Colerne Airfield
British Army facility in Wiltshire, England
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Colerne Airfield (ICAO: EGUO), now known as Azimghur Barracks, is a British Army facility just north-west of the village of Colerne, Wiltshire, England. It is set to close in 2029.
Colerne Airfield | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Military | ||||||||||||||
| Owner | Ministry of Defence | ||||||||||||||
| Operator | British Army | ||||||||||||||
| Location | Colerne, Wiltshire | ||||||||||||||
| Occupants | 21 Signal Regiment | ||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 593 ft / 181 m | ||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 51°26′21″N 002°17′11″W | ||||||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||||||
  EGUO Location in Wiltshire | |||||||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| "Airport information for EGUO". World Aero Data. Archived from the original on 5 March 2019. Data current as of October 2006. | |||||||||||||||
History
RAF Colerne was opened on this site in 1940, and was in operation until 1976.[1] From 1940 to 1955, RAF Fighter Command units were based here. During the Battle of Britain, the airfield served as a satellite field to RAF Middle Wallop, and squadrons rotated back and forth from there on a daily basis.[2]
In the 1970s and 1980s, Azimghur Barracks was used as a training depot by the Royal Corps of Transport's and The Royal Army Ordnance Junior Leaders Regiment.
Present day
The site is a ground station for the Skynet 5 military satellite system that provides battlefield support (e.g. real-time imagery from remote-piloted drones[3] in various theatres of war). It is in close proximity to the underground Corsham Computer Centre.
The Azimghur Barracks part of the site is home to 21 Signal Regiment.[4]
Since November 1992,[5] the airfield is used by Air Cadets[6] and 3 Air Experience Flight,[7] and was the headquarters of Bristol University Air Squadron, a Volunteer Reserve unit which recruits from several universities in south-west England, before their move to MoD Boscome down in 2022 [8]
Future
In November 2016, the Ministry of Defence announced that the airfield would close in 2018 (later extended to 2029[9]), and Azimghur Barracks in 2031[7] (later brought forward to 2030[10]).