Royal Air Force Bolt Head or more simply RAF Bolt Head is a former Royal Air Force satellite airfield 1 mile (1.6 km) south west of Salcombe on the south Devon coast, England from 1941 to 1945. During the Second World War it was used as a satellite for RAF Exeter. There were two runways, of 3,680 ft at 45° and 4,200 ft at 120°.[2]
RAF Bolt Head | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salcombe, Devon in England | |||||||||
  RAF Bolt Head Shown within Devon | |||||||||
| Coordinates | 50°13′24″N 003°48′21″W / 50.22333°N 3.80583°W | ||||||||
| Type | Satellite Station | ||||||||
| Code | OH[1] | ||||||||
| Site information | |||||||||
| Owner | Air Ministry | ||||||||
| Operator | Royal Air Force | ||||||||
| Controlled by | RAF Fighter Command * No. 10 Group RAF * No. 11 Group RAF | ||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||
| Built | 1941 | ||||||||
| In use | 1941-1947 | ||||||||
| Battles/wars | European Theatre of World War II | ||||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||||
| Elevation | 128 metres (420 ft)[1] AMSL | ||||||||
| |||||||||
The Ground Control Interceptor Station (GCI) RAF Hope Cove was established on the northeast side of the field in 1941 to direct fighter operations in the English Channel. Unlike the airfield, Hope Cove remained in use into the 1990s.
Today the World War II buildings are almost all gone but a memorial to the airfield's war-time history exists in the centre of the site, two notable post-war buildings survive including a large R6 Rotor bunker (used until 1994 as a Regional Seat of Government) and a grass airstrip is still used occasionally by light aircraft. The landowners also hosted an air display there in 2009 which saw a Hurricane and Spitfire visit the airfield for the first time since the war.
RAF units and aircraft
edit| Unit | Dates | Aircraft | Variant | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 16 Squadron RAF | 1940–1941 | Westland Lysander | III | Detachments from RAF Weston Zoyland.[3] |
| No. 41 Squadron RAF | 29 April-16 May 1944 & 24 May-19 June 1944 |
Supermarine Spitfire | XII | Attended APC Fairwood Common, 17–23 May 1944.[4] |
| No. 234 (Madras Presidency) Squadron RAF | 1944 | Supermarine Spitfire | VI | [5] |
| No. 257 (Burma) Squadron RAF | 1942 | Hawker Typhoon | IA and IB | Detachments from RAF Exeter.[6] |
| No. 263 (Fellowship of the Bellows) Squadron RAF | 1943 | Westland Whirlwind | I | Detachments from RAF Warmwell.[7] |
| 1944 | Hawker Typhoon | IB | [7] | |
| No. 266 (Rhodesia) Squadron RAF | 1944 | Hawker Typhoon | IB | [8] |
| No. 275 Squadron RAF | 1944 | Supermarine Spitfire | VC | Later moved to RAF Exeter with detachments back to Bolt Head.[9] |
| No. 276 Squadron RAF | 1944 | Various | Detachment from RAF Portreath.[9] | |
| No. 310 (Czechoslovak) Squadron RAF | 1942 | Supermarine Spitfire | VB and VC | Detachments from RAF Exeter.[10] |
| No. 421 (Red Indian) Squadron RCAF | 1942 | Supermarine Spitfire | VB | Detachments from RAF Exeter.[11] |
| No. 610 (County of Chester) Squadron RAuxAF | 1943 | Supermarine Spitfire | VC | [12] |
| No. 611 (West Lancashire) Squadron RAuxAF | 1944 | Supermarine Spitfire | IX | [13] |
The following units were here at some point:[14]
- Detachment from No. 10 Group Communication Flight RAF (February - October 1943)[15]
- No. 2704 Squadron RAF Regiment
- No. 2715 Squadron RAF Regiment
- No. 2738 Squadron RAF Regiment
- No. 2953 Squadron RAF Regiment
- No. 4179 Anti-Aircraft Flight RAF Regiment
During the Second World War, 17 personnel operating from RAF Bolt Head were killed in action or died on active service.[16]
References
editCitations
edit- ^ a b Falconer 2012, p. 55.
- ^ Arthur L. Clamp (1992). The Hope Cove Area during The Second World War 1939–1945.
- ^ Jefford 1988, p. 29.
- ^ Jefford 1988, p. 38.
- ^ Jefford 1988, p. 75.
- ^ Jefford 1988, p. 79.
- ^ a b Jefford 1988, p. 80.
- ^ Jefford 1988, p. 81.
- ^ a b Jefford 1988, p. 82.
- ^ Jefford 1988, p. 85.
- ^ Jefford 1988, p. 91.
- ^ Jefford 1988, p. 99.
- ^ Jefford 1988, p. 100.
- ^ "Bolt Head". Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
- ^ Sturtivant, Hamlin & Halley 1997, p. 180.
- ^ "A Memorial to the Few - RAF Bolt Head".
Bibliography
edit- Falconer, J (2012). RAF Airfields of World War 2. UK: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85780-349-5.
- Howell, Christopher (2009) RAF Bolt Head (privately published, no ISBN)
- Jefford, C G (1988). RAF Squadrons. A comprehensive record of the movement and equipment of all RAF squadrons and their antecedents since 1912. Shrewsbury: Airlife. ISBN 1-85310-053-6.
- Sturtivant, R; Hamlin, J; Halley, J (1997). Royal Air Force flying training and support units. UK: Air-Britain (Historians). ISBN 0-85130-252-1.