RAF Stoke Orchard

{{Short description|Former RAF station in Gloucestershire, England}} {{EngvarB|date=November 2015}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2015}} {{Infobox military installation | name = RAF Stoke Orchard | ensign = Ensign of the Royal Air Force.svg | ensign_size = 90px | native_name = | partof =  | nearest_town = Stoke Orchard, Gloucestershire | country = England | image =  | caption = | image2 =  | alt2 = | caption2 = | type = Royal Air Force Station | coordinates = {{coord|51|56|46|N|002|06|45|W|region:GB_type:airport|display=inline,title}} | gridref = | pushpin_map = Gloucestershire#UK | pushpin_map_caption = Shown within Gloucestershire | pushpin_label = RAF Stoke Orchard | pushpin_label_position = | ownership = Air Ministry | operator = Royal Air Force | controlledby = RAF Flying Training Command | open_to_public =  | site_other_label =  | site_other =  | site_area =  | code =  | built = {{Start date|1940}} | used = 1941 - {{End date|1945}} | builder = | fate = | condition = | battles = European theatre of World War II | events = | past_commanders =  | garrison =  | occupants =  | designations = | website = | footnotes =   | IATA = | ICAO = | LID = | GPS = | WMO = | elevation =  | r1-number = 01/19 | r1-length =  | r1-surface = Grass | r2-number = | r2-length =  | r2-surface = | r3-number = | r3-length =  | r3-surface = | h1-number = | h1-length =  | h1-surface = | airfield_other_label =  | airfield_other =   }} '''Royal Air Force Stoke Orchard''' or more simply '''RAF Stoke Orchard''' is a former Royal Air Force station near the village of Stoke Orchard, north west of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire during the Second World War.

==History==

In 1939 plans were made to develop an airfield at Stoke Orchard. The airfield was developed in 1940–41, originally as a Relief Landing Ground. In September 1941 it became a training airfield<ref>{{cite web |title=Stoke Orchard Airfield |url=http://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=1430206 |website=Pastscape |publisher=Historic England |accessdate=22 August 2020 |archive-date=22 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200822121158/https://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=1430206 |url-status=live }}</ref> for No. 10 Elementary Flying Training School RAF,<ref name="ABCT">{{cite web |url=http://www.abct.org.uk/airfields/airfield-finder/stoke-orchard/ |title=Stoke Orchard |publisher=Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust |accessdate=13 November 2015 |archive-date=17 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117030440/http://www.abct.org.uk/airfields/airfield-finder/stoke-orchard/ |url-status=live }}</ref> who moved from Weston-Super-Mare with 54 de Havilland Tiger Moth training aircraft. On 23 May 1942, T.M. aircraft R4894 crashed, killing both the trainee and instructor. The training school departed the airfield in July 1942 as pilot training was centralised and in large part relocated to Canada.

From July 1942 to January 1945, No. 3 Glider Training School RAF (3 GTS)<ref name="ABCT" /> used the airfield for specialised glider pilot training<ref name="recenthist">{{cite web |title=Recent History of the Parish of Stoke Orchard and Tredington |url=https://www.stokeorchardandtredington.org.uk/history.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200626140808/https://www.stokeorchardandtredington.org.uk/history.html |archive-date=26 June 2020 |accessdate=22 August 2020 |publisher=Stoke Orchard and Tredington Parish Council}}</ref> in Hotspur gliders. 3 GTS also used RAF Northleach.

The following units were also based at the airfield during this period<ref name="ABCT" /> * No. 5 Maintenance Unit RAF * WAAF Officers' School * USAAF 47th Liaison Squadron (April 9-25, 1944), attached to the First United States Army Group with Stinson L-5 Sentinel liaison aircraft.

It was also home to a Ministry for Aircraft Production shadow factory run by the Gloster Aircraft Company. There were two large buildings, ''Assembly Shed 39'' and ''Flight Shed 40.'' The factory produced Hawker Typhoons, with the first aircraft leaving the flight shed on 7 September 1942. A firing range on the far side of the airfield was used for gun calibration prior to new aircraft departing for the parent factory at Brockworth, for delivery to the RAF. There are unconfirmed reports that Hawker Hurricanes were also produced at the site.

Following the war, part of the site was taken over by the Coal Research Establishment of the National Coal Board,<ref name="recenthist" /> which remained until 1995. ''Flight Shed 40,'' was purchased by Tate & Lyle.

== Current use == Today the airfield has been returned to agricultural use and a waste plant.<ref name="ABCT" />

The former Coal Board site has now been developed as a housing estate by Bloor Homes, with the streets named after significant names relating to the former RAF base and Gloster Aircraft Company such as Armstrong Road, Whittle Close, Feddon Close, Hurricane Drive and Zura Drive.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Phillips |first1=Jenni |last2=Lillywhite |first2=Maisie |title=The lost airfields of Gloucestershire and the remarkable role they played in WW2 |url=https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/news/history/lost-airfields-gloucestershire-remarkable-role-4105002 |accessdate=22 August 2020 |work=Gloucestershire Live |date=6 May 2020 |archive-date=28 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200528151751/https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/news/history/lost-airfields-gloucestershire-remarkable-role-4105002 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *[https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/759675 Picture of remaining building]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stoke Orchard}} Category:Royal Air Force stations in Gloucestershire Category:Military airbases established in 1941 Category:Military airbases closed in 1945