RNAS Charlton Horethorne (HMS Heron II)

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RNAS Charlton Horethorne (HMS Heron II)
Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg
Charlton Horethorne, Somerset in England
Somerset UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
RNAS Charlton Horethorne
Shown within Somerset
Coordinates 51°01′01″N002°30′31″W / 51.01694°N 2.50861°W / 51.01694; -2.50861 Coordinates: 51°01′01″N002°30′31″W / 51.01694°N 2.50861°W / 51.01694; -2.50861
Type Royal Naval Air Station
Site information
Owner Air Ministry
Operator Royal Navy
Controlled by Fleet Air Arm
Site history
Built1942 (1942)
In use1942-1948 (1948)
Airfield information
Elevation191 metres (627 ft) AMSL
Runways
Direction Length and surface
00/00 Grass
00/00 Grass
00/00 Grass

RNAS Charlton Horethorne (HMS Heron II) is a former Royal Naval Air Station in the hamlet of Sigwells in Somerset, England. It opened in 1942, [1] as a flying training base under the administrative care of HMS Heron. It closed in 1948 and has since been returned to agricultural use.

Contents

History

The site was originally planned as a satellite station for RAF Exeter for No. 10 Group of RAF Fighter Command. Construction started in the summer of 1941. The landing strip was grass rather than tarmac and few permanent buildings apart from the control tower and two blister hangars, with aircraft being protected by blast pens. Ground defence was provided by the Somerset Light Infantry. [2]

It opened as an RAF station on 10 July 1942 and was made available for use by the Royal Navy and 886 and 887 Squadrons, who flew Fairey Fulmars were the first to occupy the site, soon to be replaced by 790 Naval Air Squadron. Various squadrons subsequently used the station either while undergoing training and preparation for service or for fighter interception training for Air Direction Radar operators or flight controllers who were trained at RNAS Yeovilton (HMS Heron). [2]

In August 1942 891 Naval Air Squadron transferred from RNAS Lee-on-Solent where it had been formed to Charlton Horethorne with six Sea Hurricanes to prepare for carrier operations, later transferring to RNAS St Merryn and then embarking on HMS Dasher to take part in Operation Torch. Other squadrons posted to the base during 1942 included: 782, 879 and 809 Naval Air Squadrons. [2]

On 1 December 1942 Charlton Horethorne was formally transferred from the RAF to the Admiralty and designated as HMS Heron II, which had previously been at RNAS Haldon. In 1943 a new watch tower was built, more runways laid out in the grass and further hangars built. Further squadrons were temporarily stationed at the base with 780 Squadron staying the longest. In 1945 the base was taken over by RAF Maintenance Command who used it for storage until the end of 1947. It then became a satelitte training field for RAF Old Sarum and kept on a Care and Maintenance basis until it was de-requisitioned and returned to farmland.

A number of units were here at some point: [3]

Post closure

The control tower was converted by Norman Clothier a local builder in Charlton Horethorne in the sixties.

The old control tower still stands and has been converted into a domestic dwelling. [1]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 "Charleton Horethorne airfield, Sigwells". Somerset Historic Environment Record. Somerset County Council . Retrieved 21 January 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 Berryman, David (2006). Somerset airfields in the Second World War. Newbury: Countryside Books. pp. 26–33. ISBN   1-85306-864-0.
  3. ↑ "Charlton Horethorne". Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust . Retrieved 15 April 2015.
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