Royal Air Force Ibsley or more simply RAF Ibsley 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 ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

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

History

Royal Air Force

Ibsley was built between 1940 and early 1941 (opening in February of 1941), and was north of Ringwood. Parts of the base had been built on Ibsley Common, including blast walls, a bunker and some accommodation blocks. The airfield was initially used by No. 32 Squadron RAF with

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by ...

s, followed by No. 118 Squadron RAF with

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. In 1941 it was used as a location for the film ''

The First of the Few ''The First of the Few'' (US title ''Spitfire'') is a 1942 British black-and-white biographical film produced and directed by Leslie Howard (actor), Leslie Howard, who stars as R. J. Mitchell, the designer of the Supermarine Spitfire fighter air ...

''. 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 Forces S ...

1st Fighter Group, 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 (USAAC) by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinc ...

s. The 1st FG arrived from

RAF Goxhill Royal Air Force Goxhill or RAF Goxhill is a former Royal Air Force List of former Royal Air Force stations, station located east of Goxhill, on the south bank of the Humber, Humber Estuary in north Lincolnshire, England, opposite the city of Kin ...

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 squadr ...

(HV) * 71st Fighter Squadron (LM) * 94th Fighter Squadron (UN) The stay of the 1st FG was short, being assigned to

Twelfth Air Force The Twelfth Air Force (12 AF; Air Forces Southern, (AFSOUTH)) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. The command is the air component to U ...

for duty in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

theater in support of the

Operation Torch Operation Torch (8–16 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 securing victory in North Africa whil ...

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

n landings. On 16 October 1943 RAF Ibsley was allocated to the

Ninth Air Force The Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It is the Air Force Service Component of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), a joint D ...

48th Fighter Group

With construction completed, on 29 March 1944 the

48th Fighter Group arrived at Ibsley from Waterboro AAF,

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

(). 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 (I7) * 494th Fighter Squadron (6M) The 48th was a group of

's 70th Fighter Wing,

IX Tactical Air Command The IX Tactical Air Command was a formation of the United States Army Air Forces. It fought in the European theater of World War II. Its last assignment was at Camp Shanks, New York, where it was inactivated on 25 October 1945. History Formed ...

. 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 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 (H5) * 393d Fighter Squadron (8L) * 394th Fighter Squadron (4N) The 367th was a group of

's 70th Fighter Wing,

. 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, although plans for

The Landmark Trust The Landmark Trust is a British architectural conservation, building conservation charitable organization, charity, founded in 1965 by John Smith (Conservative politician), Sir John and Lady Smith, that rescues buildings of historic interest or ...

to restore and repurpose this building as holiday accommodation were revealed by ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' newspaper in July 2023. A very small section of the end of runway 01 still exists south of Ellingham Drove 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