Retained in military use as an unmanned airfield for training purposes, predominantly used by aircraft from RAF Brize Norton and Joint Aviation Command.
The airfield was built on a site previously earmarked for the purpose in the mid-1930s. With three long concrete runways, the airfield was used by the Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air ForcesEighth and Ninth Air Forces.
Although no longer a RAF station and now known as Keevil Airfield, it is maintained for military use and used for training purposes, predominantly by aircraft from RAF Brize Norton and Joint Aviation Command.
History
Spitfire assembly
After air raids in 1940 on the Supermarine Spitfire production plants near Southampton, the Trowbridge area was one of several chosen for dispersal of production. At first parts were made, and later complete aircraft after completion of a purpose-built factory at Bradley Road, Trowbridge. Fuselages and wings were taken on Queen Mary trailers to an assembly shed on the edge of the airfield near Steeple Ashton village,[3][4] then flown out by the Air Transport Auxiliary.[5]
USAAF use
In 1942 Keevil airfield was provided to the USAAF and was assigned USAAF designation 471 (KV).
62nd Troop Carrier Group
The first American unit assigned to Keevil was the 62nd Troop Carrier Group, arriving at Keevil on 6 September 1942 from Florence AAF, South Carolina. The group consisted of the following operational squadrons:
After the departure of the transport group, Keevil saw the arrival of the 153rd Observation Squadron from the 67th Recon Group at RAF Membury in December 1942.
Short Stirlings of Nos. 196 and 299 Squadrons RAF lining the runway at RAF Keevil on the evening of 5 June 1944 before emplaning paratroops of the 5th Parachute Brigade Group for the invasion of Normandy
Keevil airfield on 4 November 1956. The secondary runways are deteriorating; the main runway is still being maintained as an auxiliary runway for the USAF.
They in turn were replaced in June 1945 by 61 Operation Training Unit converting newly qualified pilots on to Spitfires and, later, on to North American Mustangs. 61 OTU in due course became 203 Advanced Flying School and moved to Chivenor in Devon in July 1947 and this marked the end of RAF Keevil as a fully staffed and equipped operational airfield.
Postwar military use
Between 1955 and 1964 the United States Air Force used the base occasionally. During 1956 and 1957, Keevil was used as a satellite airfield for "ab initio" training by No 2 Flying Training School, based at RAF Hullavington. Aircraft included the Percival Jet Provost T.1.
Keevil airfield is virtually complete with all of its runways, perimeter track and many of the hardstands still in place.
Since 1992 it has been home to Bannerdown Gliding Club, a Royal Air Force Gliding & Soaring Association (RAFGSA) club, affiliated to RAF Brize Norton since the closure of RAF Lyneham. The airfield has been occasionally used as a motorsport circuit for various events and is also used by the Wessex Model Flying Club.
In September 1994 the Keevil Society, organised by Paul Vingoe, held a Commemorative Day to mark the 50th anniversary of the D-Day and Arnhem operations and to dedicate a memorial to all who served at Keevil, especially those who flew from there and lost their lives.
In 2012, proposals were made to add a fourth runway parallel to 06/24, a Tactical Landing Zone – a copy of a temporary battlefield runway – by breaking up some of the hard surfaces.[9]
The hangar that was used for Spitfire final assembly is outside the present-day airfield boundary at grid referenceST 910 570, and is now used by small businesses.[10]
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