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RAF Harrowbeer

November 25, 2023

Royal Air Force Harrowbeer or more simply RAF Harrowbeer is a former Royal Air Force station situated next to Yelverton in the parish of Buckland Monachorum, Devon, England

RAF Harrowbeer
Yelverton, Devon in England
Aircraft and personnel required for a WWII Air/Sea rescue operation
RAF Harrowbeer
Shown within Devon
Coordinates50°29′27″N 004°05′36″W / 50.49083°N 4.09333°W / 50.49083; -4.09333
TypeRoyal Air Force station
CodeQB
Site information
OwnerAir Ministry
OperatorRoyal Air Force
Controlled byRAF Fighter Command
1941-44 & 1945-50
Site history
Built1941 (1941)
In useAugust 1941 - 1950 (1950)
Battles/warsEuropean theatre of World War II
Airfield information
Elevation198 metres (650 ft)[1] AMSL
Runways
Direction Length and surface
05/23 834 metres (2,736 ft) Asphalt
11/29 1,171 metres (3,842 ft) Asphalt
17/35 1,020 metres (3,346 ft) Asphalt

Location edit

RAF Harrowbeer was located approximately 9 miles (14 km) NNE of the city of Plymouth and approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) south of Tavistock, and also sits within the boundary of Dartmoor National Park. Roborough Rock is a tor-like igneous rock outcrop immediately south-west of the airfield (officially called 'Udal Tor') on Roborough Down, next to the border with the A386.[2] This location created problems for the airfield during the Second World War, mainly due to bad weather. The Rock seems to have had little impact on the use of the Airfield, the only thing that was done by the RAF was the placing of a warning light on the top. There seems to be no truth in the widely-held belief that the RAF attempted to blow it up.[2]

Although sited near the village of Yelverton, it was called 'Harrowbeer' in order to distinguish it from the similar-sounding RNAS Yeovilton which had recently changed its name from HMS Heron when the Airfield opened on 15 August 1941. The airfield was under the control of No. 10 Group RAF and never assigned a station badge.

The former Ravenscroft School became the officers' mess.[3]

Canadian pilot Jack Brown, of 193 Squadron, recounts his first training flight in the relatively new, and daunting, Hawker Typhoon fighter-bomber at Harrowbeer:

"We were understandably in awe of the Tiffie's size and power. We had been warned of the violent effect of torque . . . which caused a swing to the right on takeoff . . On takeoff, I locked my left leg rigidly on the rudder bar . . . I got off safely . . [but] At times I felt as if the machine was flying me! . . . [on landing] To make sure I didn't stall it, I came in with a little too much speed. The runways at Harrowbeer were not exceptionally long and I could see a pile of bricks at the end coming up fast. Luckily, the brakes held and the machine stopped in time."

Once 193 Squadron became operational at Harrowbeer, they began patrolling the coast to intercept low level attacks by Focke Wulf Fw 190 fighter-bombers. The Typhoon patrols against the 190s

". . . were carried out by pairs of aircraft; one right down on the water, the other about a hundred feet up. Several fellows bent the ends of their props when they flew too low and actually touched the sea. We did standby duty, waiting at the end of the runway, ready to take off as soon as a Very pistol was fired from the control tower." Later, the Typhoon pilots at Harrowbeer also launched attacks on shipping targets on the French coast, the first target being Brest.[4]

Harrowbeer saw its most distinguished visitor arrive on 2nd August 1945, when US President Harry Truman, returning home from the Potsdam Conference, was unable to route via St Mawgan in Cornwall due to it being closed, and his aircraft landed instead at Harrowbeer. Reception formalities were somewhat limited and, after dining with HM The King, who was in Portsmouth, Truman left on his trans-Atlantic flight.

Based units edit

The airfield opened in May 1941. It closed following the end of the Second World War.[5][6]

A large number of units used the airfield at some point, such as:

