Full WW2 control tower details and photos for this wartime airfield are coming soon. Please check back later as this is work progress. If you would like to contribute information or photos please get in touch.
Wartime role
RAF Thruxton was a wartime airfield at near Andover, Hampshire. During the Second World War it served as a combat airfield used by the RAF and then the USAAF Ninth Air Force, specialising in tactical fighter operations ahead of and after D-Day. opened 1942; transferred to USAAF in January 1944; hosted the 366th Fighter Group until it moved to France in June 1944.
Like most British wartime stations, RAF Thruxton functioned as a small, self-contained town. Beyond the runways were technical areas for maintenance and armament, dispersed hardstandings to reduce losses during raids, and domestic sites where airmen, WAAFs or naval personnel lived, trained, and waited for the next tasking. On operational nights or intensive training days the routine revolved around briefings, meteorology, aircraft servicing, and a tight rhythm of take-off and recovery windows.
Squadrons, units and types
Aircraft commonly associated with wartime flying here: Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, Armstrong Whitworth Whitley (Bruneval raid transport), Gliders used for D-Day training.
Records for RAF Thruxton show a mix of operational and support activity. Some units were long-term residents with a stable identity, while others arrived as detachments – often for conversion training, gunnery work-ups, dispersal, or to cover a specific operational requirement. That pattern is typical of the RAF’s wartime system: stations were constantly re-tasked as the air war shifted from defence to offence, from the Battle of the Atlantic to the bomber offensive, and later to preparations for the invasion of Northwest Europe.
- USAAF 366th Fighter Group with P-47 Thunderbolts
- Operational squadrons: 389th (A6), 390th (B2), 391st (A8) Fighter Squadrons
- RAF units listed on station records at various times include Nos. 12, 13, 16, 63, 142, 168, 170, 225, 226, 268, 297, 298 Squadrons and others in support/training roles
What happened here
Paratroops for Operation Biting (the Bruneval radar raid) departed from Thruxton in Whitley aircraft in February 1942.
In 1944 the P-47s of the 366th Fighter Group flew fighter sweeps, bomber escort and ground-attack missions, then advanced to France soon after D-Day.
Research tip: if you’re tracing people connected to the airfield, look for unit Operational Record Books (ORBs), station diaries, and local newspaper reports. Squadron codes, aircraft serials and incident cards can often tie a single photograph to a precise date, aircraft and crew – turning a generic image into a documented historical moment.
After the war
Today’s race circuit sits on the wartime footprint; the airfield’s wartime runways and dispersals shaped the later circuit’s layout.
Landscape and flying conditions: RAF Thruxton’s geography influenced operations. Prevailing winds dictated runway selection, while local terrain and weather shaped training and safety. In winter, short daylight and low cloud increased the workload; in summer, longer hours enabled intensive training programmes and high sortie rates. These practical factors are often reflected in accident reports and ORBs, which mention crosswinds, icing, fog, and diversion landings.