RAF Grove
Airport in Grove, Oxfordshire / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Royal Air Force Grove or RAF Grove is a former Royal Air Force station near Grove, Oxfordshire.[lower-alpha 1] The airfield is located approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) northwest of Wantage; about 55 miles (89 km) west-northwest of London
RAF Grove USAAF Station AAF-519 | |||||||||||||||||||
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Summary | |||||||||||||||||||
Airport type | Royal Air Force Station | ||||||||||||||||||
Owner | Air Ministry | ||||||||||||||||||
Operator | Royal Air Force 1942-1943, 1946 United States Army Air Forces 1943-1949 | ||||||||||||||||||
Location | Grove, Oxfordshire | ||||||||||||||||||
Built | 1942 (1942) | ||||||||||||||||||
In use | 1942-1946 (1946) | ||||||||||||||||||
Elevation AMSL | 282 ft / 86 m | ||||||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 51°36′13″N 001°26′13″W | ||||||||||||||||||
Map | |||||||||||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||||||||||
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Opened in 1942, it was used by both the Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Forces. During the Second World War, it was used primarily as a reconnaissance airfield. It was handed back to the RAF in 1947. From 1955, the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) used part of the airfield to serve the Atomic Energy Research Establishment at nearby Harwell.[1]
Today the remains of the airfield are located on private property being used as agricultural fields and for a housing development known as Wellington Gate, after the RAF Vickers Wellington, a British bomber which flew from Grove airfield during the Second World War.[2]