RAF Zeals
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RAF Zeals was opened in early 1942 as a forward operating fighter airfield for RAF Colerne with grass runaways.
Layout of runways.
RAF Zeals
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RAF Zeals
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RAF Zeals
24 March 44 544Sqn RAF
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With the Battle of Britain raging, defence of the Realm was upper most on the RAF's minds. Although in the late 1920's and early 1930's there had been a large expansion of airfields with all modern hangars and barrack areas. Now 1940 there were not enough to defend the South West of England. Zeals was designed primarily as a fighter station. Grass field allowing take offs in any direction, fighter pens to protect 12 aircraft (a squadron). The infrastructure to run a one squadron airfield in a dispersed fashion. A control tower, a T1 hangar and many Blister hangars. More aircraft dispersals laid out on the east and western sides in the form of 'Frying pan' type.
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Signal square.
Goose neck flairs, used as runway lights.
RAF Zeals
Record Site Plan 4533/44..
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28 x Aircraft dispersals (fighter).
1 x T1 hangar.
8 x Blister hangars.
1 x Control tower (CT).
6 x Fighter pens (FP's).
1 x Shooting in Butts.
2 x
Bulk Petrol Installation Aviation (Av. Fuel).
About 2000 personnel.
I have to thank the owner Kevin of the control tower for letting me photograph this airfield plan and the control tower.
T1 hangar.
Blister hangar.
Fighter pen 11070/41 plan.
RAF Zeals
29 August 2004
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Looking south across the airfield towards the control tower and Zeals church spire in the distance.
Crops are now grown where Spitfires, Mosquitoes, P47's and Dakotas once flew.
Zeals was opened as a forward operating airfield for Colerne as a fighter airfield in 1942.
Spitfire.
Plan.
RAF Zeals
29 August 2004
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Part of the perimeter track looking north.
There were 11 dispersed sites around the south of the airfield with officers staying at Zeals House.
A total of 2000 Officers, SNCO's, other ranks and WAAF's were stationed here at its height.
Zeals House Officers Mess.
WAAF's.
RAF Zeals
29 August 2004
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There were 30 frying pan dispersal's around the perimeter track. They are all smaller fighter types a smaller version than at bomber/transport airfields. There seems to have been no defence of the airfield, as I have never seen pillboxes or a Battle Head Quarters mentioned.
Frying pan dispersal.
RAF Zeals
29 August 2004
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Carrying on around the perimeter track. Usually it was 50ft wide, made of concrete in large slabs and then covered in tarmac.
A modern picture of Spits waddling along a perimeter track. (Biggin Hill?).
RAF Zeals
29 August 2004 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- possibly Eagle Sqdn's flight hut
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More perimeter track, the farmer boasts on how much he has removed that was from WW2. Nice man.
Inside a fighter squadrons flight offices.
Flight Office 6529-40 is very like the flight offices that were here, should be timber or TB type construction. As far as I can see there were three, one either side and another at the south side.
RAF Zeals
29 August 2004 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6526/40 Flight Office RAF Culmhead
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Parts of a 45 gallon drum lid securing ring in the concrete remains of a frying pan dispersal.
A 6526/40 Flight Office at RAF Culmhead.
Flying is all about paperwork.
RAF Zeals
29 August 2004
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Beach Clump is a small hill NE of the airfield where on the 19th February 1945 a Dakota TS436 took off in low cloud to return to RAF Leicester East
RAF Dakota.
Plan.
Ground crew.
RAF Zeals
29 August 2004
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Dakota III TS436 from 107 OTU was assigned to the Glider Pick-Up Training Flt, whose role was to train crews in 'snatch take-off method for retrieving gliders. Those on board were mostly returning to their base in Leicester Forest East, on completion of the course of instruction at Zeals. The aircraft took off at 15:23 hours in conditions of broken cloud. Three minutes later the aircraft flew into a clump of 60-foot tall beech trees on top of Beech Knoll. (Wiki).
The memorial.
RAF Zeals
29 August 2004 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4533/44
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The technical site just east of the control tower. The area has several concrete roads and some buildings which have now nothing to do with the airfield but are built on parts of the perimeter track and bases of Blister hangars.
This track way off the perimeter track would have taken planes to two Blister hangars.
Site No.1 Airfield.
This area on the plan is where most of the maintenance was carried out and where stores, offices, armoury and many more. My plan is not very good, so its the best detail I can give.
Plan.
Over Blister hangar.
RAF Zeals
19 November 2004
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In the south east corner of the airfield is the site of a T1 hangar. A T1 hangar is a smaller version of the T2 and used for fighters & training aircraft.
Door details showing that the top section is a half height to a standard T2.
Inside RAF Bibery's T1 hangar.
RAF Zeals
19 November 2004
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The door runners.
Door details showing that the top section is a half height to a standard T2.
RAF Zeals
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These pictures were taken before the tower was bought to be turn into a lovely house.
