Kemble Airfield

Kemble Airfield
Name	Kemble Airfield
Type	Public / Former RAF
Location	Kemble, Gloucestershire
Runway1 number	09/27
Runway1 surface	Asphalt

Kemble Airfield is a former Royal Air Force station located near Cirencester in Gloucestershire, England, repurposed as a civil airfield and aviation business park. The site has hosted aircraft storage, restoration, and film work, and has connections to British Aerospace history, Avro Vulcan operations, and contemporary civil aviation enterprises. It sits within the Cotswolds and has been influential in regional aerospace industry activity.

History

Kemble opened as an RAF Station prior to and during World War II, supporting RAF Bomber Command and Transport Command activities. Post-war, the airfield became associated with Vickers-Armstrongs, Hawker Siddeley, and later British Aerospace for aircraft assembly and maintenance, linking it to programs involving the Hawker Siddeley Harrier, BAe 146, and other types. During the Cold War era Kemble accommodated strategic dispersal and logistics tasks related to NATO commitments and hosted visits by units from the United States Air Force and other allied air arms. In the late 20th century the station transferred from active RAF control to civilian ownership, prompting redevelopment for aircraft storage, restoration firms such as AeroGroup-style operations, and preservation groups like those operating Avro Lancaster and Vickers Wellington heritage projects. The site also figured in the run-down and scrapping of airframes during the post-Cold War drawdown and in commercial recycling ventures tied to the global commercial airline retirements involving types like the Lockheed Tristar and Boeing 747.

Facilities and Infrastructure

Kemble features a long asphalt runway originally designed for heavy bombers and later for jet transport and freighter operations, compatible with widebody types including Boeing 747, Boeing 757, and Airbus A300. Hangars and maintenance sheds on site were adapted from wartime and Cold War structures and from post-war industrial buildings used by British Aircraft Corporation and successor firms, enabling line maintenance, heavy maintenance, and structural repair. The airfield hosts aviation businesses including aircraft dismantling firms, component overhaul shops, avionics companies, and paint and finishing contractors that have served clients such as Virgin Atlantic, British Airways, Air France, and Lufthansa. Ancillary infrastructure includes fuel storage compatible with Jet A-1 operations, taxiways linking to apron areas used by freighter operators like UPS Airlines and FedEx Express, and office space occupied by aviation consultancies, restoration charities, and museum groups. Ground transport links connect to the A417 and the M4 motorway, with nearby rail access via Kemble railway station and regional services to London Paddington and Bristol Temple Meads.

Operations and Aviation Activities

Current activities include aircraft storage, maintenance, and part-out operations, with frequent movements by cargo and ferry operators relocating surplus airframes to marketplaces such as Sharjah International Airport and Pinal Airpark. The airfield has supported film and television productions requiring historic and modern aircraft, collaborating with companies that served productions like those of Pinewood Studios and BBC Sport aviation sequences. Flight operations encompass private jet movements, pilot training flights from local flying schools linked with Civil Aviation Authority regulations, and occasional charter services for business aviation clients including operators of Gulfstream and Bombardier types. Preservation groups based at the site conduct airworthy restorations referencing examples from collections like the Imperial War Museum and the Classic Aircraft Museum. Aviation events and fly-ins have attracted historic types associated with de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito, Supermarine Spitfire, and civil classics such as the Douglas DC-3.

Military and Government Use

Although no longer an active RAF frontline base, the airfield has been used for military logistics, reserve training exercises, and occasional transient military movements by aircraft from Royal Air Force Brize Norton, RAF Waddington, and visiting units from NATO members. It has supported Ministry of Defence contracted work including storage for surplus government airframes and parts, and has hosted Ministry of Defence-contracted contractors formerly linked to programmes overseen by bodies like the Defence Equipment and Support organization. The site has also been utilized during national contingency operations requiring strategic airlift staging or contractor maintenance support involving platforms such as the Lockheed C-130 Hercules.

Environmental and Heritage Considerations

Kemble sits within the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty perimeter and planning for the site has required liaison with local authorities including Cotswold District Council and heritage bodies such as Historic England. Environmental management addresses issues from decommissioned fuel storage, de-icing chemical runoff, and aircraft recycling impacts, and coordinates with agencies like the Environment Agency and local biodiversity organizations concerned with Cotswold Way corridor habitats. Conservation-minded operators collaborate with heritage aviation trusts and the Aeroplane Heritage Trust to preserve airworthy examples and static displays, balancing industrial activity with protection for historic runway fabric and listed wartime buildings.

Accidents and Incidents

Over its operational life, the airfield has experienced a number of incidents typical of heavy-use aviation sites, including ground handling accidents during aircraft dismantling, occasional runway excursions, and historic wartime losses tied to units stationed there during World War II. Notable civil incidents involved ferry flights and stored-aircraft ferry movements requiring emergency technical stops, with investigative follow-up by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch and regulatory oversight by the Civil Aviation Authority. Safety improvements have been implemented in line with recommendations from those investigations and from industry groups such as the Royal Aeronautical Society.

Category:Airports in Gloucestershire