployed and it was disbanded again in 1958.
In May 1954, 5001 was renamed 5001 Airfield Construction (Light) Squadron. In August 1955, it moved to RAF El Adem and in September to RAF Idris at Tripoli. In April 1959, it moved to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus.
In 1961, 5001 Squadron, based at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, had a large, long term detachment at RAF El Adem south of Tobruk in Libya. In addition to carrying out a variety of construction tasks in Cyprus and at El Adem, the Squadron undertook work at Tabriz and Babol-Sar in Iran. In 1962, in Exercise Egg Flip, a detachment of the Squadron constructed a large earth landing strip at Bomba on the Libyan coast near Derna. Later that year, a small detachment marked out a landing strip in the far south of Libya at Kufra as an emergency diversion for planes unable to land at El Adem. In 1963, a large detachment of the Squadron moved at short notice to the Far East to undertake work at Kuching in Sarawak and at Labuan and Tawau in North Borneo in support of RAF operations following the Indonesian confrontation in Borneo. In September 1963, the Squadron moved to RAF Seletar in Singapore where it remained until the Branch was disbanded.
In September 1953, 5003 Squadron was formed at RAF Lichfield but, in November 1957, it completed a move to RAF Wellesbourne Mountford, where it became part of Training Wing and numbered up to 500 personnel. Its detachments undertook a variety of construction tasks in the UK. Between 1958 and 1961, these included projects at RAF Acklington, Abingdon, Booker, Coningsby, Faldingworth, Finningley, Hemswell, Lindholme, Lyneham, Martlesham Heath, Nocton Hall, North Luffenham, Swinderby and Syerston.
In November 1953, 5004 Squadron was formed at RAF Bruggen in Germany. It undertook a variety of tasks in RAF Second Tactical Air Force including improvements to the runway at RAF Bruggen. In 1956, the Squadron returned to the UK to be based at RAF Wellesbourne Mountford. The Squadron formed the major part of Operation Hardrock Task Force on St Kilda in 1957 and 1958. Operation Hardrock Task Force was formed from 5004 Squadron at RAF Wellesbourne Mountford early in 1957, to construct, for the Army, a missile-tracking radar station on the island of St. Kilda, an uninhabited rocky outcrop some 60 miles west of the Outer Hebrides. A temporary RAF mainland base was established at Cairnryan and personnel, plant and transport were shipped to the island by Army tank landing craft (LCTs), based in Portsmouth, but sailing from Cairnryan, near Stranraer via Benbecula. The task required the opening of a quarry out there and the construction of buildings and a road, with a bridge, to the mountain-top radar site. This Building and Civil Engineering task was challenging, because of the unpredictable, adverse nature of weather conditions out there, which precluded work being done throughout the Winter months. However, the task was completed by Autumn 1958.
In April 1959, 5004 Squadron moved to RAF Khormaksar in Aden. It returned to the UK in December 1964 and was disbanded at RAF Waterbeach in May 1965.
The Airfield Construction Branch was disbanded on 1 April 1966. Its responsibilities were transferred to the Royal Engineers.
The former Royal Air Force Far East Air Force, more simply known as RAF Far East Air Force, was the Command organisation that controlled all Royal Air Force assets in the east of Asia. It was originally formed as Air Command, South East Asia in 1943 during the Second World War. In 1946, this was renamed RAF Air Command Far East, and finally Far East Air Force in June 1949.
Royal Air Force Kinloss, or more simply RAF Kinloss, is a former Royal Air Force station located near the village of Kinloss, on the Moray Firth in the north east of Scotland, UK.
Royal Air Force Fairford or more simply RAF Fairford is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station in Gloucestershire, United Kingdom. While being an RAF station, Fairford hosts United States Air Force personnel. Since 2019, the base has played host to a Lockheed U-2S Dragon Lady detachment from the 99th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron. It is the USAF's only European airfield for heavy bombers and routinely supports Bomber Task Force (BTF) operations. Its most prominent use in recent years has been as an airfield for United States Air Force B-52s during the 2003 Iraq War, Operation Allied Force in 1999, and the first Gulf War in 1991.
The Royal Air Force Police (RAFP) is the service police branch of the Royal Air Force, headed by the provost marshal of the Royal Air Force. Its headquarters are at RAF Honington and it deploys throughout the world to support RAF and UK defence missions.
