Royal Air Force Worthy Down, or simply RAF Worthy Down, 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 ...

built in 1918, north of

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

, in Hampshire, England. After it was transferred to

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 ...

control in 1939 as Royal Naval Air Station Worthy Down (RNAS Worthy Down, or HMS ''Kestrel''), the airfield remained in use throughout the Second World War, and then housed a RN Air Electrical School, HMS ''Ariel'', from 1952. The airfield was in use until 1960. The site is now MOD Worthy Down.

History

The site was first used as a military establishment when the

War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

acquired the site for a Wireless and Observers School in 1917 before changing to the school of Army Co-operation in 1918 on the site of the Winchester Racecourse. In 1918, an airfield was built for the

Royal Flying Corps The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC sup ...

(RFC), but before it was completed, the RFC was amalgamated with the

Royal Naval Air Service The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty (United Kingdom), Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British ...

to form the

. Nonetheless, the RFC does seem to have operated there to some degree before amalgamation, as Lieutenant Harold Percy Dawson, RFC, was killed in an air accident stated to be at Worthy Down on 9 March 1918.

Royal Air Force

The first squadron to use the airfield was No. 58 Squadron RAF which was reformed there on 1 April 1924. The squadron flew the

Vickers Vimy The Vickers Vimy was a British heavy bomber aircraft developed and manufactured by Vickers Limited. Developed during the latter stages of the First World War to equip the Royal Flying Corps (RFC), the Vimy was designed by Rex Pierson, Vickers ...

and the

Vickers Virginia The Vickers Virginia was a biplane heavy bomber of the British Royal Air Force, developed from the Vickers Vimy. Design and development Work on the Virginia was started in 1920, as a replacement for the Vimy. Two prototypes were ordered o ...

before moving to

RAF Upper Heyford Royal Air Force Upper Heyford or more simply RAF Upper Heyford is a former Royal Air Force station located north-west of Bicester near the village of Upper Heyford, Oxfordshire, Upper Heyford, Oxfordshire, England. In the World War II, Second W ...

on 13 January 1936. On 7 April 1927,

No. 7 Squadron RAF No. 7 Squadron is a squadron of the Royal Air Force which operates the Boeing Chinook (UK variants), Boeing Chinook HC6 from RAF Odiham, Hampshire. It is part of the Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing. History Formation and early years (1914� ...

moved from RAF Bircham Newton and stayed until 3 September 1936, flying the Virginia IX/X and the

Handley Page Heyford The Handley Page Heyford was a twin-engine biplane bomber designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Handley Page. It holds the distinction of being the last biplane heavy bomber to be operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF). The ...

II/III before moving to

RAF Finningley Royal Air Force Finningley or more simply RAF Finningley is a former Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force station at Finningley, in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The station straddled the historic county bo ...

. During this time, No. 102 Squadron RAF formed at the airfield on 1 October 1935, flying the Heyford II/III before leaving on 3 September 1936 for RAF Finningley. Also on 1 October 1935,

No. 215 Squadron RAF No. 215 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force aircraft squadron formed as a night bomber squadron in the First and Second World Wars, becoming a transport squadron near the end of the Second World War. History ;First World War No. 215 Squadron was ...

reformed at the airfield; they flew the Virginia X and left on 14 March 1936 for RAF Upper Heyford. On 8 August 1936, No. 49 Squadron RAF, flying the

Hawker Hind The Hawker Hind is a British light bomber of the inter-war years produced by Hawker Aircraft for the Royal Air Force. It was developed from the Hawker Hart day bomber introduced in 1931 in aviation, 1931. Design and development An improved Ha ...

, moved from RAF Bircham Newton; they left on 14 March 1938 for

RAF Scampton Royal Air Force Scampton or RAF Scampton (formerly ) is a former Royal Air Force List of former Royal Air Force stations, station located adjacent to the A15 road (England), A15 road near to the village of Scampton, Lincolnshire, and north-wes ...

