Chedworth
CHEDWORTH: Military aerodrome
Note: This picture was obtained from Google Earth ©
Military users: RAF Fighter Command 12 Group
US Army Air Corps*
WW2: Note: Opened in 1942 as a Satellite for ASTON DOWN
No.3 Tactical Exercise Unit
No.3, No.6 & No.52 (Pilots) AFUs (Advanced Flying Units)
55 OTU (Operational Training Unit)
Fighter Leaders School
Location: 8nm SE of Cheltenham, 2nm NW of Chedworth village
Period of operation: 1942 to 1946 (1943/5 USAAC?)
Runways: 03/21 1280x46 hard 11/29 1188x46 hard
*NOTES: Some time ago I made this comment: "Although I have found references to the USAAC having a presence here, I have yet to find further details. If this information is correct, can anybody kindly add more details."
In February 2018 I was very kindly contacted by Jeff Jones who tells us: "It was briefly home to the headquarters squadron of the USAAF Ninth Air Air Force units during 19 June to 9 July 1944 and was used by Piper L-4 Grasshoppers and Stinson L5 Sentinels of the 125th Liaison Squadron. The L-5 was a light aircraft known as the Flying Jeep and used for communications work."
"The 125th site states 'The 125th arrived in England in June 1944 and was assigned to the Ninth Air Force. Deployed to the U.S. Ninth Army, units of the 125th arrived in France in August 1944 and served with the Twelfth and Sixth army groups...' Perhaps their stay at Chedworth was a training /acclimatising period enroute from the USA and the newly-opened Western Front after D-Day."
"This site also mentions RAF 60/63 OTU flying Mossies from Chedworth during WW2, and that during the 1960s the Central Flying School at RAF Little Rissington used Chedworth for emergency-landing practice, but by the 1970s, all flying at Chedworth had ceased except for occasional military exercise."
Jeff also provided these sources for information:
http://www.fightercontrol.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=322&t=29751
https://wikivisually.com/wiki/RAF_Chedworth
http://www.chedworth-rcfc.org.uk/history
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