WINKTON
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Lat/Long 50 46 30N/01 45 45W .Grid ref:SZ 165975 .40 feet ASL.3 miles NNE of Christchurch.Ident"XT".USAAF Airfield No.414(callsign"Drainsink")

RUNWAYS:Pierced Steel Planking/Sommerfeld Track.N/S 1600x50 yds.E/W 1500x50 yds

Winkton Map
Winkton A.L.G.:"A" = Winkton village,"B" = Sopley village,"C" = RAF GCI establishment(WW2),later became "Southern Radar","D" RAF Sopley -Postwar accomodation for GCI unit ,"E" Bransgore.

Built in 1943 by RAF Airfield Construction Units,Winkton did not come into use until 4/4/44 when the USAAF 9th AF arrived in the form of the 404th Fighter Group.They remained until 6/7/44 ,at which time they moved to a base in France.Within a few months the steel plank and mesh runways were removed and the land returned to agriculture.The RAF camp to the east was not built until after WW2 and the GCI site to the north was not connected with the airfield in any way.

P-47D
The site of Winkton today.The airfield was just left of centre ,with RAF Sopley camp at upper right and the radar establishment at upper left.In 2007 a private airstrip came into use at Sopley Farm.
P-47D
USAAF P-47D
USAAF UNITS
404 Fighter Group/506/507/508 Fighter Squadrons,P-47D,(Aircraft codes 4K/Y8/7J,Callsigns "Tuba"-506th:"Neptune"-507th:"Robert"-508th) arr 4/4/44,dep 6/7/44
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Link to"AVIATION in Hampshire UK 1900 to 2000"