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RAF Weston-super-Mare was a wartime training and technical hub built around a pre-war municipal airport on the Somerset coast. Established as a civilian airfield in the 1930s, the site was drawn rapidly into the RAF’s expanding training system as the threat of war approached. Even before the formal wartime takeover, nearby RAF Locking (only about a mile away) had become a major centre for technical instruction, and Weston’s airfield provided flying capacity that complemented that training environment.
In 1939, the airport hosted No. 39 Elementary and Reserve Flying Training School (ERFTS), using aircraft such as the Miles Magister and variants of the Hawker Hart family (including Audax and Hind types). Early in the war, the site also supported navigation instruction: a Civil Air Navigation School operated there before evolving under RAF control, reflecting the urgent need to train navigators and observers for the expanding air force. On 1 May 1940 the RAF formally took over the airfield, laying a substantial main runway and improving the site to handle heavier training loads and a broader range of aircraft movements.
Weston-super-Mare’s wartime character combined flying training with technical and engineering services. The station became home to units that supported anti-aircraft gunnery practice and cooperation training. No. 286 Squadron is associated with Weston, operating a mix of aircraft – including Hawker Hurricanes, Boulton Paul Defiants and Airspeed Oxfords – used to provide realistic targets and exercises for air defence units. The Bristol Channel’s open water and coastal setting made the area suitable for specialist trials work too, with torpedo development activity linked to the locality, using the surrounding waters for testing and evaluation.
Another distinctive element was aircraft repair, maintenance and production. During and after the war, engineering facilities at Weston supported the servicing and rebuilding of multiple military aircraft types. This practical ‘keep them flying’ role often sits behind the better-known combat narratives, yet it was essential: training aircraft had to be maintained to fly safely in large numbers, and wartime attrition meant constant demand for repair and refurbishment. Weston’s post-war manufacturing story – including the production of Bristol Freighters and later helicopter work – grew out of the wartime concentration of engineering skills and facilities on the site.
For visitors exploring the airfield’s Second World War story, Weston-super-Mare stands out as a place where pilots were trained, navigators taught the craft of finding targets in hostile skies, and technical expertise kept aircraft serviceable. It also illustrates how local geography influenced wartime roles: the coast supported gunnery and weapons work, while proximity to RAF Locking reinforced a strong technical-training identity. In short, Weston-super-Mare was part airfield, part classroom, and part workshop – an integrated support station that helped sustain Britain’s air effort through the demanding years of total war.
A visit to the wider Weston/Locking area also helps explain the RAF’s wartime training ‘ecosystem’: pilots could fly from Weston while technical trades were taught nearby, linking aircrew, engineers and ground staff in one concentrated hub. The result was a steady flow of trained personnel and serviceable aircraft feeding the front line.