Royal Air Force Poulton or more simply RAF Poulton (X4PL) is a former Royal Air Force satellite station located near Poulton, Cheshire and was operational from 1 March 1943 until 1945. It was used as an Operational Training Unit (OTU) and Tactical Exercise Unit (TEU) for Hawker Hurricanes.
RAF Poulton | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poulton, Cheshire in England | |||||||||||
 RAF Poulton, July 2022 | |||||||||||
  RAF Poulton Shown within Cheshire | |||||||||||
| Coordinates | 53°07′46″N 002°53′42″W / 53.12944°N 2.89500°W | ||||||||||
| Type | Satellite Station | ||||||||||
| Code | PU | ||||||||||
| Site information | |||||||||||
| Owner | Air Ministry | ||||||||||
| Operator | Royal Air Force | ||||||||||
| Controlled by | RAF Fighter Command | ||||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||||
| Built | 1942/43 | ||||||||||
| Built by | George Wimpey & Co Ltd | ||||||||||
| In use | March 1943 - August 1945 | ||||||||||
| Battles/wars | European theatre of World War II | ||||||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||||||
| Elevation | 15 metres (49 ft)[1] AMSL | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
History
editIt was part of 12 Group and was used as a satellite of RAF Hawarden. It had 8 Blister and 1 Bessonneau hangars.[2]
Based units and aircraft
edit- No. 3 Tactical Exercise Unit RAF (TEU), using the Hawker Hurricane. Arrived Nov 43.[3] Possibly moved to Aston Down on 18 Dec 44 and re-designated as No 55 OTU.[4]
- No. 12 (Pilots) Advanced Flying Unit RAF ((P) AFU), using the Airspeed Oxford.[5]
- No. 1515 (Beam Approach Training) Flight RAF, almost certainly using the Airspeed Oxford.[6]
- No. 41 Operational Training Unit RAF (OTU) (Day Fighter Wing), possibly using the Hawker Hurricane. Moved to Poulton from Hawarden 1 Feb 45, and was re-designated as...
- No. 58 OTU on 15 Mar 45, using the Supermarine Spitfire. Disbanded 20 Jul 45.[4]
- Detachment from No. 595 Squadron RAF[7]
Current use
editPart of the site remains in use as a private airfield.[8]
References
editCitations
edit- ^ Falconer 1998, p. 72.
- ^ Ferguson 2008, pp. 125–128.
- ^ "RAFCommands".
- ^ a b "OTUs 41 - 63". Archived from the original on 13 June 2012. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
- ^ "Flying Training Schools_P". Archived from the original on 25 November 2012. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Jefford 1988, p. 97.
- ^ Jones 2008, p. 00.
Bibliography
edit- Falconer, J (1998). RAF Fighter Airfields of World War 2. UK: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 0-7110-2175-9.
- Ferguson, Aldon, Cheshire Airfields in the Second World War. Countryside Books, 2008. ISBN 978-1-8530-6927-7.
- 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.
- Jones, I, Airfields and Landing Grounds of Wales: North. Tempus Publishing, 2008. ISBN 978-0-7524-4510-6.