RAF Stoke Orchard

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Coordinates: 51°56′46″N 002°06′45″W / 51.94611°N 2.11250°W / 51.94611; -2.11250
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RAF Stoke Orchard
Summary
Airport typeRoyal Air Force station
OwnerAir Ministry
OperatorRoyal Air Force
LocationStoke Orchard, Gloucestershire, England
Built1940
In use1941–1945
Coordinates51°56′46″N 002°06′45″W / 51.94611°N 2.11250°W / 51.94611; -2.11250
Map
RAF Stoke Orchard is located in Gloucestershire
RAF Stoke Orchard
RAF Stoke Orchard
Location in Gloucestershire
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
01/19 ~3,000 ~914 Grass, reinforced with steel plates in winter

Royal Air Force Stoke Orchard or more simply RAF Stoke Orchard is a former Royal Air Force station near the village of Stoke Orchard, north west of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire during the Second World War.

History[edit]

In 1939 plans were made to develop an airfield at Stoke Orchard. The airfield was developed in 1940–41, originally as a Relief Landing Ground. In September 1941 it became a training airfield[1] for No. 10 Elementary Flying Training School RAF,[2] who moved from Weston-Super-Mare with 54 Tiger Moth training aircraft. On 23 May 1942, T.M. aircraft R4894 crashed, killing both the trainee and instructor. The training school departed the airfield in July 1942 as pilot training was centralised and in large part relocated to Canada.

From July 1942 to January 1945, No. 3 Glider Training School RAF (3 GTS)[2] used the airfield for specialised glider pilot training[3] in Hotspur gliders. 3 GTS also used RAF Northleach.

The following units were also based at the airfield during this period [2]

It was also home to a Ministry for Aircraft Production shadow factory run by the Gloster Aircraft Company. There were two large buildings, Assembly Shed 39 and Flight Shed 40. The factory produced Hawker Typhoons, with the first aircraft leaving the flight shed on 7 September 1942. A firing range on the far side of the airfield was used for gun calibration prior to new aircraft departing for the parent factory at Brockworth, for delivery to the RAF. There are unconfirmed reports that Hawker Hurricanes were also produced at the site.

Following the war, part of the site was taken over by the Coal Research Establishment of the National Coal Board,[3] which remained until 1995. Flight Shed 40, was purchased by Tate & Lyle.

Current use[edit]

Today the airfield has been returned to agricultural use and a waste plant.[2]

The former Coal Board site has now been developed as a housing estate by Bloor Homes, with the streets named after significant names relating to the former RAF base and Gloster Aircraft Company such as Armstrong Road, Whittle Close, Feddon Close, Hurricane Drive and Zura Drive.[4]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Stoke Orchard Airfield". Pastscape. Historic England. Archived from the original on 22 August 2020. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d "Stoke Orchard". Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  3. ^ a b "Recent History of the Parish of Stoke Orchard and Tredington". Stoke Orchard and Tredington Parish Council. Archived from the original on 26 June 2020. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  4. ^ Phillips, Jenni; Lillywhite, Maisie (6 May 2020). "The lost airfields of Gloucestershire and the remarkable role they played in WW2". Gloucestershire Live. Archived from the original on 28 May 2020. Retrieved 22 August 2020.

External links[edit]

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