Other units edit

References edit

Citations edit

  1. ^ Falconer 1998, p. 41.
  2. ^ a b (PDF). Educational Register of Geological Sites. Devon County Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 February 2016.
  3. ^ RAF HARROWBEER YELVERTON Miscellaneous Information
  4. ^ John G. (Jack) Brown, "Typhoon Pilot: Hawkers Mighty 'Tank Buster' Could Be a Handful", in William J. Wheeler, "Flying Under Fire: Canadian Fliers Recall the Second World War," (Allston, Mass., Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2001), pp. 70, 72
  5. ^ "The History of RAF Harrowbeer" Retrieved on 7 November 2008
  6. ^ a b c d e "Harrowbeer". Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
  7. ^ Jefford 1988, p. 23.
  8. ^ Jefford 1988, p. 33.
  9. ^ Jefford 1988, p. 45.
  10. ^ Jefford 1988, p. 58.
  11. ^ a b Jefford 1988, p. 59.
  12. ^ Jefford 1988, p. 65.
  13. ^ Jefford 1988, p. 66.
  14. ^ Jefford 1988, p. 67.
  15. ^ Jefford 1988, p. 80.
  16. ^ Jefford 1988, p. 81.
  17. ^ a b Jefford 1988, p. 82.
  18. ^ Jefford 1988, p. 84.
  19. ^ Jefford 1988, p. 86.
  20. ^ Jefford 1988, p. 87.
  21. ^ Jefford 1988, p. 90.
  22. ^ Jefford 1988, p. 94.
  23. ^ Jefford 1988, p. 99.
  24. ^ a b Jefford 1988, p. 100.
  25. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Harrowbeer". Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust. Retrieved 21 April 2022.

Bibliography edit

  • Falconer, J (1998). RAF Fighter Airfields of World War 2. UK: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 0-7110-2175-9.
  • Jefford, C G (1988). RAF Squadrons. A comprehensive record of the movement and equipment of all RAF squadrons and their antecedents since 1912. Shrewsbury: Airlife. ISBN 1-85310-053-6.

External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to RAF Harrowbeer.
  • Dedicated website

