Royal Air Force Chivenor, or more simply RAF Chivenor, is a former

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

located on the northern shore of the

River Taw The River Taw () in England rises at Taw Head, a spring on the central northern flanks of Dartmoor, crosses North Devon and at the town of Barnstaple, formerly a significant port, empties into Barnstaple Bay in the Bristol Channel, having form ...

estuary, on the north coast of

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The nearest towns are

Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town and civil parish in the North Devon district of Devon, England. The town lies at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool from ...

and

Braunton Braunton is a large village, civil parishes in England, civil parish, ecclesiastical parish and former Manorialism, manor in Devon. The village is situated west of Barnstaple. It is one of the largest villages in Devon with a population at th ...

. Originally a civil airfield opened in the 1930s, the site was taken over by the

(RAF) in May 1940 for use as a

RAF Coastal Command RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was founded in 1936, when the RAF was restructured into Fighter, Bomber and Coastal commands and played an important role during the Second World War. Maritime Aviation ...

Station. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the station was largely used for training, particularly weapons training. During the 1950s and 1960s, No. 229 Operational Conversion Unit RAF (229 OCU) used

Hawker Hunter The Hawker Hunter is a transonic British jet propulsion, jet-powered fighter aircraft that was developed by Hawker Aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It was designed to take advantage of the newly dev ...

aircraft for training. In 1974 the station was left on "care and maintenance", though No. 624 Volunteer Gliding Squadron (624 VGS) continued to fly from there. The RAF returned in 1979, forming 2 Tactical Weapons Unit (2 TWU) which flew

BAE Systems Hawk The BAE Systems Hawk is a British single-engine, subsonic, jet-powered advanced trainer aircraft. Its aluminum alloy fuselage is of conventional string-frame construction. It was first known as the Hawker Siddeley Hawk, and subsequently produc ...

s, from 1979 until the unit was renamed as No. 7 Flying Training School RAF (7 FTS) in 1992. In 1994, 7 FTS left Chivenor, merging with No. 4 Flying Training School RAF (4 FTS) at

RAF Valley Royal Air Force Valley or more simply RAF Valley () is a Royal Air Force station on the island of Anglesey, Wales, and which is also used as Anglesey Airport. It provides both basic and advanced fast-jet training using the Beechcraft Texan T. ...

, and the airfield was handed over to the

Royal Marines The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...

. The Marines have an existing equipment testing base at RM Instow, in Instow, located across the Taw Estuary and approximately two miles from Chivenor. No. 22 Squadron RAF (22 Sqn) operated a Search and Rescue flight at Chivenor from 1956, flying Westland Whirlwind,

Westland Wessex The Westland Wessex is a British-built turbine-powered development of the Sikorsky H-34. It was developed and produced under licence by Westland Aircraft (later Westland Helicopters). One of the main changes from Sikorsky's H-34 was the rep ...

and

Westland Sea King The Westland WS-61 Sea King is a British licence-built version of the American Sikorsky S-61 helicopter of the same name, built by Westland Helicopters. The aircraft differs considerably from the American version, with Rolls-Royce Gnome eng ...

helicopters. In a spending review that was announced over the summer of 2004, the presence of 22 Squadron at Chivenor was under review. After the flooding at Boscastle, this threat was rescinded. "A" flight of 22 Squadron was disbanded in October 2015, with the search and rescue role being assumed by

Bristow Helicopters Bristow Helicopters Limited is a British civil helicopter operator originally based at Aberdeen Airport, Scotland, which is currently a part of the U.S.-based Bristow Group () which in turn has its corporate headquarters in Houston, Texas, U.S ...

on behalf of

Her Majesty's Coastguard His Majesty's Coastguard (HMCG) is the section of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency responsible, through the Secretary of State for Transport to Parliament, for the initiation and co-ordination of all maritime search and rescue (SAR) within ...

. In 1995, the site became Royal Marines Base Chivenor primarily used by

3 Commando Brigade United Kingdom Commando Force (UKCF), previously called 3 Commando Brigade (3 Cdo Bde), is the UK's special operations-capable commando formation of the Royal Marines. It is composed of Royal Marine Commandos and commando qualified personnel f ...

