RAF Culmhead

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Former Royal Air Force station in Somerset, England

title: "RAF Culmhead" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["royal-air-force-stations-in-somerset", "scheduled-monuments-in-taunton-dene", "structures-on-the-heritage-at-risk-register-in-somerset", "gchq-buildings-and-structures", "1941-establishments-in-england", "military-airbases-established-in-1941", "military-airbases-closed-in-1946"] description: "Former Royal Air Force station in Somerset, England" topic_path: "geography/united-kingdom" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Culmhead" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Former Royal Air Force station in Somerset, England ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox military installation"]

FieldValue
nameRAF Culmhead
RAF Church Stanton
ensignEnsign of the Royal Air Force.svg
ensign_size90px
locationChurchstanton, Somerset
countryEngland
imageChurchstanton, Culmhead control tower - geograph.org.uk - 280595.jpg
captionThe old control tower taken in 2006
pushpin_mapSomerset#UK
pushpin_labelRAF Culmhead
pushpin_map_captionShown within Somerset
coordinates
typeRoyal Air Force station
codeUC
ownershipAir Ministry
operatorRoyal Air Force
Royal Navy
controlledbyRAF Fighter Command 1941-44* No. 10 Group RAFRAF Flying Training Command 1944-
  • No. 23 Group RAF | | built | | | used | August 1941 – August | | battles | European theatre of World War II | | past_commanders | | | elevation | 263 m | | r1-number | 02/20 | | r1-length | 1320 m | | r1-surface | Concrete | | r2-number | 08/26 | | r2-length | 1025 m | | r2-surface | Concrete | | r3-number | 14/32 | | r3-length | 1190 m | | r3-surface | Concrete | ::

| name = RAF Culmhead RAF Church Stanton | ensign=Ensign of the Royal Air Force.svg | ensign_size=90px | native_name = | partof = | location = Churchstanton, Somerset | country = England | image = Churchstanton, Culmhead control tower - geograph.org.uk - 280595.jpg | caption = The old control tower taken in 2006 | pushpin_map = Somerset#UK | pushpin_label = RAF Culmhead | pushpin_map_caption = Shown within Somerset | coordinates = | type = Royal Air Force station | code = UC | site_area = | height = | ownership = Air Ministry | operator = Royal Air Force Royal Navy | controlledby = RAF Fighter Command 1941-44* No. 10 Group RAFRAF Flying Training Command 1944-

  • No. 23 Group RAF | open_to_public = | condition = | built = | builder = | used = August 1941 – August | materials = | fate = | battles = European theatre of World War II | events = | past_commanders = | garrison = | occupants = | elevation = 263 m | IATA = | ICAO = | FAA = | TC = | LID = | GPS = | WMO = | r1-number = 02/20 | r1-length = 1320 m | r1-surface = Concrete | r2-number = 08/26 | r2-length = 1025 m | r2-surface = Concrete | r3-number = 14/32 | r3-length = 1190 m | r3-surface = Concrete | website = Royal Air Force Culmhead or more simply RAF Culmhead is a former Royal Air Force station, situated at Churchstanton on the Blackdown Hills in Somerset, England. It was originally named RAF Church Stanton.

It had three tarmac runways that are now in poor condition and the control towers are currently derelict. There is now an industrial estate – derived from the later Composite Signals Organisation Station (CSOS) – right in the middle of the place where the three runways meet.

History

Second World War

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/93/RAF_Culmhead_-_25_Jun_1942_Airphoto.jpg" caption="Aerial photograph of Churchstanton airfield, looking north, 26 June 1942. Note several fighter aircraft parked on the grassy areas."] ::

RAF Culmhead was a typical three-runway fighter airfield, with blast pens built around the site along with ten blister hangars. It was used by fighters from RAF Exeter from June but officially opened on 1 August 1941. Ground defence was provided by the Somerset Light Infantry.

Who used the airfield first and why is a mystery, the story is told by David Berryman:

"The first aircraft to land at the new airfield did so when it was unfinished, arriving early one morning. Its pilot approached Mr Long, a roller driver, who was just getting up steam, but neither could understand one another, and when the pilot sprinted back to his aircraft and took off. Long realised that it was probably a German bomber that had landed in error". (Berryman 2009, 98)

The airfield was occupied by No. 2 Polish Wing of the Polish Air Force. The first squadrons to arrive were No. 316 (Warsaw) and No. 302 (Poznań) equipped with Hawker Hurricane Mk.Is. No. 302 soon left to be replaced with No. 306 (Torun) who operated Supermarine Spitfires. In the summer of 1942 the polish squadrons were replaced by No. 313 and No. 312 Squadrons which were Czechoslovak-manned. The site was also used for the testing of barrage balloon wire cutters in 1942 by 02 Detachment of the Royal Aircraft Establishment from Farnborough.

In 1943 the Czech units were replaced with No. 66 and No. 504 (City of Nottingham) Squadrons.

RAF Culmhead was initially known as RAF Church Stanton, but it was renamed on 22 December 1943 to avoid confusion with RAF Church Fenton. It was then used by No. 165 and No. 131 (County of Kent) Squadrons. In 1944 the Royal Navy's 24th Naval Fighter Wing took over with 894 and 887 Naval Air Squadrons using Culmhead as a location for their Supermarine Seafires, which were a naval version of the Supermarine Spitfire specially adapted for operation from aircraft carriers.

After D-Day in 1944, the airfield was used for training on Gloster Meteors, the first jet engined aircraft in RAF service. No. 616 Squadron RAF tested them Culmhead before deploying them for their first operational sortie on 27 July from RAF Manston when it intercepted V-1 flying bombs launched against southern England.

In the autumn of 1944 the surviving squadrons were transferred to other sites and the station wound down, becoming a glider training school and maintenance unit until RAF Culmhead closed in August 1946.

The following units were also here at some point:

Postwar use

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/Churchstanton,on_Culmhead_airfield-geograph.org.uk-_280591.jpg" caption="Industrial estate, built on the site of the signals unit. Taken in 2006"] ::

From the 1950s, the site was partially reused as Composite Signals Organisation Station (CSOS) Culmhead, performing signals research functions, operated under the aegis of Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), with a cluster of buildings covering some 4.4 hectares being constructed approximately in the centre of the former airfield. It was closed in this role in 1999.

Several of the control towers and fighter pens have been designated as Scheduled Ancient Monuments and are included in the Heritage at Risk Register produced by English Heritage.

References

Citations

Bibliography

References

  1. "RAF Culmhead". South West Airfields Heritage Trust.
  2. Berryman, David. (2006). "Somerset airfields in the Second World War". Countryside Books.
  3. Riley, Hazel. (December 2015). "RAF CULMHEAD, CHURCHSTANTON, SOMERSET".
  4. "Culmhead airfield, Trickey Warren". Somerset County Council.
  5. "Culmhead (Churchstanton)". [[Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust]].
  6. (5 April 1984). "How Cheltenham entered America's backyard". New Scientist.
  7. "South West England". English Heritage.

::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. ::

royal-air-force-stations-in-somersetscheduled-monuments-in-taunton-denestructures-on-the-heritage-at-risk-register-in-somersetgchq-buildings-and-structures1941-establishments-in-englandmilitary-airbases-established-in-1941military-airbases-closed-in-1946