November 25, 2023
harrowbeer, royal, force, harrowbeer, more, simply, former, royal, force, station, situated, next, yelverton, parish, buckland, monachorum, devon, englandyelverton, devon, englandaircraft, personnel, required, wwii, rescue, operationshown, within, devoncoordin. Royal Air Force Harrowbeer or more simply RAF Harrowbeer is a former Royal Air Force station situated next to Yelverton in the parish of Buckland Monachorum Devon EnglandRAF HarrowbeerYelverton Devon in EnglandAircraft and personnel required for a WWII Air Sea rescue operationRAF HarrowbeerShown within DevonCoordinates50 29 27 N 004 05 36 W 50 49083 N 4 09333 W 50 49083 4 09333TypeRoyal Air Force stationCodeQBSite informationOwnerAir MinistryOperatorRoyal Air ForceControlled byRAF Fighter Command1941 44 amp 1945 50Site historyBuilt1941 1941 In useAugust 1941 1950 1950 Battles warsEuropean theatre of World War IIAirfield informationElevation198 metres 650 ft 1 AMSLRunwaysDirection Length and surface05 23 834 metres 2 736 ft Asphalt11 29 1 171 metres 3 842 ft Asphalt17 35 1 020 metres 3 346 ft Asphalt Contents 1 Location 2 Based units 2 1 Other units 3 References 3 1 Citations 3 2 Bibliography 4 External linksLocation editRAF Harrowbeer was located approximately 9 miles 14 km NNE of the city of Plymouth and approximately 6 miles 9 7 km south of Tavistock and also sits within the boundary of Dartmoor National Park Roborough Rock is a tor like igneous rock outcrop immediately south west of the airfield officially called Udal Tor on Roborough Down next to the border with the A386 2 This location created problems for the airfield during the Second World War mainly due to bad weather The Rock seems to have had little impact on the use of the Airfield the only thing that was done by the RAF was the placing of a warning light on the top There seems to be no truth in the widely held belief that the RAF attempted to blow it up 2 Although sited near the village of Yelverton it was called Harrowbeer in order to distinguish it from the similar sounding RNAS Yeovilton which had recently changed its name from HMS Heron when the Airfield opened on 15 August 1941 The airfield was under the control of No 10 Group RAF and never assigned a station badge The former Ravenscroft School became the officers mess 3 Canadian pilot Jack Brown of 193 Squadron recounts his first training flight in the relatively new and daunting Hawker Typhoon fighter bomber at Harrowbeer We were understandably in awe of the Tiffie s size and power We had been warned of the violent effect of torque which caused a swing to the right on takeoff On takeoff I locked my left leg rigidly on the rudder bar I got off safely but At times I felt as if the machine was flying me on landing To make sure I didn t stall it I came in with a little too much speed The runways at Harrowbeer were not exceptionally long and I could see a pile of bricks at the end coming up fast Luckily the brakes held and the machine stopped in time Once 193 Squadron became operational at Harrowbeer they began patrolling the coast to intercept low level attacks by Focke Wulf Fw 190 fighter bombers The Typhoon patrols against the 190s were carried out by pairs of aircraft one right down on the water the other about a hundred feet up Several fellows bent the ends of their props when they flew too low and actually touched the sea We did standby duty waiting at the end of the runway ready to take off as soon as a Very pistol was fired from the control tower Later the Typhoon pilots at Harrowbeer also launched attacks on shipping targets on the French coast the first target being Brest 4 Harrowbeer saw its most distinguished visitor arrive on 2nd August 1945 when US President Harry Truman returning home from the Potsdam Conference was unable to route via St Mawgan in Cornwall due to it being closed and his aircraft landed instead at Harrowbeer Reception formalities were somewhat limited and after dining with HM The King who was in Portsmouth Truman left on his trans Atlantic flight Based units editThe airfield opened in May 1941 It closed following the end of the Second World War 5 6 A large number of units used the airfield at some point such as No 1 Squadron RAF 1944 7 No 19 Squadron RAF 6 No 26 Squadron RAF 8 No 64 Squadron RAF 1944 9 No 126 Squadron RAF 1944 10 No 130 Squadron RAF 1941 11 No 131 Squadron RAF 1944 11 No 165 Squadron RAF 1944 6 No 175 Squadron RAF 1942 12 No 183 Squadron RAF 1943 13 No 193 Squadron RAF 1942 43 amp 1943 44 14 No 263 Squadron RAF 1943 amp 1944 15 No 266 Squadron RAF 1943 amp 1943 44 amp 1944 16 No 275 Squadron RAF 17 No 276 Squadron RAF 17 No 286 Squadron RAF 6 No 302 Polish Fighter Squadron 1941 42 18 No 312 Czechoslovak Squadron RAF 1942 19 No 329 Squadron RAF 20 No 414 Squadron RCAF 21 No 500 County of Kent Squadron 22 No 610 County of Chester Squadron 1944 23 No 611 West Lancashire Squadron 1944 24 No 616 South Yorkshire Squadron 24 No 691 Squadron RAF 6 834 Naval Air Squadron 25 838 Naval Air Squadron 25 Other units edit No 19 Group Communications Flight 25 No 78 Signals Wing Calibration Flight RAF 25 No 82 Gliding School RAF 25 No 156 General Reconnaissance Wing RAF 25 Force 135 RAF Element 25 No 229 Maintenance Unit RAF 25 No 401 Air Stores Park 25 No 2738 Squadron RAF Regiment 25 No 2847 Squadron RAF Regiment 25 No 2883 Squadron RAF Regiment 25 No 2891 Squadron RAF Regiment 25 References editCitations edit Falconer 1998 p 41 a b The Rock Yelverton PDF Educational Register of Geological Sites Devon County Council Archived from the original PDF on 16 February 2016 RAF HARROWBEER YELVERTON Miscellaneous Information John G Jack Brown Typhoon Pilot Hawkers Mighty Tank Buster Could Be a Handful in William J Wheeler Flying Under Fire Canadian Fliers Recall the Second World War Allston Mass Fitzhenry amp Whiteside 2001 pp 70 72 The History of RAF Harrowbeer Retrieved on 7 November 2008 a b c d e Harrowbeer Air of Authority A History of RAF Organisation Retrieved 28 April 2012 Jefford 1988 p 23 Jefford 1988 p 33 Jefford 1988 p 45 Jefford 1988 p 58 a b Jefford 1988 p 59 Jefford 1988 p 65 Jefford 1988 p 66 Jefford 1988 p 67 Jefford 1988 p 80 Jefford 1988 p 81 a b Jefford 1988 p 82 Jefford 1988 p 84 Jefford 1988 p 86 Jefford 1988 p 87 Jefford 1988 p 90 Jefford 1988 p 94 Jefford 1988 p 99 a b Jefford 1988 p 100 a b c d e f g h i j k l m Harrowbeer Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust Retrieved 21 April 2022 Bibliography edit Falconer J 1998 RAF Fighter Airfields of World War 2 UK Ian Allan Publishing ISBN 0 7110 2175 9 Jefford C G 1988 RAF Squadrons A comprehensive record of the movement and equipment of all RAF squadrons and their antecedents since 1912 Shrewsbury Airlife ISBN 1 85310 053 6 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to RAF Harrowbeer Dedicated website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title RAF Harrowbeer amp oldid 1180388948, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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