A 13726/41 Watch Office for Bomber S&TS and Bomber OTU S&TS.
S&TS - Stations & Training Stations?
OTU S&TS - Operational Training Unit & Training Stations? I presume that is what the letters stand for.
Funnily enough I don't think RAF Zeals was ever any of these.
The small control room on the roof, was a later addition and added to many control towers.
Rear view.
Left hand window was for one of the toilets. The right window was to allow light ion the stair well.
Americans controlling aircraft.
RAF Zeals
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Side view and plan.
On the balcony RAF and USAAF officers.
WAAF operators.
RAF Zeals
4533/44 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13726/41
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This is how bad the plan I am working with.
Plan number.
Plan number.
RAF Zeals
29 August 2004
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A view of the front of the control tower.
September 42 brought Spitfires of No.611 & 402Sqn RCAF.
Station defence was taken over by No.2835 Sqn RAF Regiment. Probably from Home Guard or locally stationed infantry regiments.
October 1942 421, 66 & 118 escorted 12 B17's to bomb Maupertus airfield, Cherbourg.
RAF Zeals
29 August 2004
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In Dec 42 66 & 118 carried out 'Ramrods' with Whirlwinds. from RAF Warmwell over Jersey.
No.263 Sqn arrived with Whirlwinds and practiced hard. Whirlwinds were not a particularly good plane and soon they were taken out of service.
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Whirlwind.
RAF Zeals
27 October 2007
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Inside the owner and a friend starting to re plaster the walls and ceilings.
RAF Zeals
27 October 2007
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RAF Zeals
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Control room showing the views it has.
On the 27 October 2007 Kevin the owner of the tower asked us back to see the compass that he has uncovered when pulling down the 1960's ceiling.
Wherever we go we always look for original graffiti, names, pictures, etc. But we have never seen this in any control tower ceiling. The only other place I have seen anything like this is at Wn10 on Utah Beach scratched on a bunker to show (I think) German soldiers new to the area how to orientate themselves.
Kevin will keep the ceiling painting in tacked and will try and paint a copy on the false ceiling he is now erecting, thus preserving the original.
Concrete beam construction.
RAF Zeals
27 October 2007
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Compass rose on the ceiling. A quick reference when you need to tell a plane which direction, relative to the airfield it is going. Or needs to go.
The owner was going to plaster over it, but also to make a copy onto the new ceiling.
Wherever we go we always look for original graffiti, names, pictures, etc. But we have never seen this in any control tower ceiling. The only other place I have seen anything like this is at Wn10 on Utah Beach scratched on a bunker to show (I think) German soldiers new to the area how to orientate themselves.
Kevin will keep the ceiling painting in tacked and will try and paint a copy on the false ceiling he is now erecting, thus preserving the original 2007.
Compass rose.
RAF Zeals
27 October 2007
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If only it were true! a Spitfire flying at RAF Zeals, Wiltshire again.
I would like to thank Kevin for asking us over and allowing us to take these pictures.
Well this may happen as at Compton Abbas airfield there is a two seat Spitfire offiering flights 2023.
RAF Zeals
04 July 2006
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The airfield.
July 1943 saw the Americans arrive and was selected to be one of the airfields of the 8th Air Force's Tactical Air Depot Area. August the 66th Aerodrome Squadron took over and set up the 1st Tactical Air Depot to repair C-47 transports.
M of W officials plan out an airfield construction.
Building a T type hangar.
RAF Zeals
24 February 2008
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Looking north.
RAF Zeals
24 February 2008
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The balcony used when aircraft were taking off and landing, an airman would have to be stationed here with a flair gun to fire off danger signals, if there was a problem.
RAF Zeals
20 November 2004
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The perimeter track looking east at the fog bound control tower.
the Americans had the same trouble with water logging of the runways and re-laid the three runways with Sommerfeld tracking.
Dec. 43 saw a new unit, the 5th Tactical Air Depot to support P47 Thunderbolts.
American aircraft usually were heavier than British planes and chewed up the grass badly. So tracking was very important to lay down. A very cheap way to produce a runway rather than using concrete.
1943 Also saw the airfield drainage being sorted out as wet weather effected the runways badly.
Sommerfeld tracking.
Americans laying matting.
Bits still to be found on other airfields of the remains of matting runways.
P47 Thunderbolts.
RAF Zeals
24 February 2008
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Unknown building
RAF Zeals
24 February 2008
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Unknown building.
RAF Zeals
20 November 2004 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20 September 2014
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Yes there is ONE left and the remains of maybe two more of six originals in 2004.
1056 US personnel arrived to run the depot and by Christmas 50 P47's had landed. Due to the continual pounding on the grass runways by the heavy fighters the depot was moved to RAF Chilbolton with its hard runways.
11070/41 standard fighter pen at RAF Harrowbeer.
