RAF Winkton

RAF Winkton
USAAF Station AAF-414
AMSL
RAF Winkton; USAAF Station AAF-414 AMSL
Runways
	Sommerfeld Tracking
	Sommerfeld Tracking

Royal Air Force Winkton, or more simply RAF Winkton, is a former

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.

History

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", Radio-Callsign "Drainsink"

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:

506th Fighter Squadron

(4K)

507th Fighter Squadron

(Y8)

508th Fighter Squadron (7J)

The 404th was a group of

Advanced Landing Ground

at Chippelle (ALG A-5), France.

Current use

With the Americans moving to France, Winkton airfield was closed down and returned to agricultural use in July 1944. In January 1945, the airfield was officially closed. Today, the land is unrecognizable as a former airfield, and 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 Tiger Moth biplane there.