RAF Chedburgh

Royal Air Force Chedburgh or more simply RAF Chedburgh is a former Royal Air Force satellite station located near Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, UK. The Bury Road Business Park is now located on the site, a principal enterprise being Yara UK Limited's liquid fertilizer production plant.^[2]

RAF Chedburgh
Chedburgh in England
RAF Chedburgh Shown within Suffolk
Coordinates	52°10′49″N 000°37′15″E
Type	Satellite station 1942-43 31 Base Substation 1943-
Code	CU[1]
Site information
Owner	Air Ministry
Operator	Royal Air Force
Controlled by	RAF Bomber Command * No. 3 Group RAF * No. 7 (T) Group RAF[1]
Site history
Built	1941 (1941)/42
Built by	John Laing & Son Ltd
In use	September 1942 - October 1952 (1952)
Battles/wars	European theatre of World War II
Airfield information
Elevation	125 metres (410 ft)[1] AMSL
Runways Direction Length and surface 00/00  Concrete 00/00  Concrete 00/00  Concrete

History

Murray Peden, a Royal Canadian Air Force pilot, recounts in his memoirs^[3] flying on his first attack on Germany, from RAF Chedburgh in September 1943. The target was Hanover. He was a new member of No. 214 Squadron RAF, which was equipped with four-engine Stirlings. He describes the long line of aircraft taxiing "ponderously" along a: "...perimeter track [which] ran within a hundred yards of Chedburgh's pub, before which the locals . . . had assembled for their nightly show." In 2018, the pub building still stood, near the northwest corner of the old airfield.^[4]

The following units were here at some point:^[2]

• No. 23 Heavy Glider Maintenance Section of No. 2 Heavy Glider Maintenance Unit (? - March 1944)^[5]
• No. 214 Squadron RAF (1942–43)
• No. 218 Squadron RAF (1944–45)
• No. 301 Polish Bomber Squadron
• No. 304 Polish Bomber Squadron
• No. 620 Squadron RAF (1943)
• No. 1653 Heavy Conversion Unit RAF (November 1943 - November 1944)^[6]

References

Citations

1. Falconer 2012, p. 63.
2. "Chedburgh". Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
3. Peden, Murray, "A Thousand Shall Fall," Dundurn (April 1, 2003), p 244
4. Google Earth latitude/longitude of pub: 52°11'15.06"N   0°36'53.39"E ; by 2018, the pub had closed and its future was in doubt. See for example: Michael Steward, "Campaign to Save Village Pub Gains Support," East Anglian Daily Times 23 May 2018 https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/campaign-to-save-village-pub-in-chedburgh-near-bury-st-edmunds-gains-support-1-5530587
5. Sturtivant, Hamlin & Halley 1997, p. 191.
6. Sturtivant, Hamlin & Halley 1997, p. 100.

Bibliography

• Falconer, J (2012). RAF Airfields of World War 2. UK: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85780-349-5.
• Sturtivant, R; Hamlin, J; Halley, J (1997). Royal Air Force flying training and support units. UK: Air-Britain (Historians). ISBN 0-85130-252-1.