Cairnryan is a village in the historical county of Wigtownshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It lies on the eastern shore of Loch Ryan, six miles north of Stranraer and 81 miles (130 km) southwest of Glasgow.
Royal Air Force Croughton or more simply RAF Croughton is a Royal Air Force station which is currently a United States Air Force communications station in Northamptonshire, England. It is southeast of the village of Croughton. The station is home to the 422nd Air Base Group and operates one of Europe's largest military switchboards and processes approximately a third of all U.S. military communications in Europe.
Royal Air Force Gaydon or more simply RAF Gaydon is a former Royal Air Force station located 5.2 miles (8.4 km) east of Wellesbourne, Warwickshire and 10.8 miles (17.4 km) north west of Banbury, Oxfordshire, England.
40 Squadron SAAF existed as a combat unit from early 1940 through to late 1945. It served in the East African Campaign, Western Desert, Tunisia, and Italy, reaching Austria by the end of World War II. The squadron's motto in those years was Amethlo e Impi – "the eyes of the army".
No. 451 Squadron was a Royal Australian Air Force army cooperation and fighter squadron of World War II. It was formed at Bankstown, New South Wales, on 12 February 1941 and began flying operations on 1 July as part of the North African Campaign in Egypt and Libya. No. 451 Squadron was withdrawn for refitting in early January 1942 and spent the remainder of the year performing garrison duties in Syria. In January 1943, it was transferred to Egypt to contribute to local air defence but saw almost no combat. This inactivity caused morale among the squadron's personnel to greatly deteriorate.
No. 904 Expeditionary Air Wing was a wing of the Royal Air Force. It was stationed at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan controlling RAF operations at the air base there. It was activated on 1 April 2006 as part of a modernisation package to make the RAF more deployable on an expeditionary basis. It used to report to No. 83 Expeditionary Air Group.
No. 46 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Air Force, formed in 1916, was disbanded and re-formed three times before its last disbandment in 1975. It served in both World War I and World War II.
Wellesbourne Mountford Airfield is located in Wellesbourne, Warwickshire, England, 3.9 miles (6.3 km) east of Stratford-upon-Avon. The airfield was formerly the Royal Air Force station RAF Wellesbourne Mountford.
Avro Vulcan XM655 is one of three remaining taxiable Avro Vulcan strategic bombers, the other two being XH558 and XL426. XM655 is currently owned by Wellesbourne Mountford Airfield and has been maintained by the 655 Maintenance & Preservation Society since 1998, who keep the aircraft in a taxiable condition.
No. 232 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was active in both the First and Second World Wars in a variety of roles, having seen action as an anti-submarine patrol, fighter and transport squadron.
Royal Air Force Waterbeach or more simply RAF Waterbeach is a former Royal Air Force station located in Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire which is about 5.5 miles (8.9 km) north of Cambridge, England. The site was transferred to the Royal Engineers, part of the British Army, in 1966, as Waterbeach Barracks.
RAF Atherstone was a former Royal Air Force satellite station located 2.25 miles (3.62 km) south of Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England, 7.5 miles (12.1 km) north-west of Shipston on Stour.
No. 5 Airfield Construction Squadron (5ACS) was a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) construction squadron. The unit was first formed in July 1942 and served in the New Guinea Campaign and Borneo Campaign during World War II. The squadron was one of only a few RAAF airfield construction units to be retained at the end of the war, and formed part of Australia's contribution to the occupation of Japan from 1945 until it was disbanded in June 1949. 5ACS was re-raised in August 1951 and worked on several RAAF airfields in Australia. It also provided small detachments of engineers to support RAAF deployments to South Vietnam and Thailand during the Vietnam War. The squadron was the RAAF's only airfield construction unit from 1961 onward, and was disbanded in December 1974.
Waterbeach Barracks was a military installation in Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire. The site was an RAF Station, RAF Waterbeach and then used by the Royal Engineers, part of the British Army, from 1966, until 2013 when the site closed to make way for housing.
No. 85 Group was a Group of the Royal Air Force (RAF) during World War II. It was responsible for airfield construction and the air defence of the beachhead bases during the Allied invasion of Normandy in 1944 and the subsequent campaign.
The 10th Railway Engineer Squadron, known operationally as 10 RW Squadron. The squadron was first formed during the pre-war expansion of the army in 1939 just before Second World War. The squadron was finally disbanded in 2013 following the initial Army 2020 reforms.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
