RAF Poulton

RAF Poulton
IATA: none – ICAO: none
Summary
Airport type	Military
Operator	Royal Air Force
Location	Poulton, Cheshire, England
Elevation AMSL	49 ft / 15 m
Coordinates	53°07′46″N 002°53′42″W / 53.12944°N 2.89500°W / 53.12944; -2.89500Coordinates: 53°07′46″N 002°53′42″W / 53.12944°N 2.89500°W / 53.12944; -2.89500
Map
RAF Poulton Location in Cheshire
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 01/19 5,904 1,800 Concrete 06/24 4,086 1,245 Concrete 14/32 4,114 1,254 Concrete

RAF Poulton (X4PL) is a former Royal Air Force station located near Poulton, Cheshire and was operational from 1 March 1943 until 1945. It was used as an Operational Training Unit (OTU) and Tactical Exercise Unit (TEU) for Hawker Hurricanes.

History

It was part of 12 Group and was used as a satellite of RAF Hawarden. It had 8 Blister and 1 Bessonneau hangars.^[1]

Based units and aircraft

• No 3 TEU (Tactical Exercise Unit), using the Hawker Hurricane. Arrived Nov 43.^[2] Possibly moved to Aston Down on 18 Dec 44 and re-designated as No 55 OTU.^[3]
• No 12 (P) AFU (Pilot Advanced Flying Unit), using the Airspeed Oxford.^[4]
• No 1515 BAT Flight (Beam Approach Training), almost certainly using the Airspeed Oxford.^[5]
• No 41 OTU (Operational Training Unit)(Day Fighter Wing), possibly using the Hawker Hurricane. Moved to Poulton from Hawarden 1 Feb 45, and was re-designated as...
• No 58 OTU on 15 Mar 45, using the Spitfire. Disbanded 20 Jul 45.^[3]

Current use

Part of the site remains in use as a private airfield. ^[6]

References

Citations

Bibliography

• Ferguson, Aldon, Cheshire Airfields in the Second World War. Countryside Books, 2008. ISBN 978-1-8530-6927-7.
• Jones, I, Airfields and Landing Grounds of Wales: North. Tempus Publishing, 2008. ISBN 978-0-7524-4510-6.

External links

• RAF Poulton (at Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust)