| Summary : A former World War Two and post-war military airfield, opened 1941, closed 1955. Royal Air Force occupation of the site began in 1941 before the airfield and its buildings were complete, although work had begun in 1940. When complete the airfield consisted of three concrete and tarmac runways and 5 aircraft hangars (one Type J and four Type T2). A dispersed military camp thought to be associated with the airfield has been recorded as SP 13 SE 101. The main unit based at Moreton in World War Two was 21 Operational Training Unit, training Wellington bomber crews for sevice in the Middle East. The unit contributed towards the "thousand bomber " raid on Cologne in 1942 and also particpated in leaflet drops. A crashed Wellington Mark X bomber from 21 Operational Training Unit was found in the 1980s south-east away from the airfield at Kitebrook, Oxfordshire (see SP 23 SW 36 for details). After the war flying training resumed until 1955. However the site continued to be used by the RAF until 1959 for training reservists in firefighting techniques. Since 1966 it has been the home of the (civilian) Fire Service College. The World War Two airfield as it appeared in 1947, including runways, hangars, support buildings, accommodation sites and air raid shelters, has been mapped from aerial photographs by English Heritage's Gloucestershire NMP. |
More information : Moreton-in-Marsh Airfield, Gloucestershire, Royal Air Force occupation of the site began in 1941 before the airfield and its buildings were complete, although work had begun in 1940. When complete the airfield consisted of three concrete and tarmac runways (these were extended as they were initially built too short) and 5 aircraft hangars (one Type J and four Type T2). The main unit based at Moreton in World War Two was 21 Operational Training Unit, training Wellington bomber crews for sevice in the Middle East. The unit contributed towards the "thousand bomber " raid on Cologne in 1942 and also particpated in leaflet drops in addition to raids on other large scities in Germany. After the war flying training resumed until 1955. However the site continued to be used by the RAF until 1959 for training reservists in fire-fighting techniques, specifically in the event of a nuclear war. Since 1966 it has been the home of the (civilian) Fire Service College. Please note that the NGR given for the airfield in source 1, i.e. SP230 350, does not concord with other sources (2-3) and appears to be incorrect. (1)
Moreton-in-Marsh Airfield, Gloucestershire, SP 218 329, (NGR correct) opened 1941, closed 1955. The Willis and Holliss gazetteer gives a statistical profile of the airfield as it stood in December 1944, when 2087 male and 436 female personnel were stationed at the airfield. (2)
The airfield at Moereton-in-Marsh appears on the OS 1:10000 map sheet SP 23 SW for 1979, centered at SP 218 329. This NGR concords with source 2, the NGR given in source 1 would appear to be incorrect. (3)
The World War Two airfield, as it appeared on aerial photographs taken in 1947, has been mapped by English Heritage's Gloucestershire NMP. The visible features include the runways and dispersal areas, hangars, support buildings, accommodation sites and air raid shelters, water towers and the perimeter fence. Other associated features, including a bomb store, several gun emplacements and a road block have been recorded separately. (4-6) |