RAF Southrop explained

RAF Southrop
Type:	Military
Owner:	Air Ministry
Operator:	Royal Air Force
Location:	Southrop, Gloucestershire, England
Built:	1940
Used:	1940-1947
Coordinates:	51.7306°N -1.74°W
Pushpin Map:	Gloucestershire
Pushpin Label:	RAF Southrop
Pushpin Map Caption:	Location in Gloucestershire
R1-Number:	04/22
R1-Length-F:	3,060
R1-Length-M:	0
R2-Number:	14/32
R2-Length-M:	0
R2-Length-F:	2,790
R2-Surface:	Grass
R3-Number:	E/W
R3-Length-M:	0
R3-Length-F:	3,450
R3-Surface:	Grass

Royal Air Force Southrop or more simply RAF Southrop is a former Royal Air Force satellite station west of the village of Southrop, Gloucestershire during the Second World War from August 1940 to November 1945.^[1]

It had three grass runways,^[2] It was used as a Relief Landing Ground for Airspeed Oxford and Harvard training aircraft for No. 23 Group RAF.^[3]

The defences included a double pillbox.^[4]

The following units were here at some point:^[5]

• No. 2 (Pilots) Advanced Flying Unit RAF
• No. 2 Service Flying Training School RAF
• No. 3 (Pilots) Advanced Flying Unit RAF
• No. 6 Service Flying Training School RAF
• No. 27 Group Communication Flight RAF
• No. 27 (Signals Training) Group RAF
• No. 1539 (Beam Approach Training) Flight RAF

Current use

The site is currently farmland.^[5]

External links

• fotopic gallery

Notes and References

1. Web site: Southrop Relief Landing Ground . Pastscape . Historic England . 28 August 2020 . 11 June 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200611085739/https://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=1410936 . live .
2. Web site: RAF Southrop . Lost Airfields . 28 August 2020 . 28 August 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200828112233/https://issuu.com/nikstanbridge/docs/lost_airfields/s/10465857 . live .
3. Web site: RAF Southrop, Glos . Derelict Places . 28 August 2020 . 28 August 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200828112234/https://www.derelictplaces.co.uk/main/military-sites/9610-raf-southrop-glos.html . live .
4. Web site: RAF Southrop Defences . Pillbox Study Group . 28 August 2020 . 1 July 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180701075411/http://www.pillbox-study-group.org.uk/gazeteer/home-front-defence-sites/england/gloucestershire/raf-southrop-defences/ . live .
5. Web site: Southrop . . 23 June 2020 . 26 June 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200626083539/https://www.abct.org.uk/airfields/airfield-finder/southrop/ . live .