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| RAF Carew Cheriton | |
|---|---|
| Name | RAF Carew Cheriton |
| Location | Carew Cheriton, Pembrokeshire |
| Country | Wales |
| Caption | Aerial view of Carew Cheriton airfield |
| Type | Royal Air Force station |
| Used | 1939–1945 |
| Battles | Battle of Britain, Atlantic campaign |
| Occupants | Royal Air Force, Fleet Air Arm |
RAF Carew Cheriton was a Royal Air Force satellite station near Carew, Pembrokeshire, in Wales, active primarily during World War II and linked to coastal defence and training operations. The station supported anti-submarine patrols, convoy protection and training units, forming part of the RAF Coastal Command network and cooperating with Royal Navy and Air Ministry formations. Located on the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park fringe, the site sat within a landscape of Carew Castle and was connected by road to Milford Haven, Haverfordwest and Pembroke Dock.
Carew Cheriton was established as part of the pre-war expansion driven by the Air Ministry and the strategic demands of the Battle of the Atlantic, with construction influenced by planners from Air Ministry Works Directorate and contractors linked to firms such as Henry Boot and John Laing (company). The station opened in 1939 to host units from RAF Coastal Command and elements of the Fleet Air Arm during the Second World War. Carew Cheriton operated alongside nearby facilities including RAF Manston, RAF St Davids, RAF Haverfordwest and RAF Pembroke Dock, and was integrated into operational control under commands like No. 19 Group RAF and No. 15 Group RAF. Postwar demobilisation followed the cessation of hostilities in Europe and the Pacific, with disbandment processes managed by personnel from Air Ministry and former units returning to bases such as RAF Northolt and RAF Lossiemouth.
The triangular grass airfield layout comprised three runways and perimeter tracks typical of Royal Air Force satellite stations, with hangars of types associated with RAF construction standards such as the Bessonneau-style and Blister hangars. Ancillary facilities included technical sites, control tower, pillbox defences resembling patterns from Defence Regulation 18B installations, and accommodation blocks mirroring designs from the Inter-Services Research Bureau era. Fuel storage and bomb-arming areas were sited according to Air Ministry blast-safety protocols and ordnance handling guidance used at locations like RAF Castle Camps and RAF Leeming. The station connected to local transport via lanes to Carew Castle road and rail links to Pembroke Dock railway station, facilitating movement of personnel from training centres such as RAF Cranwell and RAF Halton.
Carew Cheriton hosted a range of units including No. 58 Squadron RAF, No. 279 Squadron RAF, No. 306 Maintenance Unit RAF and detachments from No. 3 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit RAF, as well as Fleet Air Arm flights. Aircraft types operating from the station included the Avro Anson, Bristol Beaufort, Handley Page Hampden, Supermarine Walrus, Bristol Blenheim and later coastal types like the Consolidated Catalina and Lockheed Hudson. Training and anti-submarine aircraft were supplemented by liaison and target-towing types such as the Miles Magister and Hawker Henley, with maintenance support provided by personnel familiar with Royal Aircraft Establishment practices. Crews included members from RAF Coastal Command squadrons and Royal Navy aircrew seconded from HMS Royal Oak and other Fleet Air Arm carriers.
Carew Cheriton played a role in the Battle of the Atlantic by providing sectors for maritime patrols, convoy escort sorties and anti-submarine warfare missions coordinated with Admiralty and Western Approaches Command. Missions from the station contributed to actions against U-boat threats and protection of merchant shipping linking ports such as Liverpool, Southampton and Glasgow, often in conjunction with escort groups from Royal Navy destroyers and sloops like those of the 22nd Escort Group. The airfield supported search and rescue operations, air-sea rescue launches and cooperation with units from RAF Coastal Command headquarters at Plymouth and Northwood, and provided emergency landings for aircraft from RAF Bomber Command nights operations over the Bay of Biscay and Western Approaches. Intelligence flow through Air Ministry channels and signals interception from nodes tied to Bletchley Park influenced tasking, while logistics linked to Ministry of Aircraft Production supply chains ensured availability of spares and ordnance.
Following the end of hostilities, Carew Cheriton underwent decommissioning overseen by Air Ministry demobilisation staff and occasional reuse by civil aviation enthusiasts and agricultural tenants. Land was returned to local agricultural use, parcels were sold under postwar Land Settlement (Facilities) Act-era schemes, and some wartime buildings were repurposed as agricultural stores and industrial units mirroring conversions at former aerodromes such as RAF Millom and RAF Ford. Redevelopment included erection of commercial sheds inspired by postwar planning at sites like Pembroke Dock and adaptation of technical areas into small business parks serviced from Haverfordwest commerce zones. Preservationists from organisations such as the Royal Air Force Museum and local history societies documented the airfield’s heritage before the site’s landscape was altered by peacetime farming and infrastructural changes.
Remnants of the station include sections of runway outline, dispersed hardstandings, and foundations comparable to surviving structures at RAF St Athan and RAF Brawdy, with local museums housing artefacts and photographs associated with the site. Memorial efforts have been supported by groups including the Commonwealth War Graves Commission where applicable, the Royal Air Forces Association, regional heritage trusts and volunteers from Pembrokeshire Historical Society. Commemorative plaques, interpretation boards and periodic remembrance ceremonies link Carew Cheriton’s legacy to nearby landmarks such as Carew Castle and community centres in Milford Haven and Pembroke Dock, ensuring the station’s role in World War II maritime defence is acknowledged in local and national narratives.
Category:Royal Air Force stations in Wales Category:World War II sites in the United Kingdom