RAF Winkton

Royal Air Force Station Winkton USAAF Station AAF-414
Located Near Bransgore, Hampshire, United Kingdom
Winkton Airfield just over a year after it was closed January 1947. The outlines of the runway matting still evident on the land, with it being returned to agricultural use.
Map showing the location of RAF Winkton within Hampshire.
Coordinates	50°46′37″N 001°46′2″W / 50.77694°N 1.76722°W / 50.77694; -1.76722
Type	Military airfield
Code	WT
Site information
Controlled by	United States Army Air Forces
Site history
Built	1943
In use	1943-1945
Battles/wars	European Theatre of World War II Air Offensive, Europe July 1942 - May 1945
Garrison information
Garrison	Ninth Air Force
Occupants	404th Fighter Group

RAF Station Winkton is a former World War II airfield in Hampshire, England. The airfield is located approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Christchurch; about 89 miles (143 km) southwest of London

Opened in 1944, Winkton was a prototype for the type of temporary Advanced Landing Ground type airfield which would be built in France after D-Day, when the need advanced landing fields would become urgent as the Allied forces moved east across France and Germany. It was used by British, Dominion and the United States Army Air Forces. It was closed in September 1944.

Today the airfield is a mixture of agricultural fields with no recognizable remains.

USAAF use

While under USAAF control, Winkton was known as USAAF Station AAF-414 for security reasons, and by which it was referred to instead of location. Its Station-ID was "WT".

404th Fighter Group

RAF Winkton saw the arrival of the USAAF 404th Fighter Group on 4 April 1944, the group arriving from Myrtle Beach AAF, South Carolina. The 404th had the following operational squadrons:

The 404th was a group of Ninth Air Force's 84th Fighter Wing, IX Tactical Air Command. It flew the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt. On 6 July the 404th moved across the Channel to its Advanced Landing Ground at Chippelle (ALG A-5), France.

Civil use

With the Americans moving to France, Winkton airfield was returned to agricultural use in the fall of 1944. In January 1945, the airfield was officially closed. Today, the land is unrecognizable as a former airfield. It can only be located by comparing the road network on aerial photographs taken when the airfield was active to the current network.

In 2009, there exists a private grass runway owned by Mr.I.C.Reid, who hangars his Moth biplane there.

References

This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.

Freeman, Roger A. (1994) UK Airfields of the Ninth: Then and Now 1994. After the Battle ISBN 0-900913-80-0
Freeman, Roger A. (1996) The Ninth Air Force in Colour: UK and the Continent-World War Two. After the Battle ISBN 1-85409-272-3
Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.

External links

Media related to RAF Winkton at Wikimedia Commons

USAAF Ninth Air Force in World War II

Stations

Palestine (Mand)	Lydda Muqueibile Ramat David St Jean

Egypt	Abu Sueir Ismailia El Amiriya Daba Deversoir Fayid Kabrit * Landing Ground 174 Payne Sidi Haneish

Libya	Baheira Belandah Benina Castel Benito Berca Darragh El Adem El Assa Gambut Hamraiet Lete Martuba Tmed El Chel Tobruk Tripoli Sidi Azeiz

Tunisia	Ben Gardane Bou Grara Chekira Hani Hazbub Hergla El Djem El Haouaria Kairouan Medenine Menzel Heurr Sfax Soltane

United Kingdom	Aldermaston Andover Andrews Field Ashford Balderton Barkston Heath Beaulieu Birch Bisterne Boreham Bottesford Boxted Charmy Down Chalgrove Chilbolton Chipping Ongar Christchurch Cottesmore Earls Colne Exeter Folkingham Fulbeck Gosfield Great Dunmow Greenham Common Grove High Halden Headcorn Holmsley South Hurn Ibsley Kingsnorth Langar Lashenden Little Walden Lymington Matching Membury Merryfield Middle Wallop North Witham Ramsbury Raydon Rivenhall Saltby Scorton Staplehurst Spanhoe Stansted Stoney Cross Thruxton Upottery Warmwell Welford Weston Zoyland Wethersfield Winkton Woodchurch Wormingford

Europe	Advanced Landing Grounds (ALGs) in France, Belgium, Netherlands, and Germany too numerous.

Units

Commands

Wings

Bombardment	97th Bombardment 98th Bombardment 99th Bombardment

Fighter	8th Fighter 9th Fighter 70th Fighter 71st Fighter 84th Fighter 100th Fighter 303d Fighter

Troop carrier	50th Troop Carrier 52d Troop Carrier 53d Troop Carrier

Groups

Bombardment	12th Bombardment 98th Bombardment 322d Bombardment 323d Bombardment 340th Bombardment 344th Bombardment 376th Bombardment 386th Bombardment 387th Bombardment 391st Bombardment 394th Bombardment 397th Bombardment 409th Bombardment 410th Bombardment 416th Bombardment

Fighter	36th Fighter 48th Fighter 50th Fighter 57th Fighter 79th Fighter 324th Fighter 354th Fighter 358th Fighter 365th Fighter 362d Fighter 363d Fighter 366th Fighter 367th Fighter 368th Fighter 370th Fighter 371st Fighter 373d Fighter 404th Fighter 405th Fighter 406th Fighter 474th Fighter

Troop carrier	61st Troop Carrier 64th Troop Carrier 313th Troop Carrier 314th Troop Carrier 315th Troop Carrier 316th Troop Carrier 349th Troop Carrier 434th Troop Carrier 435th Troop Carrier 436th Troop Carrier 437th Troop Carrier 438th Troop Carrier 439th Troop Carrier 440th Troop Carrier 441st Troop Carrier 442d Troop Carrier IX Troop Carrier Pathfinder (Provisional)

Reconnaissance	10th Reconnaissance 67th Reconnaissance 69th Reconnaissance

Squadrons

Liaison	14th Liaison 47th Liaison

Night fighter	422d Night Fighter 425th Night Fighter

United States Army Air Forces

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