Military history of Royal Air Force station Tarrant Rushton
This aerial view of the airfield taken in 1960 has been annotated to show where all the key components of the wartime airbase were located, alongside features from the peacetime activity.
Today just two of the large black hangars, a few of the diagonal concrete hardstandings and the three mile perimeter track remain. The military history is about the Royal Air Force, the Glider Pilot Regiment and the operations both carried out from this historic airfield in just 18 months of wartime service.
The Royal Air Force at Tarrant Rushton
The first Royal Air Force personnel and aircraft arrived at Tarrant Rushton in May 1943. Two large squadrons of Halifax bombers were the main force but the RAF story continued into the Cold War.
The Glider Pilot Regiment at Tarrant Rushton
The Glider Pilot Regiment formed up at Tilshead in Wiltshire in February 1942. With a motto ‘Nothing is impossible’ they were ‘Total soldiers’. Horsa and Hamilcar gliders took some of the fiercest fighters into battle.
Wartime operations from Tarrant Rushton
Tarrant Rushton was built for one operational purpose, to launch airborne invaders to recapture Europe. Operations to Normandy and Arnhem alongside secret operations started from here.