RAF Zeals explained

RAF Zeals USAAF Station AAF-450 RNAS Zeals (HMS Hummingbird)
Location:	Zeals, Wiltshire
Country:	England
Type:	Royal Air Force station
Coordinates:	51.093°N -2.32°W
Pushpin Map:	Wiltshire
Pushpin Map Caption:	Shown within Wiltshire
Pushpin Label:	RAF Zeals
Ownership:	Air Ministry Admiralty
Controlledby:	RAF Fighter Command No. 10 Group RAF 1942-43 & 1944-45 Ninth Air Force 1943-44 Fleet Air Arm 1945-
Code:	ZL
Built:	/42
Used:	May 1942 - January
Battles:	European theatre of World War II
Elevation:	168m (551feet)
R1-Number:	00/00
R1-Surface:	Grass
R2-Number:	00/00
R2-Surface:	Grass
R3-Number:	00/00
R3-Surface:	Grass

Royal Air Force Zeals, or more simply RAF Zeals, is a former Royal Air Force station in Wiltshire, sited to the north of the village of Zeals, next to the village of Stourton and the Stourhead estate.

History

The station was in operation from 1942 to 1946, and was successively occupied by the Royal Air Force, the United States Army Air Forces and the Royal Navy.

From opening until August 1943 the site was used by the RAF as an airfield for Hawker Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire fighters.

Units:

• No. 66 Squadron RAF between 24 August and 23 December 1942 with the Spitfire VB & VC
• No. 118 Squadron RAF between 24 August and 23 December 1942 with the Spitfire VB
• No. 132 (City of Bombay) Squadron RAF between 28 February and 5 April 1943 with the Spitfire VB
• No. 174 (Mauritius) Squadron RAF between 12 March and 5 April 1943 with the Hurricane IIB
• No. 184 Squadron RAF between 12 March and 5 April 1943 with the Hurricane IID
• No. 263 (Fellowship of the Bellows) Squadron RAF between 19 June and 12 July 1943 with the Westland Whirlwind I
• No. 421 Squadron RCAF between 1 and 14 November 1942 with the Spitfire VB

In August 1943 it was transferred to the United States Army Air Force with the intention of using the airfield for maintenance of Douglas C-47 Skytrain transport aircraft. However, the damp conditions prevented the operation of heavy aircraft, so Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighters were flown from Zeals instead.

From March 1944, it returned to the RAF who used it as a fighter airfield for de Havilland Mosquito fighters against German bombers.

Units:

• No. 286 Squadron RAF initially between 26 May and 31 May 1942 then between 28 July and 28 September 1944 with the Hurricane IIc and Miles Martinet
• No. 149 (Long Range Fighter) Wing RAF between 29 June and 28 July 1944
  • No. 410 Squadron RCAF between 18 June and 28 July 1944 with the Mosquito XIII
  • No. 488 Squadron RNZAF between 12 May and 29 July 1944 with the Mosquito XIII
• No. 604 (County of Middlesex) Squadron RAuxAF between 25 and 28 July 1944 with the Mosquito XIII

Following D-Day, the RAF used the airfield for military glider training in preparation for action against Japan. In April 1945 the station was taken over by the Royal Navy (as HMS Hummingbird or RNAS Zeals) who used the airfield for aircraft carrier training.

Units:

• 771 Naval Air Squadron as a Fleet Requirements Unit between 25 July and 12 September 1945 with the Wildcat IV
• 704 Naval Air Squadron as a Naval Operational Training Unit between 11 April and 4 September 1945 with the Mosquito FB.6
• 759 Naval Air Squadron as a Advanced Flying School between 19 September 1945 and 7 January 1946 with the Corsair III
• 760 Naval Air Squadron as a Corsair Familiarization Unit between 10 April and 12 September 1945 with the Corsair III
• 790 Naval Air Squadron between 1 April and 30 August 1945 with the Firefly I and Oxford I

The airfield was closed down from January 1946 and in June it was returned to farmland. The control tower, now a private house, remains on Bells Lane in Zeals.

Dakota crash – 19 February 1945

A Douglas Dakota III crashed on 19 February 1945, killing more than twenty people.^[1] The aircraft had taken off from Zeals airfield to return to Lincolnshire after two weeks of glider training and flew into some cloud-covered beech trees on a knoll.

The site of the crash is marked by a memorial which was erected by the Wiltshire Historical Military Society.^[2]

See also

• List of former Royal Air Force stations

References

Bibliography

• Book: Falconer. J.. RAF Airfields of World War 2 . 2012 . Ian Allan Publishing. UK. 978-1-85780-349-5.
• Book: Jefford . C.G. . RAF Squadrons. A comprehensive record of the movement and equipment of all RAF squadrons and their antecedents since 1912 . 1988 . Airlife . . 1-85310-053-6 .
• Book: Sturtivant. R.. Ballance. T.. The Squadrons of The Fleet Air Arm . 1994 . Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd . Tonbridge, Kent, UK . 0-85130-223-8 .
• Book: Sturtivant. R.. Hamlin. J.. Royal Air Force flying training and support units since 1912 . 2007 . Air-Britain (Historians). UK. 978-0851-3036-59.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Crash of a Douglas DC-3 Dakota III in RAF Zeals: 20 killed Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives . www.baaa-acro.com . 20 April 2022.
2. Web site: Memorial: Crew of Dakota TS436. 2021-04-23. Imperial War Museums. en.