|
TALBENNY
A Maritime Defence
Pembrokeshire was strategically well placed for the maritime air defence of the vital south west
sea approaches to the British Isles. Well before the Second World War R.A.F Coastal Command
established a flying boat station at Pembroke Dock precisely for this reason. Soon after the war
started it was realised that land planes would also be involved in defending the vital convoys heading
from across the Atlantic, so a search was made for suitable sites for establishing airfields in
Pembrokeshire.
Although most of the county was rather undulated several sites were located, one of them being
at 230 feet above the sea level a mile or so inland near the small village of Talbenny. Work on the
airfield construction started in early 1941, when after clearing the area three concrete runways
were laid, encircled by a perimeter track and its 36 dispersal points. Two steel 'T2' type hangars
were erected, together with a technical and administration site at the east side of the airfield.
Alongside the B4327 road several dispersed communal and domestic sites were provided with
accommodation for around 2800 personnel.
The station opened on the 7th of May 1942 under the control of No.19 Group of Coastal Command.
It was initially to act as a satellite to the neighbouring airfield of Dale for the housing of general recce
squadrons engaged in the anti U-Boat war.
On June the 12th 1942, No.311 Squadron moved in from Aldergrove with their twenty or so Vickers
Wellington aircraft. This squadron was manned by Czechs who had escaped to Britain by one means
or another in early 1940. Because they had been engaged in maritime operations for some time they
soon mounted their first anti sub patrols from Talbenny, but it was early August before they attacked
the first U Boat.
For most of November 1942, No.304 Squadron came over from Dale to operateits Wellingtons
alongside the Czechs. With this squadron being manned by Poles, one can only imagine the
difficulties posed by the different languages, not to mention the few struggling Britisher's who manned
the control tower!.
At one point in time German JU88 fighters were interfering with operations over the Bay of Biscay,
to where much of the squadrons energy was directed, so from the 13th of September to the 2nd
of November 1942, No.248 Squadron was based here with its Beaufighters which provided escorts for
the Wellingtons.
On the 5th of March 1943 an additional role evolved at Talbenny with the arrival of
No.303 Ferry Training Unit with its 24 aircraft from Stornoway. They had the task of training Coastal
Command crews to ferry new Wellington aircraft out to overseas RAF stations.
On the 26th of May 1943, No.311 Squadron transferred to Beaulieu on the south coast to be nearer
to the Bay of Biscay where all their operations then centred. This only left the ferry training unit in
residence but their task had increased where they were ferrying nearly 100 Wellingtons to the
Middle East every month.
Another small unit that reformed here on the 16th of April 1943 was No.4 Armament Practice Camp
who operated Martinets target towing aircraft which were employed for giving Coastal Command
crews experience at air to air firing. Exactly how long they remained at Talbenny can not be traced
but they were certainly here up to the 31st of October 1944.
In October 1943 the station was transferred to the control of No.44 Group of Transport Command,
who were then responsible for the ferrying of aircraft overseas. They took over the resident ferry
training unit, together with several others that were then in existence at other airfields. This new
command had 22 concrete aprons constructed on this airfield to enable the open storage of
numerous aircraft being prepared for overseas.
On the 25th of July 1944, No.3 Overseas Aircraft Dispatch Unit arrived from Hurn to prepare these
aircraft, and this soon heralded a change of title when the combined units became No.11 Ferry Unit
in September. Many different aircraft were thereafter handled including Wellingtons, Spitfires, Warwicks,
and Ventura's. They also used several Avro Ansons as hacks to ferry the pilots back and forth.
The above task continued right through to 9th of August 1945 when they departed for Dunkeswell
in South Devon in order to be as far south as possible. No further takers for Talbenny were
forthcoming but for the following year a small holding party remained, this time under the control
of Pembroke Dock, until the station was totally abandoned in December 1946.
Like most disused airfields it remained Government property until being sold off to local farmers in
the mid 1950s. It quickly reverted to arable and grassland and the two hangars were soon dismantled.
Not much was done in the way of removing the concrete and this has slowly crumbled and covered
in vegetation over the years. With being on elevated ground the rusting water tower could be seen for
miles around when visited in 1980, and the few remaining derelict buildings stand out too.
|
