Royal Air Force Ibsley or more simply RAF Ibsley is a former Royal Air Force

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 ...

in Hampshire, England. The airfield is near the village of Ibsley, about north of Ringwood and about southwest of London. A perimeter track with three runways were laid out and 18 fighter pens allowing 46 fighters to stand in relative safety. 12 Blister and two Bellman hangars were built and ten dispersed accommodation sites were laid out to the north for the airmen & women. A double cupola Battle Head Quarters, two Control Towers (one small and one large)

History

Royal Air Force

The airfield was initially used by No. 32 Squadron RAF with Hawker Hurricanes, followed by No. 118 Squadron RAF with

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...

s. In 1941 it was used as a location for the film The First of the Few. The following units were here at some point: Ibsley was also used, for short periods, in 1942 and 1944, by the United States Army Air Forces

United States Army Air Forces use

Ibsley was known as USAAF Station AAF-347 for security reasons by the USAAF during the war, and by which it was referred to instead of location. Its USAAF Station Code was "IB". USAAF Station Units assigned to RAF Ibsley were: * 327th Service Group : 329th and 79th Service Squadrons; HHS 327th Service Group * 21st Weather Squadron * 32nd Mobile Reclamation and Repair Squadron * 3rd Radio Squadron * 40th Mobile Communications Squadron * 83rd Airdrome Squadron * 98th Station Complement Squadron * Headquarters & Headquarters Squadron (70th Fighter Wing) Regular Army Station Units included: * 555th Signal Aircraft Warning Battalion * 692nd Quartermaster Battalion * 926th Signal Battalion * 1113th Signal Company * 1180th Quartermaster Company * 1292nd Military Police Company * 1829th Ordnance Supply & Maintenance Company * 2200th Quartermaster Truck Company * 332nd Signal Company * 807th Chemical Company (Air Operations) * 878th Signal Depot Company * 900th Signal Depot Company

1st Fighter Group

The first USAAF unit to use Ibsley was the

Eighth Air Force The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Force ...

1st Fighter Group 001, O01, or OO1 may refer to: *1 (number), a number, a numeral *001, fictional British agent, see 00 Agent *001, former emergency telephone number for the Norwegian fire brigade (until 1986) *AM-RB 001, the code-name for the Aston Martin Valkyrie ...

, equipped with

Lockheed P-38 Lightning The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinctive twi ...

s. The 1st FG arrived from RAF Goxhill on 24 August 1942. Tactical squadrons of the group and squadron fuselage codes were: *

27th Fighter Squadron The 27th Fighter Squadron is a unit of the United States Air Force 1st Operations Group located at Joint Base Langley–Eustis, Virginia. The 27th is equipped with the F-22 Raptor. The 27th Fighter Squadron is the oldest active fighter squad ...

(HV) * 71st Fighter Squadron (LM) * 94th Fighter Squadron (UN) The stay of the 1st FG was short, being assigned to Twelfth Air Force for duty in the Mediterranean theater in support of the

Operation Torch Operation Torch (8 November 1942 – Run for Tunis, 16 November 1942) was an Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of secu ...

North African landings. On 16 October 1943 RAF Ibsley was allocated to the Ninth Air Force.

48th Fighter Group

With construction completed, on 29 March 1944 the Ninth Air Force 48th Fighter Group arrived at Ibsley from Waterboro AAF, South Carolina (). The 48th flew the

Republic P-47 Thunderbolt The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bombe ...

and had the following fighter squadrons and fuselage codes: * 492d Fighter Squadron (F4) *

493d Fighter Squadron ("Death to the Enemy") , colors= Black/Gold , march= , mascot= , equipment = , battles=European Theater of OperationsWar in KosovoGlobal War on Terror , notable_commanders= , anniversaries= , decorations=Distinguished Unit CitationNavy Meritorious ...

(I7) * 494th Fighter Squadron (6M) The 48th was a group of Ninth Air Force's 70th Fighter Wing, IX Tactical Air Command. Ibsley continued to be used by the 48th FG until 4 July when the last personnel left.

367th Fighter Group

Arriving on the heels of the departing 48th FG, the

367th Fighter Group 367th may refer to: *367th Fighter Group, later the 133d Operations Group, the flying component of the Minnesota Air National Guard's 133d Airlift Wing *367th Fighter Squadron Inactivated in 1945, then reactivated at Homestead Air Reserve Base in 20 ...

arrived at Ibsley on 6 July 1944 from RAF Stoney Cross. The 367th flew Lockheed P-38 Lightnings. Tactical squadrons of the group and squadron fuselage codes were: *

392d Fighter Squadron 39 may refer to: * 39 (number), the natural number following 38 and preceding 40 * one of the years: ** 39 BC ** AD 39 ** 1939 ** 2039 * ''39'' (album), a 2000 studio album by Mikuni Shimokawa * "'39", a 1975 song by Queen * "Thirty Nine", a song ...

(H5) *

393d Fighter Squadron 393rd or 393d may refer to: *393d Bomb Squadron (393 BS) is part of the 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri *393d Bombardment Group, inactive United States Air Force unit *393d Bombardment Squadron (Medium) (1942), inactive United ...

(8L) *

394th Fighter Squadron The 394th Fighter Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was assigned to the 367th Fighter Group and was last stationed at Seymour Johnson Field, North Carolina, where it was inactivated on 7 November 1945. The squadron was ...

(4N) The 367th was a group of Ninth Air Force's 70th Fighter Wing, IX Tactical Air Command. The 392d and 393d and 394th Fighter Squadrons went to Carentan (ALG A-10), Cretteville (ALG A-14) and Reuxeville (ALG A-6) respectively.

Current use

Today the airfield consists mostly of a series of gravel pits and large landscaped lakes. One lake is overlooked by the derelict, windowless control tower. A very small section of the end of runway 01 still exists south of Ellingham Drive at the southern part of the airfield. A small memorial is located near the control tower .

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * 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. .
www.controltowers.co.uk RAF Ibsley
* British Automobile Association (AA), (1978), Complete Atlas of Britain,

External links

Lakenheath Airmen attend World War II ceremony 3/1/2006

RAF Ibsley Airfield Heritage Trust
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ibsley Airfields of the VIII Fighter Command in the United Kingdom Airfields of the IX Fighter Command in the United Kingdom Military airbases established in 1941 Military installations closed in 1947 Royal Air Force stations in Hampshire Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom 1941 establishments in England 1947 disestablishments in England