
Royal Air Force Hurn or more simply RAF Hurn 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 approximately north west of
Christchurch
Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...
,
Dorset
Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...
, England
Opened in 1941, it was used by both the
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 ...
and
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
. During the war it was used primarily as a transport and fighter airfield.
Hurn was the final airfield in England for aircraft flying to Morocco for the North African and Italian campaigns, avoiding France, Spain and Portugal airspace.
Since 1969, it has also been called
Bournemouth Airport
Bournemouth Airport (previously known as Hurn Airport and Bournemouth International Airport) is an international airport located north-northeast of Bournemouth, England. The site opened as RAF Hurn in 1941, but was transferred to civil con ...
. The RAF have returned to Hurn in the form of a temporary Outsourcing Contract for Multi-Engine Pilot Training to cope with limited capacity through normal Training Provisions using L3 Harris Airline Academy (2018 -).
RAF use
The following squadrons were here at some point
Units:
USAAF use
Hurn was known as USAAF Station AAF-492 for security reasons by the USAAF during the war, and by which it was referred to instead of location. Its USAAF Station Code was "KU".
422nd Night Fighter Squadron
On 28 June 1944,
Northrop P-61 Black Widow
The Northrop P-61 Black Widow is a twin-engine United States Army Air Forces fighter aircraft of World War II. It was the first operational U.S. warplane designed specifically as a night fighter.
Named for the North American spider '' Latrodec ...
night fighters of the 422nd Night Fighter Squadron arrived from
RAF Scorton, where their crews had been tutored in this particular aspect of air combat by the RAF. The detachment commenced operational flying on 3 July only to return to Scorton a week later.
397th Bombardment Group
On 5 August the 397th Bombardment Group arrived from
RAF Rivenhall, equipped with
Martin B-26 Marauders. The group consisted of the following operational squadrons:
* 596th Bombardment Squadron (X2)
* 597th Bombardment Squadron (9F)
* 598th Bombardment Squadron (U2)
* 599th Bombardment Squadron (6B)
The group's identification marking was a yellow diagonal band across both sides of the vertical tailplane. It moved the Advanced Landing Ground at Gorges,
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, (A-26) on 19 August
The airfield was closed by the RAF in October 1944 and turned over for civil use.
See also
*
List of former Royal Air Force stations
This list of former RAF stations includes most of the stations, airfields and administrative headquarters previously used by the Royal Air Force. They are listed under any former county or country name which was appropriate for the duration of ...
References
* Freeman, Roger A. (1994) UK Airfields of the Ninth: Then and Now 1994. After the Battle
* Freeman, Roger A. (1996) The Ninth Air Force in Colour: UK and the Continent-World War Two. After the Battle
*
* Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. .
* ControlTowers.co.uk http://www.controltowers.co.uk/H-K/Hurn.htm
USAAS-USAAC-USAAF-USAF Aircraft Serial Numbers--1908 to present
External links
Photographs of Bournemouth International Airport from the Geograph British Isles project
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hurn
Airfields of the 9th Bombardment Division in the United Kingdom
Royal Air Force stations in Dorset
Royal Air Force stations in Hampshire
Military units and formations established in 1941
Military units and formations disestablished in 1944