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RAF Carew Cheriton, in Pembrokeshire, Wales, served a coastline that mattered enormously in the Second World War. The western approaches were the gateway for Atlantic convoys and a hunting ground for U-boats, and stations across south-west Wales became key components in Britain’s maritime air effort. Carew Cheriton’s role evolved across the war, but it consistently reflected Coastal Command priorities: patrol, co-operation training, and the development of air tactics and equipment for operations at sea.
In the early war period, Carew Cheriton hosted a blend of RAF and Allied activity. Anti-aircraft co-operation and target-towing formed an important strand, supporting nearby ranges such as Manorbier. Units involved in this work provided aircraft to tow targets or co-operate with gunners so that ground-based defences could practise tracking and firing procedures. Maritime patrol and communications support also featured, with aircraft types such as the Avro Anson appearing in the station’s history, reflecting the Anson’s widespread use in coastal duties and training roles.
Carew Cheriton was also part of a wider Allied air story. After the fall of the Netherlands, Dutch-manned squadrons operated under RAF command and trained and equipped in the UK; in the Pembrokeshire area, Dutch units flew types such as the Lockheed Hudson, which became a valuable aircraft for maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine tasks. Fleet Air Arm activity also intersected with the station’s wartime life, with naval squadrons operating aircraft such as the Fairey Swordfish in the region during 1940, illustrating the blurred boundaries between RAF and naval aviation in coastal operations.
The station did not escape attack. Luftwaffe raids struck targets in south-west Wales, and Carew Cheriton experienced bombing that damaged infrastructure and caused casualties. These raids had immediate operational effects – repairing runways, replacing damaged buildings, restoring communications – and they also shaped station routine, from air raid precautions to dispersal measures designed to reduce vulnerability.
Carew Cheriton’s importance also lay in experimentation and development. Coastal Command’s war was highly technical and fast-moving: radar, improved navigation aids, better communications, and refined anti-submarine tactics all required testing, evaluation and training. Stations with access to coastal flying areas and ranges provided ideal conditions for development work, and Carew Cheriton’s location supported that broader innovation cycle.
As the war progressed, roles shifted and training needs expanded. Technical and communications instruction became increasingly important as aircraft carried more sophisticated radio and radar equipment and required better-trained operators and ground staff. In this way, Carew Cheriton’s story mirrors the RAF’s wider wartime evolution: early-war improvisation, sustained coastal operations, resilience under attack, and a growing emphasis on specialised training and technical competence.
By 1945, RAF Carew Cheriton had contributed to the war through coastal support, gunnery and co-operation work, Allied integration, development activity, and later training functions. The airfield remains an important local marker of Pembrokeshire’s central role in protecting the Atlantic lifeline and supporting Britain’s maritime air war.