Colerne Airfield
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Colerne Airfield | |||||||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Military | ||||||||||||||
| Owner | Ministry of Defence | ||||||||||||||
| Operator | British Army | ||||||||||||||
| Location | Colerne, Wiltshire | ||||||||||||||
| Occupants | 21 Signal Regiment | ||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 593 ft / 181 m | ||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 51°26′21″N 002°17′11″W / 51.43917°N 2.28639°W | ||||||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||||||
  EGUO Location in Wiltshire | |||||||||||||||
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| Runways | |||||||||||||||
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"Airport information for EGUO". World Aero Data. Archived from the original on 5 March 2019. {{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) Data current as of October 2006. | |||||||||||||||
Colerne Airfield (ICAO: EGUO), now known as Azimghur Barracks, is a British Army facility just north-west of the village of Colerne, Wiltshire, England. It is set to close in 2029.
History
[edit]RAF Colerne was opened on this site in 1940, and was in operation until 1976.[1] From 1940 to 1955, RAF Fighter Command units were based here. During the Battle of Britain, the airfield served as a satellite field to RAF Middle Wallop, and squadrons rotated back and forth from there on a daily basis.[2]
In the 1970s and 1980s, Azimghur Barracks was used as a training depot by the Royal Corps of Transport's and The Royal Army Ordnance Junior Leaders Regiment.
Present day
[edit]The site is a ground station for the Skynet 5 military satellite system that provides battlefield support (e.g. real-time imagery from remote-piloted drones[3] in various theatres of war). It is in close proximity to the underground Corsham Computer Centre.
The Azimghur Barracks part of the site is home to 21 Signal Regiment.[4]
Since November 1992,[5] the airfield is used by Air Cadets[6] and 3 Air Experience Flight,[7] and was the headquarters of Bristol University Air Squadron, a Volunteer Reserve unit which recruits from several universities in south-west England, before their move to MoD Boscome down in 2022 [8]
Future
[edit]In November 2016, the Ministry of Defence announced that the airfield would close in 2018 (later extended to 2025[9]), and Azimghur Barracks in 2031[7] (later brought forward to 2029[10]).
References
[edit]- ^ Berryman, D. (2002). Wiltshire Airfields in the Second World War. Newbury, UK: Countryside Books. pp. 63–77. ISBN 9781853067037.
- ^ RAF, Groups in the Battle of Britain, accessed February 2009
- ^ "UK Skynet: Not to be confused with The Terminator". BBC. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
- ^ "21st Signal Regiment (Air Support) & Air Formation Signals History" (PDF). Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
- ^ March 1993, p. 87.
- ^ "93 (Colerne) DF". RAF Air Cadets. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
- ^ a b "A Better Defence Estate" (PDF). Ministry of Defence. November 2016. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
- ^ "Bristol University Air Squadron". Royal Air Force. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
- ^ "Is Your Military Base Closing? Read The Full List of Sites Shutting". Forces News. 20 October 2020. Archived from the original on 5 August 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
- ^ "Disposal database: House of Commons report". Government of the United Kingdom, Ministry of Defence. 28 June 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
- March, P. (1993). Royal Air Force Yearbook 1993. Fairford, UK: Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund.