RAF St Eval
USAAF Station 129

RAF St Eval airfield on 18 July 1942
Summary
Airport typeMilitary
OwnerAir Ministry
OperatorRoyal Air Force
United States Army Air Forces
LocationSt Eval, Cornwall
Built1938 (1938)
In use1939–1959 (1959)
Elevation AMSL322 ft / 98 m
Coordinates50°28′41″N 004°59′58″W / 50.47806°N 4.99944°W / 50.47806; -4.99944
Map
RAF St Eval is located in Cornwall
RAF St Eval
RAF St Eval
Location in Cornwall
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
00/00 3,000 914 Concrete/Tarmac
00/00 3,600 1,097 Concrete/Tarmac
00/00 0 0 Concrete/Tarmac

Royal Air Force St. Eval or RAF St. Eval was a Royal Air Force station for the RAF Coastal Command, southwest of Padstow in Cornwall, England, UK. St Eval's primary role was to provide anti-submarine and anti-shipping patrols off the south west coast. Aircraft from the airfield were also used for photographic reconnaissance missions, meteorological flights, convoy patrols, air-sea rescue missions and protection of the airfield from the Luftwaffe.

History

The construction of the station

The Royal Air Force's 1930s expansion plan included a requirement for a station to provide anti-submarine and anti-shipping patrols off the South-west coast of England. The site at St Eval was chosen as a Coastal Command airfield and work started in 1938.[1] Five widely dispersed cottages, two houses and portions of two farms were acquired by compulsory purchase; the village of St Eval was completely demolished in order to build the airfield. Levelling of the site by G Wallace Ltd involved the removal by bulldozers of many Cornish hedges and three ancient tumuli. One householder tried to hold out against the authorities and refused to leave his cottage for several days. Only the church survived which the RAF adopted as their station church and it still stands today.[1][2] The work progressed well and RAF St Eval opened on 2 October 1939.

Battle of Britain

In June 1940 St Eval became a Fighter Command sector headquarters during the Battle of Britain and Supermarine Spitfires were stationed there.[3] These were joined by Hawker Hurricane and Bristol Blenheim fighters. The station's aircraft took an active part in the conflict.

Meteorological flights

The formation in December 1940 of No 404 (later 1404) Meteorological Flight was significant. The flight was tasked with providing basic weather data on which the Command meteorologists could base their forecasts. It was a role which St Eval performed throughout the war.

Attacks on St Eval

The presence of the Spitfires was not a great success as the Luftwaffe's change in tactics led to an increase in night raids for which the Spitfires were not suited. Therefore, 238 Squadron were posted in with Hurricanes. The airfield was hit a number of times in the summer of 1940 and early 1941. This caused considerable damage and casualties with the Germans carrying out further raids in May 1942, causing damage to buildings and the destruction of aircraft. St Eval was equipped with a green box barrage rocket device which sent a steel wire curtain into the air to descend on parachutes. This was intended to enmesh enemy aircraft and cause them to crash, but the device was unsuccessful.

DateIncident
12 July 1940During the afternoon a single Ju 88 dropped eight bombs causing minor damage before it was chased off by two Spitfires. Another source gives the count as 3 bombs plus strafing.[4]
21 August 1940Three Ju 88s bombed St Eval, causing damage to two hangars and destroying three Blenheims. Hurricanes managed to shoot down two of the German aircraft. Another source gives the attacking aircraft as Messerschmitts and records 17 casualties.[4]
22 August 194014 high explosive bombs and 200 incendiaries were dropped without causing much damage.
23 August 1940A direct hit on a pyrotechnics store caused a large explosion.
26 August 1940St Eval was bombed at 2130 and 2158 hours.
29 August 19405 HE and some incendiary bombs were dropped on St Eval, but no damage was caused.[4]
30 September 1940At about 2300 hours, five high explosive bombs were dropped, two landing on the aerodrome and three outside. No damage was reported.
3 October 1940St Eval was attacked between 0655 and 0710 hours two Spitfires, one Avro Anson were completely destroyed and two hangars were also hit. Out of 20 bombs dropped on the airfield in this raid only 4 went off, causing injuries to four people.[4]
9 October 1940Several bombs were dropped on St Eval with some damage but no casualties.[4]
14 October 1940At 2111 hours, six high explosive bombs and 20 incendiaries were dropped on the Station. Another source states only 20 bombs in total. There were no casualties and no damage was caused.[4]

