Shobdon Airfield is an airport south of Shobdon village, and west of

Leominster Leominster ( ) is a market town in Herefordshire, England; it is located at the confluence of the River Lugg and its tributary the River Kenwater. The town is north of Hereford and south of Ludlow in Shropshire. With a population of almos ...

Herefordshire Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...

, England.

RAF Shobdon

Shobdon started as a

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camp. It acted as a reception point for casualties received from

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being distributed to local hospitals. With a depot railway station developed on the Leominster and Kington Railway, its first casualties arrived after the

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. The camp was developed further by the

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from 1943, to act as a distribution point for two locally developed general hospitals. They also added a runway in co-operation with 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 ...

, but due to the marshy land only one runway was developed. In 1943, RAF No. 1 Glider Training School moved from RAF Thame to Shobdon, enabling an increase in training of glider pilots in preparation for

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and

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landings. The RAF Gliding School closed in 1953, when the site was handed to Herefordshire County Council.

Today

Shobdon Airfield has a Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Ordinary Licence (Number P779) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction as authorised by the licensee (Herefordshire Aero Club Limited).Civil Aviation Authority Aerodrome Ordinary Licences
/ref> It is operated by Herefordshire Aero Club who provide light aircraft flight training together with aircraft storage. Other air sports facilities based at Shobdon Airfield are: * Shobdon LAA Strut a kit-build group hold monthly social evenings * Tiger Helicopters offer helicopter flight training and maintenance. * Swift Light Flight microlight club and training school. * Herefordshire Gliding Club and training school. From 1963 to 1990 Herefordshire Parachute Club was very active but now parachuting is no longer available at the airfield.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* Brooks, Robin J. ''Herefordshire and Worcestershire Airfields in the Second World War''. * Pfuell, Ivor. ''A History of Shobdon''. Published by Ivor Pfuell, 1994. . * United Kingdom AIP * Tony Hobbs "Flying For Fun in the Southern Marches" Published by: Longaston Press.

External links

{{authority control Airports in England Airports in the West Midlands (region) Gliderports in the United Kingdom Transport in Herefordshire