As this airfield was planned around the time of the Battle of Britain, fighter pens were needed to protect the aircraft. There were a few types, early ones were oblong shaped in an E. These types, planned in 1941 were more rounded and had a floor of coke slag or ash and a shaped hard stand of concrete and tarmac covering. Several metal loops to tied down the aircraft from high winds. Many airfields in the country had these and in the south west RAF Middle Wallop, Ibsley, Chilbolton, Culmhead, Harrowbeer, Perranporth, Lulsgate Bottom, Warmwell and many more.
11070/41 standard fighter pen with an internal Stanton air-raid shelter inside.
Fighter pen
Spitfire in a fighter pen.
RAF Zeals
Spitfire.
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A Spitfire sat in a fighter pen, somewhere.
RAF Zeals
20 November 2004
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Several of the bungalows are Temporary Brick (TB) huts converted. The shed in the garden is a latrine hut.
April 1944 back to the RAF with No.488 RNZAF with Mosquito night fighters.
9026/41 latrine.
9026/41 latrine.
RAF Zeals
20 November 2004
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Aircraft Cannon/Machine Gun Test Butts.
Near the fighter pens is the base of the cannon stop butts.
488sqn were tasked with defending the D-day beaches from marauding German bombers and mine layers.
October 1944 and No.3 Glider training School arrived for two months. Then glider unit turned up from RAF Netheravon, Glider Pick up Flight came for two months in 1945. There role with Dakotas was to fly in low with a hook lowered and pick up a glider from the battle field. The Americans had perfected this idea in the jungles of Burma where there were no runways.
The last to use Zeals was the Royal Navy calling it HMS Hummingbird. They transferred from Charlton Hawthorne
and used here as a training station for naval fighter pilots.
Cannon test butts.
Firing into a test butts.
RAF Zeals
Yvonne Durrels
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790 Naval Air Squadron formed in June 1941, merged with 772sqn in September 1941.
Re formed at RNAS Charlton Horethorne, cam to Zeals April 1945 and left later in 1945.
Equipped with
Seafire & Firefly aircraft.
I was asked by Yvonne Durrels if I could take her around the airfield where her father flew in the Navy. She very kindly gave me copies of these photos.
This is her father entering a Fairey Firefly. It had a RR Griffon engine, a pilot and navigator.
With four cannon in the wings.
A carrier-borne fighter aircraft and anti-submarine aircraft that was principally operated by the Fleet Air Arm.
790 NAS..
Seafire.
Seafire.
RAF Zeals
Yvonne Durrels
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His navigator in the rear seat.
Warming up the engines, on the south side of the airfield.
Naval ground crew..
Royal naval pilots..
RAF Zeals
Yvonne Durrels
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Ready to taxi out.
Take off.
RAF Zeals
Google
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VHF Radio transmitter Site.
Just off the airfield is the VHF radio transmitter site now situated in a small wood which has been allowed to grow around it. There are about five Stanton air raid shelters, several hut bases that were made of curved asbestos and Handcraft hutting.
This is a plan of the site.
Red - Nissen hut bases.
White - Stanton Shelters.
Red with A - ablutions/latrines.
Blue - Handcraft asbestos hut.
Yellow - EWS
Nissen hut.
Stanton air raid shelter.
Ablutions/latrines.
RAF Zeals
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RAF Zeals
29 August 2004
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Guard room picket post.
Where the light green undergrowth is I think was the base of a picket post.
All personnel arriving and leaving the site would have to sign in/out here, a sort of police post.
There is a public right of way running through the wood here
Picket post.
Plan of a picket post.
RAF Zeals
29 August 2004
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There are quite a lot of air-raid shelters here.
RAF Zeals
04 July 2006
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The steps down into this Stanton shelter.
RAF Zeals
29 August 2004
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They are all still in very good condition.
RAF Zeals
27 October 2007
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They are all still in very good condition.
RAF Zeals
04 July 2006
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Escape hatch.
RAF Zeals
29 August 2004
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Escape hatch, they had a steel hinged shutter to close off the hole.
RAF Zeals
29 August 2004
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Another
RAF Zeals
29 August 2004
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The entrance.
RAF Zeals
29 August 2004
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Road way now leaf mold.
By 1946 it was all over, the Navy had gone and all flying ceased. It was now left to the destructive nature of the farmer to remove what history he could. Luckily he did not own the Control tower and in the 1960's it was bought and turned into a house.
RAF Zeals
29 August 2004
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Hut base.
RAF Zeals
29 August 2004
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Emergency water supply (EWS).
RAF Zeals
29 August 2004
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Another view of the corrugated iron supporting the earth banked up around.
RAF Zeals
27 October 2007 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------27 October 2007
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Hut base with Asbestos/concrete panel walls.
Pre formed asbestos/cement panels still showing up out of the foundations.
Possibly the type used here.
RAF Zeals
27 October 2007
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France
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