Attack on the German battleship Gneisenau

On 6 April 1941 a small force of Beauforts from 22 Squadron, operating on detachment from St Eval, launched an attack on the German battleship Gneisenau in Brest harbour. A Beaufort was able to launch a torpedo at point blank range but was shot down. However, the ship was severely damaged below the water line, so was obliged to return to the dock for repair. The pilot of the Beaufort, Flying Officer Kenneth Campbell RAF, was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.[5]

Attempted Irish defection

On 9 January 1942, a Supermarine Walrus of the Irish Air Corps was stolen from Rineanna airfield, Country Clare, by four Irish servicemen. Their intention was to fly to France to join the Luftwaffe. However, they were intercepted by RAF Spitfires and escorted to St Eval, where they landed and were detained by RAF Police. Subsequently, they and the aircraft were returned to Ireland.[6][7]

No 61 Squadron

In the summer of 1942 No. 61 Squadron was twice loaned to Coastal Command for anti-submarine operations in the Bay of Biscay. It was detached from its station in Rutland to St Eval and on the very first occasion that it operated from there – on 17 July 1942 – a crew became the first in RAF Bomber Command to bring back irrefutable evidence that they had destroyed a U-boat at sea – a photograph showing the U-boat crew in the water swimming away from their sinking vessel.

American use of the airfield

To boost the anti-submarine forces and to gain experience in the role, the Americans began to use the airfield (as station 129)[3] with Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers of the 409th Bombardment Squadron (93d Bombardment Group), being deployed from RAF Alconbury in Huntingdonshire in October 1942.[8]

The following month they were replaced by the 1st Antisubmarine Squadron being deployed from Langley Field, Virginia with the 2d Antisubmarine Squadron arriving in January 1943 forming the 1st Antisubmarine Group (Provisional) with specialized long-range Liberator bombers equipped with RADAR and other submarine detection equipment. From St. Eval, the squadrons flew killer hunts against German U-boats in the Bay of Biscay. Both of these squadrons were reassigned to Port Lyautey in French Morocco in March 1943 to shore up scanty Allied anti-submarine defences in the Atlantic approaches to the Straits of Gibraltar. German U-boats had very recently sunk four ships in an Allied convoy about a hundred miles off the coast of Portugal. Also, over the long term, the Allies wanted to increase air anti-submarine patrols and convoy coverage to secure their preparations for the impending Tunisian offensive and the subsequent invasion of Sicily.

The Army Air Forces Antisubmarine Command formed the 479th Antisubmarine Group at St Eval in July with four squadrons of Liberators to continue the antisubmarine campaign. The 479th's most effective antisubmarine patrols were conducted from 18 July to 2 August 1943, the period in which the group made nearly all of its attacks on the U-boats. After that time the Germans avoided surfacing during daylight and adopted a policy of evasion, but the group continued its patrols, often engaging Luftwaffe fighter interceptor aircraft.

This was once again a short-lived arrangement and the group took its Liberators to RAF Dunkeswell on 6 August, ending the American use of the station.

Loss of Whitley in submarine attack

On 20 June 1943, in the Bay of Biscay, one of a pair of Whitleys operated by 10 OTU from St. Eval was shot down while attacking a submarine believed to be the Barbarigo, of the Italian navy. All of the Whitley's crew were killed.[9]

Accident at St Eval

In August 1943 a Whitley and Liberator collided on the runway. The Whitley caught fire which cooked the depth charges and caused a massive explosion and the loss of both the aircraft and crews. The collision was in part due to the poor runway layout, with a blind spot that hid one aircraft from the other.[10]

1944 – The end of the war

The importance of St Eval was such that it was given a FIDO installation in early 1944 for dispersal of fog around the runway so that aircraft could land safely.[11] St Eval was destined to have a busy time during the allied invasion of Europe.