Etymology

The name ''Chivenor'' is first attested in 1285, as ''Chivenore''. This is thought to originate in

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

as a personal name, ''Cifa'', in its

genitive In grammar, the genitive case ( abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive can ...

form ''Cifan'', combined with the Old English word ''ōra'' ('flat-topped ridge'). Thus the name once meant 'Cifa's flat-topped ridge'. The ridge in question runs from west to east along the north bank of the

, from Heanton Punchardon to Tutshill Wood on the northern fringe of

. Like Heanton Punchardon, RM Chivenor lies at the west end of the ridge.

History

Founding

In February 1940 the

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force and civil aviation that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the ...

constructed an aerodrome on the site of Chivenor farm near a civilian airfield. RAF Chivenor opened on 25 October 1940 within No. 17 Group,

Coastal Command RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was founded in 1936, when the RAF was restructured into Fighter, Bomber and Coastal commands and played an important role during the Second World War. Maritime Aviation ...

. There were two units based there initially, No. 3 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit RAF and No. 252 Squadron RAF, both operating

Bristol Beaufighter The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter (often called the Beau) is a British multi-role aircraft developed during the Second World War by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It was originally conceived as a heavy fighter variant of the Bristol Beaufor ...

Bristol Blenheim The Bristol Blenheim is a British light bomber designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company, which was used extensively in the first two years of the Second World War, with examples still being used as trainers until the end of the war. ...

s and

Bristol Beaufort The Bristol Beaufort (manufacturer designation Type 152) is a British twin-engined torpedo bomber designed by the Bristol Aeroplane Company, and developed from experience gained designing and building the earlier Bristol Blenheim, Blenheim li ...

1942–1945

From 1942 onward the role of Chivenor was changed from training to anti-submarine patrolling. From 1942 to 1943 the squadron flew the

Armstrong Whitworth Whitley The Armstrong Whitworth A.W.38 Whitley was a British medium/heavy bomber aircraft of the 1930s. It was one of three twin-engined, front line medium bomber types that were in service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) at the outbreak of the World W ...

, then in 1943 the Chivenor squadron converted to the

Vickers Wellington The Vickers Wellington (nicknamed the Wimpy) is a British twin-engined, long-range medium bomber. It was designed during the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey. Led by Vickers-Armstrongs' chief designer Rex Pierson, a key feature of t ...

equipped with the ASV radar and

Leigh light The Leigh Light (L/L) was a British World War II era anti-submarine device used in the Battle of the Atlantic. It was a powerful (22 million candelas) carbon arc searchlight of diameter fitted to a number of the British Royal Air Force' ...

s. ; November 1941 to September 1943 : No. 51 Squadron RAF: (51 Sqn) Whitleys : No. 77 Squadron RAF: (77 Sqn) Whitleys / Wellingtons : No. 502 (Ulster) Squadron RAF: (502 Sqn) Whitleys / Wellingtons : No. 1417 (Leigh Light Trials) Flight: (1417 Flt) Wellington Leigh light training and development unit ; July 1942 to September 1943 :

No. 235 Squadron RAF No. 235 Squadron RAF was an anti-submarine warfare squadron of the Royal Air Force which disbanded during July 1945. It was active in both the First World War, forming during August 1918 and disbanding in February 1919, and in the Second World W ...

: (235 Sqn) Beaufighters : No. 236 Squadron RAF: (236 Sqn) Beaufighters : No. 248 Squadron RAF: (248 Sqn) Beaufighters ; September 1943 to the end of the war : No. 172 Squadron RAF: (172 Sqn) Wellingtons : No. 407 (Demon) Squadron RCAF: (407 Sqn) Wellingtons : No. 612 (County of Aberdeen) Squadron RAuxAF: (612 Sqn) Wellingtons : No. 304 Polish Bomber Squadron: (304 Sqn) Wellingtons ; Plan for post war 1945 :

No. 14 Squadron RAF No. 14 Squadron of the Royal Air Force currently operates the Beechcraft Shadow R1 (a modified Beechcraft Super King Air) in the Intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR) role from RAF Waddington. The Squadron i ...