. The next squadron to arrive was No. 35 Squadron RAF, on 26 August 1936, flying the Fairey Gordon, Vickers Wellesley and the

Fairey Battle The Fairey Battle is a British single-engine light bomber that was designed and manufactured by the Fairey Aviation Company. It was developed during the mid-1930s for the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a monoplane successor to the Hawker Hart and Ha ...

. They left for RAF Cottesmore on 20 April 1938. The last squadron to use RAF Worthy Down was No. 207 Squadron RAF, which moved to the airfield on 29 August 1936, flying the Gordon and Wellesley before leaving on 20 April 1938 for RAF Cottesmore. The only Royal Air Force Squadron to use the airfield when it was under Royal Naval control was the Southampton University Air Squadron, who flew their

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 ...

trainers there during 1945–46.

Station commanders

Royal Navy

The site was recommissioned by the

in 1939 as HMS ''Kestrel'', and used as a flying station by the

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is the naval aviation component of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy (RN). The FAA is one of five :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, RN fighting arms. it is a primarily helicopter force, though also operating the Lockhee ...

. During this time, the site was featured on the news when Lord Haw-Haw (William Joyce) claimed the

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official military branch, branche ...

sank HMS ''Kestrel''. In 1950, it was placed in a state of care and maintenance until 1952, when it was re-established as HMS ''Ariel II'' and used as an engineering training school. The following squadrons were based at Worthy Down at some point: * 700 Naval Air Squadron between June 1945 and 1945 * 734 Naval Air Squadron used the airfield between February 1944 and sometime in 1945 with 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 ...

GRVII. * 739 Naval Air Squadron (BADU) between September 1943 and September 1944 with the

Airspeed Oxford The Airspeed AS.10 Oxford is a twin-engine monoplane aircraft developed and manufactured by Airspeed Ltd, Airspeed. It saw widespread use for training Commonwealth of Nations, British Commonwealth aircrews in navigation, radio-operating, bombin ...

. * 755 Naval Air Squadron formed at the airfield during 1939 and flew various aircraft including the

Blackburn Shark The Blackburn Shark was a carrier-borne torpedo bomber designed and built by the British aviation manufacturer Blackburn Aircraft. It was originally known as the Blackburn T.S.R., standing for "torpedo-spotter-reconnaissance", in reference to i ...

, Hawker Osprey,

Westland Lysander The Westland Lysander is a British Army cooperation aircraft, army co-operation and liaison aircraft produced by Westland Aircraft that was used immediately before and during the Second World War. After becoming obsolete in the army co-operat ...

and Curtiss SO3C Seamew. * 756 Naval Air Squadron – 1939–1943 * 757 Naval Air Squadron – 1939–1943 * 763 Naval Air Squadron – December 1939 – June 1940 *763 (FAA Pool) Naval Air Squadron – February – July 1941 * 800 Naval Air Squadron – 1938–1939 * 803 Naval Air Squadron – 21 November 1938 * 806 Naval Air Squadron – May 1940 * 807 Naval Air Squadron – 15 September 1940 * 808 Naval Air Squadron – 1 July 1940 – 5 September 1940 * 811 Naval Air Squadron – October 1939 * 815 Naval Air Squadron – 15 October 1939 – May 1940 * 822 Naval Air Squadron – October 1939 * 848 Naval Air Squadron – November 1959 – March 1960 *Air Electrical School – June 1952 – 1 November 1960 Additionally,

Supermarine Supermarine was a British aircraft manufacturer. It is most famous for producing the Spitfire fighter plane during World War II. The company built a range of seaplanes and flying boats, winning the Schneider Trophy for seaplanes with three cons ...

used the airfield in the development of the

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

from December 1940 to March 1944.

Current use

The technical site is now a tri-service establishment known as MOD Worthy Down, and the runway area is open grassland.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* *

External links

Airfield Information Exchange – RAF Worthy Down
{{DEFAULTSORT:Worthy Down Royal Air Force stations in Hampshire Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom Buildings and structures in Hampshire Airports in Hampshire