RAF Bolt Head
RAF Bolt Head | |
|---|---|
| SW of Salcombe, Devon, United Kingdom | |
  RAF Bolt Head RAF Bolt Head, shown within Devon | |
| Coordinates | 50°13′24″N 003°48′21″W / 50.22333°N 3.80583°W |
| Type | Royal Air Force station |
| Site information | |
| Owner | Air Ministry |
| Controlled by | Royal Air Force |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1941 |
| In use | 1941-1945 |
| Battles/wars | European Theatre of World War II |
Royal Air Force Bolt Head or more simply RAF Bolt Head is a former Royal Air Force grass airfield 1 mile (1.6 km) south west of Salcombe on the south Devon coast, England from 1941 to 1945. During the Second World War it was used as a satellite for RAF Exeter. There were two runways, of 3,680 ft at 45° and 4,200 ft at 120°[1]
The Ground Control Interceptor Station, (GCI) RAF Hope Cove. was established nearby in 1941 to direct fighter operations in the English Channel.
Today the World War II buildings are almost all gone but a memorial to the airfield's war-time history exists in the centre of the site, two notable post-war buildings survive including a large R6 Rotor bunker (used until 1994 as a Regional Seat of Government) and a grass airstrip is still used occasionally by light aircraft. The landowners also hosted an air display there in 2009 which saw a Hurricane and Spitfire visit the airfield for the first time since the war.
RAF units and aircraft
| Unit | Dates | Aircraft | Variant | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 16 Squadron RAF | 1940–1941 | Westland Lysander | III | Detachments from RAF Weston Zoyland.[2] |
| No. 41 Squadron RAF | 29 April-16 May 1944 & 24 May-19 June 1944 | Supermarine Spitfire | XII | Attended APC Fairwood Common, 17–23 May 1944.[3] |
| No. 234 Squadron RAF | 1944 | Supermarine Spitfire | VI | [4] |
| No. 257 Squadron RAF | 1942 | Hawker Typhoon | IA and IB | Detachments from RAF Exeter.[5] |
| No. 263 Squadron RAF | 1943 | Westland Whirlwind | I | Detachments from RAF Warmwell.[6] |
| 1944 | Hawker Typhoon | IB | [6] | |
| No. 266 Squadron RAF | 1944 | Hawker Typhoon | IB | [7] |
| No. 275 Squadron RAF | 1944 | Supermarine Spitfire | VC | Later moved to RAF Exeter with detachments back to Bolt Head.[8] |
| No. 276 Squadron RAF | 1944 | Various | Detachment from RAF Portreath.[8] | |
| No. 310 Squadron RAF | 1942 | Supermarine Spitfire | VB and VC | Detachments from RAF Exeter.[9] |
| No. 421 Squadron RCAF | 1942 | Supermarine Spitfire | VB | Detachments from RAF Exeter.[10] |
| No. 610 Squadron RAF | 1943 | Supermarine Spitfire | VC | [11] |
| No. 611 Squadron RAF | 1944 | Supermarine Spitfire | IX | [12] |
The following units were here at some point:[13]
- No. 10 Group Communications Flight
- No. 2704 Squadron RAF Regiment
- No. 2715 Squadron RAF Regiment
- No. 2738 Squadron RAF Regiment
During the Second World War, 17 personnel operating from RAF Bolt Head were killed in action or died on active service.[14]
References
Citations
- ↑ Arthur L. Clamp (1992). The Hope Cove Area during The Second World War 1939–1945.
- ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 29.
- ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 38.
- ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 75.
- ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 79.
- 1 2 Jefford 1988, p. 80.
- ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 81.
- 1 2 Jefford 1988, p. 82.
- ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 85.
- ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 91.
- ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 99.
- ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 100.
- ↑ "Bolt Head". Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
- ↑ http://www.devonheritage.org/Places/Malborough/AMemorialtotheFew-RAFBoltHead.htm
Bibliography
- Howell, Christopher (2009) RAF Bolt Head (privately published, no ISBN)
- Jefford MBE, Wg Cdr C G (1988). RAF Squadrons. A comprehensive record of the movement and equipment of all RAF squadrons and their antecedents since 1912. Shrewsbury: Airlife. ISBN 1-85310-053-6.