It was home to three RAF Liberator squadrons (53, 224, 547). Many of these were equipped with the highly successful Leigh Light.[10] In April, a fourth squadron arrived, giving the station one of the most powerful anti-submarine forces in the RAF. This force flew thousands of hours of patrols each month and was rewarded with a number of sightings, many of which were converted into attacks, with at least three confirmed U-boat kills in June alone.

The Allied capture of French ports meant that the U-boat threat was drastically reduced. This meant that the units posted to St Eval could be better used elsewhere and by the autumn of 1944 the airfield was a shadow of its former self.

RAF St Eval memorial

Post World War II

The station continued to be used for maritime patrols and search and rescue duties. It was also a site for diversions with a number of military and commercial aircraft making use of St Eval due to bad weather at their destination airfield. The Station closed on 6 March 1959, with the existing squadrons moving to nearby RAF St. Mawgan.[12] The airfield became home to the transmitters and aerial farm used for the low frequency communications used by the maritime Nimrods flying from RAF St Mawgan with the receiver site near RAF Mountbatten, Plymouth.

Current use

The site is home to a high frequency transmitter station forming part of the Defence High Frequency Communications Service. The station is operated by Babcock International Group on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.[13][14]

Memorials

There are various memorials in St Ulvelus church, including a Book of Remembrance, a memorial window and a memorial to the crew of Shackleton VP254, who were killed in a crash off the Borneo coast on 9 December 1958.

A memorial tablet to the two crews of Shackletons WG531 and WL743 (squadron codes A-H and A-F respectively) of No.42 Squadron that probably collided whilst on an exercise off the Fastnet Rock on 11 January 1955, is displayed in St Columba's church, St Columb Major.

