RAF Charmy Down

RAF Charmy Down USAAF Station AAF-487
Aerial photograph of RAF Charmy Down looking north, the control tower and technical site is on the left, 4 December 1943.
IATA: none ICAO: none
Summary
Airport type	Military
Owner	Air Ministry
Operator	Royal Air Force United States Army Air Forces
Location	North of Swainswick, Somerset
Built	1941 (1941)
In use	1941-1946 (1946)
Elevation AMSL	669 ft / 204 m
Coordinates	51°25′46″N 002°20′50″W / 51.42944°N 2.34722°W / 51.42944; -2.34722Coordinates: 51°25′46″N 002°20′50″W / 51.42944°N 2.34722°W / 51.42944; -2.34722
Map
RAF Charmy Down Location in Somerset
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 02/20 2,800 850 Asphalt 08/26 4,350 1,330 Asphalt 14/32 4,050 1,230 Asphalt

Royal Air Force Charmy Down or RAF Charmy Down is a former Royal Air Force station in Somerset, England. The airfield is located approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) north-northeast of Bath; about 96 miles (154 km) west of London

Opened in 1941 it was used by initially by the Royal Air Force and then later by the United States Army Air Forces. During the war it was used primarily as night fighter interceptor airfield. After the war it was closed in 1945.

Today the remains of the airfield are located on private property being used as agricultural fields.

Built on a Kerbed Long barrow site, where a cremation urn was found, near a burial of a long necked beaker, and a bronze dagger, these are believed to be from the Beaker people. The Kerbed Long Barrows were then flattened to make way for the airfield.

It was originally planned as a satellite for the Maintenance Unit at nearby RAF Colerne but by the time construction work started in 1940 it had been selected as a sector station by No. 10 Group of RAF Fighter Command.

RAF Charmy Down was opened late in 1940 and originally had a grass surface with landing strips of 4,125 feet (1,257 m), both south east to north west and north east to south west. It was later upgraded to the Class A airfield standard set by the British Air Ministry in 1941, the main feature of which was a set of three converging runways each containing a concrete runway for takeoffs and landings, optimally placed at 60 degree angles to each other in a triangular pattern. In addition a 50 feet (15 m) wide tarmac perimeter track and 39 aircraft dispersal points was constructed. These were 12 double pens and 15 single standings.

The technical site was connected to the ground station and airfield consisted of 12 Blister hangars and one Bellman hangar and various organisational, component and field maintenance shops along with the maintenance personnel necessary to keep the aircraft airworthy and to quickly repair light and moderate battle damage. Depot personnel performed depot-level maintenance on aircraft as well as performing major structural repair on severely damaged combat aircraft. The Ammunition dump was located on the north side of the airfield, outside the perimeter track surrounded by large dirt mounds and concrete storage pens for storing the ammunition required by the aircraft.