(14 Sqn) : No. 36 Squadron RAF (36 Sqn) In November 1941 the structure of the base changed with three new squadrons 51, 77 and 502 flying a mixture of Whitleys and Wellingtons, and one new flight, 1417, that was used to training crews on the Leigh light and radar Wellingtons. In July 1942 three squadrons of Beaufighter were located at Chivenor to offer long range protection in the

Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay ( ) is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Point Penmarc'h to the Spanish border, and along the northern coast of Spain, extending westward ...

. By September 1943 all of the Whitleys had been taken out of active service at Chivenor, and four squadrons of Wellingtons, 172, 407, 612 and 304, were located at the base. No 172 was the Wellington Training Squadron, taking over from 1417 Flight. The base had personnel from Canada, Poland and the UK. The Plan for the post war, was for Chivenor to become a full-time anti-submarine wing with two squadron's 14 and 36 Squadron.

1946—1949

After the Second World War ended, the future of the station was not certain. In 1946 a group of miscellaneous meteorological and anti-aircraft units moved to Chivenor, including Handley Page Halifaxes of Nos 517 and

521 Year 521 (Roman numerals, DXXI) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Justinian I, Sabbatius and Valerius (or, less frequently, year 1274 ''Ab urbe condita''). ...

Squadrons which flew 10-hour sorties to collect weather information. At the same time the station played host to No 248 Squadron (

de Havilland Mosquito The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito is a British twin-engined, multirole combat aircraft, introduced during the World War II, Second World War. Unusual in that its airframe was constructed mostly of wood, it was nicknamed the "Wooden Wonder", or " ...

es), No 254 Squadron (Beaufighters), and the

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allies of World War II, Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced conti ...

s and Miles Martinets of No 691 Squadron, Army Air Corps. In October 1946, No. 11 Group RAF

Fighter Command RAF Fighter Command was one of the commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It operated throughout the Second World War, winning fame during the Battle of Britain in 1940. The ...

took command of the station with No. 203 Advanced Flying School. This lasted until July 1949 when the station was transferred to 5 and 7 Squadrons, Army Air Corps and No. 1 Overseas Ferry Unit. This latter unit had the duties to ferry

Gloster Meteor The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies' only jet aircraft to engage in combat operations during the Second World War. The Meteor's development was heavily reliant on its ground-breaking turbojet engines, pioneere ...

de Havilland Vampire The de Havilland DH100 Vampire is a British jet fighter which was developed and manufactured by the de Havilland, de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was the second jet fighter to be operated by the Royal Air Force, RAF, after the Gloster Meteo ...

s and Mosquitoes to the Middle East and the Far East.

1950—1974

In February 1950 the Chivenor station flight was formed with

de Havilland Tiger Moth The de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s British biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and built by the de Havilland, de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and other operators as a primary traine ...

s. It was at this time that post-war civilian flying restarted, with Wrafton flying club later changing its name to the Puffin flying club. At this time the RAF was operating as No. 229 Operational Conversion Unit which flew Vampires and Meteors. Then in mid 1955 the first of the

operational conversion courses was started: flying was still mainly on the Vampire FB5 with approximately 20 hrs on the Hunter F1 before pilots were sent to their operational squadrons. During the next two years the Vampires were phased out and the course became all Hunter once the Hunter T7, a two-seater trainer version, became available. There were 2 squadrons called simply 1 and 2, each capable of training a student from conversion to operational and weaponry training. Operational Units were 229 OCU, consisting of 2 squadrons and Chivenor Station Flight. Sea

In May 1957 the RAF exercise 'Vigilant' changed Chivenor's Squadrons' status. They assumed a wartime reserve role and were renumbered as Nos 145 and 234 Squadrons. The squadrons were now flying the Hunter F4 and T7 until the F4 was replaced by the F6. The two squadrons were numbered and then renumbered until they became 63 (Reserve) and 79 (Reserve) Squadrons, tasked with training RAF fighter pilots. Hunter FR.10 fighter reconnaissance aircraft were also flown by 229 OCU in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In March 1967 the

oil tanker An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk cargo, bulk transport of petroleum, oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quant ...