Units stationed at RAF St Eval

1939–1945

SquadronDates Stationed Planes UsedDuties
22 Squadron det early 1941 – June 1941Bristol Beaufort
22 Squadron28 October 1941 – 1 February 1942 Bristol Beaufort
42 Squadron det 1941Bristol Beaufort Anti-shipping and mine laying along the coasts of northern Europe
48 Squadron det 3 September – 17 July 1940Bristol Beaufort
53 Squadron20 March 1941 – 17 December 1941 Bristol Blenheim Anti-submarine and anti-shipping patrols off the coast of France
53 Squadron16 May 1942 – 3 July 1942 Lockheed Hudson Anti-submarine and anti-shipping patrols off the coast of France
53 Squadron3 January 1944 – 13 September 1944 Consolidated B-24 Liberator
58 Squadron8 April 1942 – 30 August 1942 Armstrong Whitworth WhitleyGeneral reconnaissance unit
58 Squadron31 March 1943 – 29 June 1943 Handley Page HalifaxGeneral reconnaissance unit
59 Squadron det 1942–1943B-24 Liberator
61 Squadron det 1942Avro Lancaster Anti-submarine operations in the Bay of Biscay
86 Squadron10 January 1942 – 5 March 1942 Bristol Beaufort
140 Squadron det 1942various
143 Squadron 28 August 1943 – 16 September 1943Bristol Beaufighter Provide fighter support for anti-submarine aircraft operating over the Bay of Biscay
161 Squadron det 1942 - ?various
179 Squadron 1 November 1944 – 30 September 1946 Vickers Wellington
Vickers Warwick		 Anti-submarine patrols over the Bay of Biscay and the Western approaches
206 Squadron 30 May 1941 – 12 August 1941Lockheed Hudson Patrol the south-west approaches
206 Squadron 12 April 1942 – 11 July 1944Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
217 Squadron 2 October 1939 – Mar 1942 Avro Anson
Bristol Beaufort		 Attacks on enemy shipping and minelaying
220 Squadron det November 1940 – April 1941Lockheed Hudson
221 Squadron det November 1940 – Sept 1941Vickers Wellington Convoy escort patrols
224 Squadron 20 December 1941 – 19 February 1942Lockheed Hudson Patrols off Brest and attack shipping off the coast of Brittany
224 Squadron 23 April 1943 – 11 September 1944B-24 Liberator Anti-submarine operations over the Bay of Biscay and attacks on shipping over the French Coast
233 Squadron 16 August 1941 – July 1942Lockheed Hudson Patrols over the Bay of Biscay
234 Squadron 18 June 1940 – 24 February 1941Supermarine Spitfire Convoy patrols in the South West approaches and the English Channel with a secondary role of defending the airfield and surrounding area
235 Squadron det early 1943Bristol Beaufighter
236 Squadron July 1940 - late 1941Bristol Blenheim Fighter and reconnaissance
238 Squadron 14 August 1940 – 10 September 1940Hawker Hurricane Defending the airfield
247 Squadron det summer 1940 - summer 1941 Gloster Gladiator
Hawker Hurricane
248 Squadron Summer 1941Bristol Blenheim
254 Squadron det late 1940Bristol Blenheim
263 Squadron 24 February 1941 – 18 March 1941Westland Whirlwind
280 Squadron det autumn 1944 - autumn 1945Vickers Warwick
282 Squadron 19 September 1944 – 9 July 1945various Air Sea Rescue (ASR)
304 Squadron 6 March 1945 – 9 July 1945Vickers Wellington
407 Squadron RCAF 1 October 1942 – 10 November 1942Lockheed Hudson
407 Squadron RCAF 3 November 1943 – 2 December 1943Vickers Wellington
415 Squadron RCAF 11 April 1942 – late 1942Handley Page Hampden
489 Squadron RNZAF det May 1942 – June 1942Bristol Blenheim
500 Squadron 30 August 1942 – 5 November 1942Lockheed Hudson
502 Squadron February 1942 – June 1943 Armstrong Whitworth Whitley
Handley Page Halifax		 Anti-submarine patrols over the Bay of Biscay
517 Squadron 7 August 1943 – 25 November 1943 Handley Page Hampden
Lockheed Hudson		 Meteorological flights over the Western Approaches
541 Squadron det 1943Supermarine Spitfire Photographic reconnaissance missions
543 Squadron det late 1942–1943Supermarine Spitfire Photographic reconnaissance missions over France
547 Squadron 14 January 1944 – 1 October 1944B-24 Liberator Anti-submarine patrols over the Bay of Biscay
612 Squadron 1 November 1943 – 3 December 1943Vickers Wellington Anti-submarine patrols over the Bay of Biscay
796 Naval Air Squadron det August – September 1948
801 Naval Air Squadron 31 January 1941 – 6 February 1941Blackburn Skua
807 Naval Air Squadron 20 – 23 August 1949Hawker Sea Fury
812 Naval Air Squadron det November 1940 – December 1940Fairey Swordfish
816 Naval Air Squadron det April 1941 – May 1941Fairey Swordfish
820 Naval Air Squadron 11 – 18 November 1944Grumman TBF Avenger
827 Naval Air Squadron 11 May 1941 – 4 June 1941Fairey Albacore
829 Naval Air Squadron 7 October 1940 – 3 November 1940Fairey Albacore
833 Naval Air Squadron 11 March 1943 – 15 April 1943Fairey Swordfish
849 Naval Air Squadron 9–26 August 1944TBF Avenger
No. 2 Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit RAF  ? - April 1940various
No. 6 Coastal Patrol Flight RAF15 January 1940 – 27 May 1940 de Havilland Tiger Moth
No. 1 Photographic Reconnaissance Unit RAF (PRU) 1 July 1940 – October 1942various Recces of targets in Western France, particularly naval bases
404 (Met) Flight/1404 (Met) Flight
(Later becoming 517 Squadron)		 24 December 1940 – 11 August 1943 Handley Page Hampden
Bristol Blenheim
Lockheed Hudson
Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle		 Meteorological unit
No. 8 Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit RAF March 1941 – June 1941various
No. 10 Operational Training Unit RAF det1942 – 23 July 1943Armstrong Whitworth Whitley

