RAF Chedburgh
Chedburgh in England
RAF Chedburgh is located in Suffolk
RAF Chedburgh
RAF Chedburgh
Shown within Suffolk
Coordinates52°10′49″N 000°37′15″E / 52.18028°N 0.62083°E / 52.18028; 0.62083
TypeSatellite station 1942-43
31 Base Substation 1943-
CodeCU[1]
Site information
OwnerAir Ministry
OperatorRoyal Air Force
Controlled byRAF Bomber Command
* No. 3 Group RAF
* No. 7 (T) Group RAF[1]
Site history
Built1941 (1941)/42
Built byJohn Laing & Son Ltd
In useSeptember 1942 - October 1952 (1952)
Battles/warsEuropean theatre of World War II
Airfield information
Elevation125 metres (410 ft)[1] AMSL
Runways
Direction Length and surface
00/00  Concrete
00/00  Concrete
00/00  Concrete

Royal Air Force Chedburgh or more simply RAF Chedburgh is a former Royal Air Force satellite station located near Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, UK. The Bury Road Business Park is now located on the site, a principal enterprise being Yara UK Limited's liquid fertilizer production plant.[2]

History

Murray Peden, a Royal Canadian Air Force pilot, recounts in his memoirs[3] flying on his first attack on Germany, from RAF Chedburgh in September 1943. The target was Hanover. He was a new member of No. 214 Squadron RAF, which was equipped with four-engine Stirlings. He describes the long line of aircraft taxiing "ponderously" along a: "...perimeter track [which] ran within a hundred yards of Chedburgh's pub, before which the locals . . . had assembled for their nightly show." In 2018, the pub building still stood, near the northwest corner of the old airfield.[4]

The following units were here at some point:[2]

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 Falconer 2012, p. 63.
  2. 1 2 "Chedburgh". Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  3. ↑ Peden, Murray, "A Thousand Shall Fall," Dundurn (April 1, 2003), p 244
  4. ↑ Google Earth latitude/longitude of pub: 52°11'15.06"N   0°36'53.39"E  ; by 2018, the pub had closed and its future was in doubt. See for example: Michael Steward, "Campaign to Save Village Pub Gains Support," East Anglian Daily Times 23 May 2018 https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/campaign-to-save-village-pub-in-chedburgh-near-bury-st-edmunds-gains-support-1-5530587
  5. ↑ Sturtivant, Hamlin & Halley 1997, p. 191.
  6. ↑ Sturtivant, Hamlin & Halley 1997, p. 100.

Bibliography

  • Falconer, J (2012). RAF Airfields of World War 2. UK: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85780-349-5.
  • Sturtivant, R; Hamlin, J; Halley, J (1997). Royal Air Force flying training and support units. UK: Air-Britain (Historians). ISBN 0-85130-252-1.
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