RAF Aldermaston

RAF Aldermaston
USAAF Station 467
Newbury, Berkshire in England
Aerial photograph of RAF Aldermaston oriented north, taken 19 August 1943. The bomb dump is on the east side of the airfield
RAF Aldermaston is located in Berkshire
RAF Aldermaston
RAF Aldermaston
Location in Berkshire
Coordinates51°22′12″N 001°08′38″W / 51.37000°N 1.14389°W / 51.37000; -1.14389
CodeAM
Site information
OwnerAir Ministry
OperatorRoyal Air Force[1]
United States Army Air Forces
Controlled byEighth Air Force (1942-1943)
Ninth Air Force (1943-1945)
RAF Technical Training Command (1945)
Site history
Built1941 (1941)-42
In use1942-1945 (1945)
Battles/warsSecond World War
Airfield information
Elevation104 metres (341 ft) AMSL
Runways
Direction Length and surface
05/23 1,830 metres (6,004 ft) Concrete
10/28 1,280 metres (4,199 ft) Concrete
16/34 1,280 metres (4,199 ft) Concrete

Royal Air Force Aldermaston, or more simply RAF Aldermaston, is a former Royal Air Force station located 8 miles (13 km) east of Newbury, Berkshire and 9.8 miles (15.8 km) southwest of Reading, Berkshire, England.

Originally built as an RAF Bomber Command airfield during 1941-1942, Aldermaston was transferred to the United States Army Air Forces in August 1942.[1] Placed under the jurisdiction of Eighth Air Force, it was home to several Douglas C-47 Skytrain Troop Carrier Groups. It was transferred to Ninth Air Force in 1943 primarily as a Troop Carrier Command base.[2] Returned to RAF Control at the end of 1945, it was used by Technical Training Command before being placed on Care and Maintenance. In 1946, it was transferred to the Ministry of Civil Aviation and used by BOAC aircraft for training.[1]

Also used by the Ministry of Aircraft Production for Supermarine Spitfire assembly and flight testing, the airfield closed in 1950 and the site became home of the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment (later the Atomic Weapons Establishment) from 1950.[1]

  1. ^ a b c d "RAF-Aldermaston". Control Towers. Archived from the original on 14 August 2022. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference IWM was invoked but never defined (see the help page).