1945–1959

UnitAircraftFromToToDuties
42 SquadronAvro Shackleton MR 1A/MR 228 June 19528 October 1958RAF St Mawgan[15] Maritime reconnaissance
179 SquadronVickers Wellington XIV
Vickers Warwick V
Avro Lancaster ASR 3		1 November 194430 September 1946Disbanded[16]
203 SquadronAvro Lancaster GR 316 January 194715 August 1952RAF Topcliffe[17]
206 SquadronAvro Shackleton MR 1A/MR 227 September 195214 January 1958RAF St Mawgan[18] Reconnaissance and rescue patrols over the western approaches
210 SquadronAvro Lancaster ASR 31 June 194610 September 1952RAF Ballykelly[19] Maritime patrols and air-sea rescue
220 SquadronAvro Shackleton MR 1/MR 214 November 19514 December 1956RAF St Mawgan[20]
228 SquadronB-24 Liberator VIII1 June 194630 September 1946Disbanded[21] Passenger and freight services to Northern Ireland, Gibraltar, the Azores and Morocco. It also had reconnaissance, air-sea rescue and meteorological tasks
228 SquadronAvro Shackleton MR 21 July 1954
14 January 1958		29 November 1956
6 March 1959		RAF St Mawgan
Disbanded		[21] Maritime reconnaissance
240 SquadronAvro Shackleton MR 127 May 19525 June 1952RAF Ballykelly[22] Maritime reconnaissance
No. 95 Gliding School RAF[23]Slingsby CadetJune 194531 January 1950Unknown
No. 19 Group Communication Flight RAF[23]Various29 July 194827 August 1951Unknown
Target Towing Flight?de Havilland MosquitoSeptember 1953September 1955Unknown
No. 626 Gliding School RAF[23]Slingsby Cadet1 June 195816 March 1963Unknown

The following units were also here at some point:[23]

See also

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 Ashworth 1982, p. 163.
  2. ↑ Buckton, Henry (2008). The Lost Villages - in Search of Britain's Vanished Communities. London: I B Tauris & Co. p. 115. ISBN 978 1 84511 671 2.
  3. 1 2 Historic England. "St Eval Airfield (1411212)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 11 July 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 ""When Bombs Fell" - The air-raids on Cornwall during WW2 : Part 2 - 1940". WW2 People's war. BBC. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  5. ↑ Ashworth 1982, pp. 165–166.
  6. ↑ "Supermarine Walrus (L2301)". Fleet Air Arm Museum. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
  7. ↑ Brown, Ger. "Clare in WW2 / The Emergency" (PDF). Clare County Council Libraries.
  8. ↑ Ashworth 1982, p. 167.
  9. ↑ Dave O'Malley, "The Memory that Would Not Die: the Story of Olive Bingham's Memorial Cross," Vintage Wings of Canada, 17 April 2020. http://www.vintagewings.ca/VintageNews/Stories/tabid/116/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/626/The-Memory-that-Would-Not-Die.aspx
  10. 1 2 Ashworth 1982, p. 168.
  11. ↑ Robertson, Bruce (1978). The RAF - a pictorial history. London: Robert Hale. p. 169. ISBN 0 7091 6607 9.
  12. ↑ Ashworth 1982, p. 170.
  13. ↑ "Defence High Frequency Communications Service" (PDF). High Frequency Industry Association. Babcock International Group. 5 September 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
  14. ↑ "Development brief for St Eval Cornwall" (PDF). Gov.uk. Ministry of Defence. October 2011. p. 4. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
  15. ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 39.
  16. ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 65.
  17. ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 68.
  18. ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 69.
  19. ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 70.
  20. ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 72.
  21. 1 2 Jefford 1988, p. 74.
  22. ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 84.
  23. 1 2 3 4 "St. Eval". Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust. Retrieved 22 December 2012.

Bibliography

  • Airfield Focus - 7:St Eval by Chris Ashworth (ISBN 1-870384-19-9)
  • The Military airfields of Britain, South-Western England (ISBN 1-86126-810-6)
  • A Guide to Airfields of South Western England, Baron Jay Publishers
  • Ashworth, Chris (1982). Action Stations 5; Military Airfields of the South-West. Cambridge: Patrick Stephens. ISBN 0-85059-510-X.
  • Jefford, C G (1988). RAF Squadrons. A comprehensive record of the movement and equipment of all RAF squadrons and their antecedents since 1912. Shrewsbury: Airlife. ISBN 1-85310-053-6.
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