| RAF Winkton USAAF Station AAF-414   | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bransgore, Hampshire in England | |||||||||
 Winkton Airfield aerial of January 1947, the airfield having closed in July 1944. The outlines of the pierced steel planking perimeter track are still evident on the land, with it being returned to agricultural use. | |||||||||
  RAF Winkton Shown within Hampshire  RAF Winkton RAF Winkton (the United Kingdom) | |||||||||
| Coordinates | 50°46′37″N 001°46′2″W / 50.77694°N 1.76722°W | ||||||||
| Type | Advanced Landing Ground | ||||||||
| Code | XT[1] | ||||||||
| Site information | |||||||||
| Owner | Air Ministry | ||||||||
| Operator | Royal Air Force United States Army Air Forces | ||||||||
| Controlled by | RAF Fighter Command * No. 11 Group RAF Ninth Air Force | ||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||
| Built | 1943/44 | ||||||||
| In use | March 1944 - January 1945 | ||||||||
| Battles/wars | European theatre of World War II Air Offensive, Europe July 1942 - May 1945 | ||||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||||
| Elevation | 12 metres (39 ft)[1] AMSL | ||||||||
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Royal Air Force Winkton, or more simply RAF Winkton, is a former Royal Air Force Advanced Landing Ground previously in Hampshire but now, due to County boundary changes, in Dorset, England. The airfield is located approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Christchurch; and is named after the nearby hamlet of Winkton.
Although complete by September 1943 Winkton opened in March 1944 with Sommerfeld Mesh runways and pierced steel planking perimeter tracks, and was the prototype for the type of temporary Advanced Landing Ground type airfield that would be built in France after D-Day, when the need for advanced landing fields would become urgent as the Allied forces moved east across France and Germany. It was used by British and the United States Army Air Forces. It was closed in July 1944, when the mesh runways were lifted for use on the Continent, and immediately returned to agriculture.
Today the airfield is a mixture of agricultural fields with no recognizable remains.
- ^ a b Falconer 2012, p. 215.