RAF Cleave
Former RAF base in Cornwall, England
title: "RAF Cleave" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["royal-air-force-stations-in-cornwall", "royal-air-force-stations-of-world-war-ii-in-the-united-kingdom", "military-history-of-cornwall", "morwenstow", "military-airbases-established-in-1939", "military-airbases-closed-in-1945"] description: "Former RAF base in Cornwall, England" topic_path: "history" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Cleave" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Former RAF base in Cornwall, England ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox military installation"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | RAF Cleave |
| ensign | Ensign of the Royal Air Force.svg |
| ensign_size | 90px |
| partof | |
| location | Kilkhampton, Cornwall |
| country | England |
| image | Target Dossier for Cleave, Cornwall, England - DPLA - 1e4c6a8333ef8cc3a95344f840c437de (page 1).jpg |
| caption | RAF Cleave on a target dossier of the German Luftwaffe, 1940 |
| image2 | |
| type | Royal Air Force station |
| coordinates | |
| pushpin_map | Cornwall#UK |
| pushpin_map_caption | Shown within Cornwall |
| pushpin_label | RAF Cleave |
| ownership | Air Ministry |
| operator | Royal Air Force |
| controlledby | RAF Fighter Command* No. 10 Group RAF |
| open_to_public | |
| site_other_label | |
| site_other | |
| site_area | |
| code | |
| built | /39 |
| used | May 1939 – November 1945 |
| height | |
| length | |
| fate | |
| battles | European theatre of World War II |
| past_commanders | |
| garrison | |
| occupants | |
| footnotes | |
| elevation | 122 m |
| r1-number | 06/24 |
| r1-length | 656 m |
| r1-surface | Grass |
| r2-number | 18/36 |
| r2-length | 823 m |
| r2-surface | Grass |
| h1-length | |
| airfield_other_label | |
| airfield_other | |
| :: |
| name = RAF Cleave | ensign = Ensign of the Royal Air Force.svg | ensign_size = 90px | native_name = | partof = | location = Kilkhampton, Cornwall | country = England | image = Target Dossier for Cleave, Cornwall, England - DPLA - 1e4c6a8333ef8cc3a95344f840c437de (page 1).jpg | alt = | caption = RAF Cleave on a target dossier of the German Luftwaffe, 1940 | image2 = | alt2 = | caption2 = | type = Royal Air Force station | coordinates = | pushpin_map = Cornwall#UK | pushpin_map_caption = Shown within Cornwall | pushpin_label = RAF Cleave | pushpin_label_position = | ownership = Air Ministry | operator = Royal Air Force | controlledby = RAF Fighter Command* No. 10 Group RAF | open_to_public = | site_other_label = | site_other = | site_area = | code = | built = /39 | used = May 1939 – November 1945 | builder = | materials = | height = | length = | fate = | condition = | battles = European theatre of World War II | events = | past_commanders = | garrison = | occupants = | designations = | website = | footnotes = | IATA = | ICAO = | FAA = | TC = | LID = | GPS = | WMO = | elevation = 122 m | r1-number = 06/24 | r1-length = 656 m | r1-surface = Grass | r2-number = 18/36 | r2-length = 823 m | r2-surface = Grass | h1-number = | h1-length = | h1-surface = | airfield_other_label = | airfield_other = Royal Air Force Cleave or more simply RAF Cleave is a former Royal Air Force station located 4.2 mi north of Bude in Cornwall, England, which was operational from 1939 until 1945. Despite a few periods of intense activity, it was one of RAF Fighter Command's lesser used airfields.
History
RAF Cleave was conceived as a housing target and target support aircraft for firing ranges along the north Cornwall coast, and land was acquired from Cleave Manor.
In May 1939, two flights of No. 1 Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit RAF (1 AACU) with the Westland Wallace, and a naval steam catapult were soon erected near the cliffs for the pilotless Queen Bee aircraft due to be stationed there. Aircraft were initially housed in temporary Bessonneau hangars (type H of World War I vintage), and later replaced by more permanent structures.
In December 1943, the four flights were amalgamated into 639 Squadron, which served at Cleave for the remainder of the war.
The airfield was placed under care and maintenance in April 1945, and later became a government signals station.
Posted squadrons
::data[format=table]
| 639 Sqn | 1 December 1943 – 30 April 1945 | Hawker Henley, Hawker Hurricane | formed from 1602, 1603, & 1604 Flts |
|---|---|---|---|
| :: |
Current use
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/Cleave_Camp,_old_gun_emplacement_and_dish,_December_2013.jpg" caption="modern satellite dishes]] of [[GCHQ Bude]] behind"] ::
Apart from an undisturbed piece of the grass runway to the north, a very short section of concrete perimeter track, and a few of the married quarters accommodation on Cleave Crescent, the site has been almost completely re-modelled as GCHQ Bude.
References
Citations
Bibliography
- Lake, A (1999) Flying units of the RAF, Airlife Publishing, Shrewsbury, 316pp & 16 App, .
- Smith, G (2000) Devon and Cornwall Airfields in the Second World War, Countryside Books, Newbury, 288pp, .
- Willis, S and Holliss, B R (1987), Military airfields in the British Isles 1939-1945 (Omnibus Edition), Enthusiasts Publications, Newport Pagnell, 283pp, .
References
- "RAF Cleave". RAFweb – Air of Authority.
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::