Royal Air Force Bodorgan, or more simply RAF Bodorgan, is a former Royal Air Force satellite airfield located near to Bodorgan Hall on the Isle of Anglesey, Wales. The airfield was opened as RAF Aberffraw on 1 September 1940. Its named was changed to Bodorgan on 15 May 1941, and it was closed on 30 September 1945.[2]
| RAF Bodorgan No. 15 SLG  | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bodorgan, Isle of Anglesey in Wales | |||||||||||
  RAF Bodorgan Shown within Anglesey, Wales  RAF Bodorgan RAF Bodorgan (the United Kingdom) | |||||||||||
| Coordinates | 53°11′13″N 4°25′28″W / 53.18694°N 4.42444°W | ||||||||||
| Type | Satellite Landing Ground | ||||||||||
| Site information | |||||||||||
| Owner | Air Ministry | ||||||||||
| Operator | Royal Air Force | ||||||||||
| Controlled by | RAF Maintenance Command | ||||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||||
| Built | 1940 | ||||||||||
| In use | 1940-1946 | ||||||||||
| Battles/wars | European theatre of World War II | ||||||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Bodorgan initially had one Blister hangar, with two Bellman hangars added later. Accommodation for personnel was initially in tents, which were replaced by Nissen and Maycrete huts, for accommodation, workshops and technical functions. The hangars were dismantled soon after the airfield closed, but some of the huts remain at the site.[2]
In 1942 the fields to the east of the airfield were used for the camouflaged storage of up to thirty Vickers Wellington medium bomber aircraft.[2]
The following units were here at some point:[3]
- ‘J’ Flight of No. 1 Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit RAF (1 AACU) (September 1940 - November 1942)[4] became No. 1606 (Anti-Aircraft Co-operation) Flight RAF (November 1942 - April 1945)[5]
- ‘Z’ Flight, 1 AACU (October 1940 - November 1942)[4] became No. 1620 (Anti-Aircraft Co-operation) Flight RAF (November 1942 - December 1943)[5]
- Detachment of No. 6 Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit RAF (March 1941 - February 1942)[4]
- Detachment of No. 8 Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit RAF (May - November 1943)[6]
- No. 48 Maintenance Unit RAF (April 1941 - November 1944)[7]
- Detachment of No. 577 Squadron RAF[8]
- No. 650 Squadron RAF (November 1944 - June 1945)[9]
See also
editReferences
editCitations
edit- ^ McLelland 2012, p. 48.
- ^ a b c "Bodorgan Airfield, Aberffraw (270848)". Coflein. RCAHMW. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
- ^ "Bodorgan (Aberffraw)". Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
- ^ a b c Sturtivant & Hamlin 2007, p. 62.
- ^ a b Sturtivant & Hamlin 2007, p. 128.
- ^ Sturtivant & Hamlin 2007, p. 64.
- ^ Sturtivant & Hamlin 2007, p. 177.
- ^ Jefford 1988, p. 97.
- ^ Jefford 1988, p. 101.
Bibliography
edit- Jefford, C. G. (1988). RAF Squadrons. A comprehensive record of the movement and equipment of all RAF squadrons and their antecedents since 1912. Shrewsbury UK: Airlife Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1-85310-053-6.
- McLelland, Tim (2012). Action Stations Revisited No. 5 Wales and the West Midlands. Manchester UK: Crecy Publishing Limited. ISBN 978-0-859-79111-3.
- Sturtivant, Ray; Hamlin, John (2007). Royal Air Force flying training and support units since 1912. UK: Air-Britain (Historians). ISBN 978-0851-3036-59.