ran aground on

Seven Stones Reef The Seven Stones reef is a rocky reef nearly west of Land's End, Cornwall and east-northeast of the Isles of Scilly. The reef consists of two groups of rocks and is nearly long and in breadth. They rise out of deep water and are a navigationa ...

near Lands End, spilling oil. For three days, Hunters from Chivenor and other bases fired training rockets at the ship to hole it below the

waterline The waterline is the line where the hull of a ship meets the surface of the water. A waterline can also refer to any line on a ship's hull that is parallel to the water's surface when the ship is afloat in a level trimmed position. Hence, wate ...

, before bombing it with high explosives and

napalm Napalm is an incendiary mixture of a gelling agent and a volatile petrochemical (usually gasoline or diesel fuel). The name is a portmanteau of two of the constituents of the original thickening and gelling agents: coprecipitated aluminium ...

in an unsuccessful effort to burn off the oil.

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

Saturday Live - Tim Farrow
8 May 2010 The final Hunter unit based at Chivenor was the Singapore Operational Training Flight. In 1974, 229 OCU was transferred to RAF Brawdy and the station was put into a rebuilding programme. It was in June 1957 that a new chapter in Chivenor's story started with the arrival of 'E' Flight 275 Squadron with their

Bristol Sycamore The Bristol Type 171 Sycamore is an early helicopter developed and built by the helicopter division of the Bristol Aeroplane Company. The name refers to the seeds of the sycamore tree, ''Acer pseudoplatanus'', which fall with a rotating motion. ...

HR14s on search and rescue duties. In 1958 'E' Flight changed to 'A' Flight 22 Squadron, which has over 50 years of twenty-four-hour search and rescue experience operating from Chivenor.

Hawks at RAF Chivenor

In 1979 the RAF rebuilding programme ended and the station was reactivated, hosting 2 TWU, flying British Aerospace Hawk T1's with No. 63 Squadron RAF (63(R)) and No. 151 Squadron RAF (151(R)) squadrons, training fast jet pilots and navigators. In 1992, the government's options for change defence review resulted in the structure of the station changing with 2 TWU being re-designated as No. 7 Flying Training School RAF (7 FTS), the squadrons changing identities from 63(R) and 151(R) to

No. 19 Squadron RAF No. 19 Squadron (sometimes written as No. XIX Squadron) is a Squadron (aviation), squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was the first squadron to operate the Supermarine Spitfire. It currently operates the UK's Control and Reporting Centre from RAF ...

(19(R)) and No. 92 Squadron RAF (92(R)). 7 FTS operated in conjunction with No. 4 Flying Training School RAF (4 FTS) at

, as the so-called Mirror Image Training Course which lasted for three years until 1995. when the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

(MOD) announced that RAF Chivenor would close, which it did on 1 October 1995.

Operational Units

1979-1992

; 2 TWU : No. 63(R) Squadron RAF : No. 151(R) Squadron RAF

1992-1995

; 7 FTS : No. 19(R) Squadron RAF : No. 92(R) Squadron RAF

Post-RAF use

From 1 October 1995 onwards, the Royal Marines took control of the base, it being renamed Royal Marines Base Chivenor (RMB Chivenor) and is home to the Commando Logistics Regiment, Royal Marines and 24 Commando Regiment Royal Engineers. The airfield is still an operational airfield used by the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

, Royal Marines and RAF as well as No. 624 Volunteer Gliding Squadron RAF (624 VGS) operating Grob Vigilant T1 motor gliders, providing flights for the

Air Training Corps The Air Training Corps (ATC) is a British Youth organisations in the United Kingdom, volunteer youth organisation; aligned to, and fostering the knowledge and learning of military values, primarily focusing on military aviation. Part of the ...

and

Combined Cadet Force The Combined Cadet Force (CCF) is a youth organisation in the United Kingdom, sponsored by the Ministry of Defence (MOD), which operates in schools, sub divided into Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Army and Royal Air Force sections. Its aim is to ...

References

Citations

Bibliography

* {{Royal Air Force Military history of Devon Military history of Barnstaple Chivenor