Colerne Airfield

Colerne Airfield
Colerne Airfield
	IATA: none; ICAO: EGUO;
Summary
Airport type	Military
Owner	Ministry of Defence
Operator	British Army
Location	Colerne, Wiltshire
Occupants	21 Signal Regiment
Elevation AMSL	593 ft / 181 m
Coordinates	51°26′21″N002°17′11″W / 51.43917°N 2.28639°W
Map
	EGUO Location in Wiltshire
Runways
	"Airport information for EGUO". World Aero Data. Archived from the original on 5 March 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) Data current as of October 2006.

Last updated November 02, 2024

Colerne Airfield( ICAO : EGUO), now known as Azimghur Barracks, is a British Army facility just north-west of the village of Colerne, Wiltshire, England. It is set to close in 2029.

History

RAF Colerne was opened on this site in 1940, and was in operation until 1976.^[1] From 1940 to 1955, RAF Fighter Command units were based here. During the Battle of Britain, the airfield served as a satellite field to RAF Middle Wallop, and squadrons rotated back and forth from there on a daily basis.^[2]

In the 1970s and 1980s, Azimghur Barracks was used as a training depot by the Royal Corps of Transport's and The Royal Army Ordnance Junior Leaders Regiment.

Present day

The site is a ground station for the Skynet 5 military satellite system that provides battlefield support (e.g. real-time imagery from remote-piloted drones^[3] in various theatres of war). It is in close proximity to the underground Corsham Computer Centre.

The Azimghur Barracks part of the site is home to 21 Signal Regiment.^[4]

Since November 1992,^[5] the airfield is used by Air Cadets ^[6] and 3 Air Experience Flight,^[7] and was the headquarters of Bristol University Air Squadron, a Volunteer Reserve unit which recruits from several universities in south-west England, before their move to MoD Boscome down in 2022 ^[8]

Future

In November 2016, the Ministry of Defence announced that the airfield would close in 2018 (later extended to 2025^[9]), and Azimghur Barracks in 2031^[7] (later brought forward to 2029^[10]).

Related Research Articles

Options for Change was a restructuring of the British Armed Forces in summer 1990 after the end of the Cold War.

Royal Marines Barracks Chivenor is a British military base used primarily by 3 Commando Brigade. It is situated on the northern shore of the River Taw estuary, adjacent to the South West Coast Path, on the north coast of Devon, England. The nearest towns are Barnstaple and Braunton.

RAF Oakhanger was a Royal Air Force station in Hampshire split over three operational sites; with accommodation in nearby Bordon. The main site and operations centre is located near the village of Oakhanger, the two other sites being nearby. The parent station for administrative purposes was RAF Odiham.

Royal Air Force Bentwaters or more simply RAF Bentwaters, now known as Bentwaters Parks, is a former Royal Air Force station about 80 miles (130 km) northeast of London and 10 miles (16 km) east-northeast of Ipswich, near Woodbridge, Suffolk in England. Its name was taken from two cottages that had stood on the site of the main runway during its construction in 1943.

Royal Air Force Feltwell or more simply RAF Feltwell is a Royal Air Force station in Norfolk, East Anglia that is used by the United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa. The station is located about 10 miles west of Thetford, and is in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk at approximate Ordnance Survey grid reference TL 715 900. The site served as a Second World War bomber station, but is now used as a support site for regional AAFES logistics and as a housing estate for United States Air Force personnel stationed nearby at RAF Lakenheath. It is under the administrative control of the 48th Fighter Wing.

Royal Air Force Kirknewton, otherwise known as RAF Kirknewton, is a Royal Air Force station at Whitemoss, a mile south east of Kirknewton, West Lothian, Scotland. It is retained by the Ministry of Defence, as Kirknewton Airfield and is home to 661 Volunteer Gliding Squadron.

Royal Air Force Colerne or more simply RAF Colerne is a former Royal Air Force station which was on the outskirts of the village of Colerne in Wiltshire, England, and was in use from 1939 to 1976.

Royal Air Force Hullavington, or more simply RAF Hullavington, was a Royal Air Force station located at Hullavington, near Chippenham, Wiltshire, England. The station opened in June 1937 and was primarily used for training. It closed on 31 March 1992 when it was transferred to the British Army and renamed Buckley Barracks. The airfield part of the site, known as Hullavington Airfield, continued to be used for RAF gliding operations until 2016 when it was sold to technology company Dyson.

Buckley Barracks is a British Army barracks in Wiltshire, England, about 4+1⁄2 miles (7 km) north of Chippenham and 15 miles (24 km) west of Swindon. It is set to close in 2029.

