RAF High Ercall

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Former Royal Air Force station in Shropshire, England

title: "RAF High Ercall" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["royal-air-force-stations-in-shropshire", "telford-and-wrekin", "royal-air-force-stations-of-world-war-ii-in-the-united-kingdom", "military-installations-closed-in-1962", "military-installations-established-in-1941"] description: "Former Royal Air Force station in Shropshire, England" topic_path: "history" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_High_Ercall" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

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

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

FieldValue
nameRAF High ErcallUSAAF Station AAF-346
ensign[[File:Ensign of the Royal Air Force.svg
partof
locationHigh Ercall, Shropshire
nearest_town
countryEngland
image[[File:RAF High Ercall (geograph 4357029).jpg
image2
typeRoyal Air Force station
parent station 1941-43
sector station 1943-45
coordinates
pushpin_mapShropshire#UK
pushpin_map_captionShown within Shropshire
pushpin_labelRAF High Ercall
ownershipAir Ministry
operatorRoyal Air Force
controlledbyRAF Fighter Command 1941-45
No. 9 Group RAF
  • No. 81 (OTU) Group RAFRAF Maintenance Command 1945-62 | | open_to_public | | | site_other_label | | | site_other | | | site_area | | | code | HC | | built | /41 | | used | April 1941 - February | | builder | G. Walker & Slater Ltd | | height | | | length | | | fate | | | battles | European theatre of World War II | | past_commanders | | | garrison | | | occupants | | | footnotes | | | elevation | 67 m | | r1-number | 00/00 | | r1-length | | | r1-surface | Concrete | | r2-number | 00/00 | | r2-length | | | r2-surface | Concrete | | r3-number | 00/00 | | r3-length | | | r3-surface | Concrete | | h1-length | | | airfield_other_label | | | airfield_other | | ::

| name = RAF High ErcallUSAAF Station AAF-346 | ensign = [[File:Ensign of the Royal Air Force.svg|90px]][[File:Eighth_Air_Force_-Emblem(World_War_II).png|60px]] | ensign_size = | native_name = | partof = | location = High Ercall, Shropshire | nearest_town = | country = England | image = [[File:RAF High Ercall (geograph 4357029).jpg|250px]] | alt = | caption = | image2 = | alt2 = | caption2 = | type = Royal Air Force station parent station 1941-43 sector station 1943-45 | coordinates = | pushpin_map = Shropshire#UK | pushpin_map_caption = Shown within Shropshire | pushpin_label = RAF High Ercall | pushpin_label_position = | ownership = Air Ministry | operator = Royal Air Force | controlledby = RAF Fighter Command 1941-45 No. 9 Group RAF

  • No. 81 (OTU) Group RAFRAF Maintenance Command 1945-62 | open_to_public = | site_other_label = | site_other = | site_area = | code = HC | built = /41 | used = April 1941 - February | builder = G. Walker & Slater Ltd | 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 = 67 m | r1-number = 00/00 | r1-length = | r1-surface = Concrete | r2-number = 00/00 | r2-length = | r2-surface = Concrete | r3-number = 00/00 | r3-length = | r3-surface = Concrete | h1-number = | h1-length = | h1-surface = | airfield_other_label = | airfield_other = Royal Air Force High Ercall or more simply RAF High Ercall is a former Royal Air Force sector station situated near the village of High Ercall, 7 mi northeast of Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England.

History

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/23/Target_Dossier_for_High_Ercall,_Shropshire,England-DPLA-716c13761be3c65a542295e44362f071(page_1).jpg" caption="RAF High Ercall on a target dossier of the German [[Luftwaffe]], 1941"] ::

Construction of the airfield began in 1938 and was mostly complete by 1940. The airbase was initially run by RAF Maintenance Command and civilians from the Ministry of Aircraft Production also worked at the airfield. From 1941 onward the airbase was taken over by RAF Fighter Command, and was used mainly by night fighter units, such as No. 68 Squadron and No. 255 Squadron. From 1942 the airfield was also used by the United States Army 8th Air Force's 309 Fighter Squadron, which flew British Supermarine Spitfires with USAAF markings. In 1943 the role of the airbase changed to become focused on training; it was used mainly by No. 60 Operational Training Unit for this purpose.

From 1951 the station became a Relief Landing Ground for flying and navigation training. If pilots were unable to land at their main base they could divert to High Ercall. The Station fulfilled this role from March 1951 for No. 6 Flying Training School RAF, and from 1957 for the Central Navigation and Control School which was based at RAF Shawbury.

Squadrons

Other units

Post-military use

In 1946, a Handley Page Halifax bomber at High Ercall was purchased by Australian pilot Geoff Wikner who used the plane to fly home. Wikner also charged a number of passengers to embark on the flight with him. This marked the first post-war commercial flight between the United Kingdom and Australia.

The airbase closed in the early 1960s.

Between the 1960s and 1990s, the site was the Multi-Occupational Training and Education Centre (MOTEC) which provided training for workers including HGV drivers and mechanics and hosted the RTITB National Junior Mechanic Competition 1987.

The majority of the runways have been removed leaving only small tracks however nine hangars still are present spread out over the site and near a local village. A local Wartime Aircraft Recovery Group also occupies a section of the site.

In 2002 it was proposed to build a centre for asylum seekers on the site.

In 2014 the site was sold to the Greenhous Group who later successfully applied to the council to store new cars there before they were sold on the UK market.

References

Citations

Bibliography

References

  1. (26 November 2015). "RAF High Ercall, Shropshire".
  2. "RAF High Ercall". English Heritage - Pastscape.
  3. Neal, Toby. (26 September 2018). "Haunting images of High Ercall's wartime airfield revealed".
  4. "Stations-H".
  5. {{Harvnb. Jefford. 2001
  6. {{Harvnb. Jefford. 2001
  7. {{Harvnb. Jefford. 2001
  8. {{Harvnb. Jefford. 2001
  9. {{Harvnb. Jefford. 2001
  10. "High Ercall". [[Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust]].
  11. BBC News, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2040324.stm
  12. Shropshire Star, http://www.shropshirestar.com/shropshire-business/2014/03/11/for-sale-former-shropshire-military-base-where-time-stands-still/
  13. (19 May 2016). "50 jobs to be created as former RAF base near Telford will store cars". Shropshire Star.

::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-shropshiretelford-and-wrekinroyal-air-force-stations-of-world-war-ii-in-the-united-kingdommilitary-installations-closed-in-1962military-installations-established-in-1941