AAC Middle Wallop
AAC Middle Wallop
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| Middle Wallop, Hampshire | |||||||||
 EGVP
Location within Hampshire
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| Coordinates | 51°08′56″N 001°34′12″W / 51.14889°N 1.57000°WCoordinates: 51°08′56″N 001°34′12″W / 51.14889°N 1.57000°W | ||||||||
| Type | Army Air Corps airfield | ||||||||
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| Owner | Ministry of Defence | ||||||||
| Controlled by | British Army's Army Air Corps | ||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||
| Built | 1957 | ||||||||
| In use | 1957-Present | ||||||||
| Battles/wars | War in Afghanistan (2001–present) | ||||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||||
| Identifiers | ICAO: EGVP | ||||||||
| Elevation | 91 metres (299 ft) AMSL | ||||||||
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AAC Middle Wallop is a British Army base near the Hampshire village of Middle Wallop. The base hosts 2 Regiment Army Air Corps and 7 Regiment AAC under the umbrella of the Army Aviation Centre. The role of 2 Regiment is ground training and the role of 7 Regiment is Aircrew training, AAC Middle Wallop is the base where most Army Air Corps pilots begin their careers. The base was previously under Royal Air Force control and it was then known as RAF Middle Wallop.
The base was opened as RAF Middle Wallop, a training school for new pilots in 1940. It was originally intended for bomber use, however with the Battle of Britain being fought, No. 609 Squadron RAF, flying the Supermarine Spitfire, and 238 Squadron RAF flying the Hurricane Mk1 were moved to Middle Wallop as part of 10 group RAF Fighter Command. In September 1940 604 Squadron RAF a specialist night fighter unit received the Bristol Beaufighter, equipped with four 20-mm cannon under the nose and improved Mark IV AI radio-location equipment. As one of the few Squadrons thus equipped, 604 squadron helped provide night time defence over the UK during the Blitz from late 1940 until mid-May 1941. In this time 50 air victories had been claimed by No. 604 Squadron, 14 by F/L John Cunningham.
RAF Chilbolton was designated the relief landing airfield for Middle Wallop, until it became a fully fledged Fighter Station in its own right, as the Battle of Britain progressed.
Middle Wallop was also used by the United States Army Air Forces Ninth Air Force as IX Fighter Command Headquarters beginning in November 1943. Along with its headquarters mission, the airfield also hosted the 67th Reconnaissance Group being moved from RAF Membury in December 1943 to be in close proximity to IX FC Headquarters. The 67th Group flew the photographic versions of the Lockheed P-38 Lightning (F-5) and North American P-51 Mustang]] (F-6) to fly artillery-adjustment, weather-reconnaissance, bomb-damage assessment, photographic-reconnaissance, and visual-reconnaissance missions to obtain photographs that aided the invasion of the Continent.
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