The 11th Signal and West Midlands Brigade was a signal formation of the British Army's 3rd UK Division. Its headquarters is located at Venning Barracks, in Donnington in Shropshire.

Ministry of Defence Stafford otherwise known as MOD Stafford, Stafford Station or Beacon Barracks is a Ministry of Defence site in Stafford, in England. It was formerly Royal Air Force Stafford or more simply RAF Stafford, a non-flying Royal Air Force station.

Royal Air Force Kirton in Lindsey or more simply RAF Kirton in Lindsey is a former Royal Air Force station located 15 miles (24 km) north of Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England.

Cawdor Barracks is a British Army installation located 6.3 miles (10.1 km) east of St Davids, Pembrokeshire and 9.8 miles (15.8 km) south west of Fishguard, Pembrokeshire, Wales.

The 14th Signal Regiment (Electronic Warfare) is a part of the British Army's Royal Corps of Signals. The regiment's role is to provide electronic warfare (EW) capability in support of deployed Land Commanders, in order to enable operations in the electronic battlespace. It is the only British Army regiment capable of conducting sustainable electronic warfare in support of national operations worldwide. The regiment is currently based at Cawdor Barracks, on the site of the former RAF Brawdy, near Haverfordwest, in South Wales.

Kinloss Barracks is a military installation located near the village of Kinloss, on the Moray Firth in the north of Scotland. Until 2012 it was a Royal Air Force (RAF) station, RAF Kinloss.

Ministry of Defence Woodbridge or MOD Woodbridge is a military installation located near the town of Woodbridge, in Suffolk, England. The site opened in 2006 and is operated by the British Army and incorporates both Rock Barracks and Woodbridge Airfield. The barracks are home to two Royal Engineers regiments. The airfield is used periodically by helicopters of the Army Air Corps for training exercises.

The page contains the current structure of the British Army. The British Army is currently being reorganised to the Future Soldier structure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">21st Signal Regiment (United Kingdom)</span> British Army regiment

21 Signal Regiment is a signal regiment of the Royal Corps of Signals within the British Army. The regiment was, until the initial Army 2020 reforms, the only signal regiment to support the Royal Air Force.

Royal Air Force Charmy Down or more simply RAF Charmy Down is a former Royal Air Force station in Somerset, England, approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) north-northeast of Bath and 96 miles (154 km) west of London.

This is the structure of the Royal Air Force.

References

↑ Berryman, D. (2002). Wiltshire Airfields in the Second World War. Newbury, UK: Countryside Books. pp. 63–77. ISBN 9781853067037.
↑ RAF, Groups in the Battle of Britain, accessed February 2009
↑ "UK Skynet: Not to be confused with The Terminator". BBC. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
↑ "21st Signal Regiment (Air Support) & Air Formation Signals History" (PDF). Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
↑ March 1993, p. 87.
↑ "93 (Colerne) DF". RAF Air Cadets. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
1 2 "A Better Defence Estate" (PDF). Ministry of Defence. November 2016. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
↑ "Bristol University Air Squadron". Royal Air Force. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
↑ "Is Your Military Base Closing? Read The Full List of Sites Shutting". Forces News. 20 October 2020. Archived from the original on 5 August 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
↑ "Disposal database: House of Commons report". Government of the United Kingdom, Ministry of Defence. 28 June 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2022.

March, P. (1993). Royal Air Force Yearbook 1993. Fairford, UK: Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] Berryman, D. (2002). Wiltshire Airfields in the Second World War. Newbury, UK: Countryside Books. pp. 63–77. ISBN 9781853067037.

[2] RAF, Groups in the Battle of Britain, accessed February 2009

[3] "UK Skynet: Not to be confused with The Terminator". BBC. Retrieved 22 November 2014.

[4] "21st Signal Regiment (Air Support) & Air Formation Signals History" (PDF). Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 22 November 2014.

[FOOTNOTEMarch199387-5] March 1993, p. 87.

[6] "93 (Colerne) DF". RAF Air Cadets. Retrieved 19 May 2022.

[:0-7] 1 2 "A Better Defence Estate" (PDF). Ministry of Defence. November 2016. Retrieved 8 November 2016.

[8] "Bristol University Air Squadron". Royal Air Force. Retrieved 19 May 2022.

[9] "Is Your Military Base Closing? Read The Full List of Sites Shutting". Forces News. 20 October 2020. Archived from the original on 5 August 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2020.

[10] "Disposal database: House of Commons report". Government of the United Kingdom, Ministry of Defence. 28 June 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2022.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]