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RAF Aston Down, on the Cotswold edge near Minchinhampton, had a Second World War role that was less about headline operations and more about the huge, practical business of storing, preparing, and moving aircraft. Although the site had earlier flying history, it re-opened in 1938 under the name RAF Aston Down and, during the war, its main resident unit was No. 20 Maintenance Unit (20 MU). Maintenance Units were a key part of the RAF’s hidden infrastructure: they received aircraft from factories, processed and stored them, carried out preparation and modification work, and then issued them to operational units as required. In a war where aircraft numbers and availability were decisive, the difference between an aircraft sitting idle and one being ready to fly could depend on places like Aston Down.
Evidence from historic records shows how quickly the station moved into this logistics identity. It re-opened as an Aircraft Storage Unit in October 1938 and became 20 MU shortly thereafter, with the first aircraft arriving in early 1939. Storage did not mean inactivity. Aircraft had to be preserved, maintained, test-run, and often adapted to changing requirements. Wartime modifications – radios, armament changes, navigation aids, camouflage changes, winterisation – were part of the continuous ‘improvement cycle’ that took place away from the front line but directly affected front-line capability.
Aston Down’s wartime usefulness also drew it into Fighter Command’s training ecosystem. Records note that Fighter Command decided the site would make a training base and formed a pool there in August 1939, giving pilots intermediate training on a mix of aircraft types before posting them to group squadrons. This is a valuable reminder that the RAF’s training pipeline was not only built around famous training schools; it also relied on a patchwork of pools, satellites, and support fields that could absorb trainees and spread risk. The station therefore combined two complementary functions: a place where aircraft were stored and readied, and a place where pilots could be brought up to speed on operational handling before joining combat units.
The Cotswold location also shaped daily life. Weather, elevation, and terrain can make a grass or lightly-surfaced airfield challenging, and maintenance or training flying in marginal conditions always carried risk. Yet Aston Down’s position away from major industrial targets also had advantages for storage and dispersal. In effect, it was part of the RAF’s resilience strategy: keeping aircraft and capacity spread out so that a single raid or accident could not cripple the system.
For anyone studying the wartime airfield network, Aston Down is a useful example of the ‘backstage’ side of air power. Not every station launched raids, but many ensured that aircraft existed in the numbers and condition required, and that pilots were adequately prepared to use them. That contribution was less visible than combat, but it was absolutely central to sustaining the RAF through six years of war.
- Wartime core role: aircraft storage and preparation (No. 20 Maintenance Unit)
- Additional role: Fighter Command training pool and intermediate pilot training
- Key theme: logistics and readiness rather than front-line sorties