RAF Chilbolton

RAF Chilbolton lay in Hampshire, a few miles south-east of Andover, and opened in September 1940 during the Battle of Britain. Although it later embraced a wide range of duties, it began life under Fighter Command as a satellite landing ground, initially with grass surfaces and only laid with hard runways from 1943. Among its early occupants were No. 238 and No. 504 Squadrons flying Hawker Hurricanes, the Polish-manned No. 308 Squadron on Supermarine Spitfires, and No. 501 Squadron, reflecting the airfield’s role in the air defence of southern England.

In 1943 the station passed to American control as USAAF Station 404, where it hosted the 368th Fighter Group and its Republic P-47 Thunderbolts, together with tactical reconnaissance and troop-carrier units. Aircraft based here took part in the airborne landings of Operation Market Garden in September 1944, underlining the field’s transport and glider-towing function during the Normandy and Arnhem campaigns.

After the war Chilbolton became a centre for aircraft development, used by Vickers-Supermarine and later Folland Aircraft for prototype flight testing. Flying ceased around 1961, and the surrounding land reverted to agriculture; part of the former site is now occupied by the Chilbolton Observatory and its radio telescope.