RAF Membury
| RAF Membury USAAF Station AAF-466 | |||||||||||
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| Located Near Lambourn, Berkshire, England | |||||||||||
Membury airfield photographed on 8 August 1944. As Membury had been designed as a maintenance and repair depot, additional hangar space and other facilities were required. However, because the 04/22 runway could not be lengthened due to the hilly terrain on the eastern side, the secondary 17/35 was increased in length. This is what gives the runway layout an unusual shape. | |||||||||||
| Site information | |||||||||||
| Type | Military airfield | ||||||||||
| Code | ME | ||||||||||
| Owner | Air Ministry | ||||||||||
| Controlled by | Royal Air Force United States Army Air Forces | ||||||||||
| Location | |||||||||||
| Coordinates | 51°28′41″N 1°33′18″W / 51.478°N 1.555°W | ||||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||||
| Built | 1942 | ||||||||||
| Built by | Gee, Walker & Slater | ||||||||||
| In use | 1942–1946 | ||||||||||
| Battles/wars | European Theatre of World War II Air Offensive, Europe July 1942 – May 1945 | ||||||||||
| Garrison information | |||||||||||
| Garrison | Eighth Air Force Ninth Air Force RAF Transport Command | ||||||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||||||
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Royal Air Force Membury or more simply RAF Membury is a former Royal Air Force station built in the civil parish of Lambourn in Berkshire, England, approximately 4.6 miles (7.4 km) north-northwest of Hungerford. The airfield was opened on the site of a civil airfield in August 1942, and closed in October 1946.
The base was used by both the Royal Air Force (RAF) and United States Army Air Forces (USAAF). During World War II it was used by several combat units with varying missions.
The airfield continued in use, but in the late 1960s, the M4 motorway was built (opening in 1971) and it ran straight through the airfield, including through the middle of the main runway. The Membury services were built on the site, in a triangle between the former two largest runways. A smaller airfield continues to operate on the southern half of the site, and the former technical site is now the Membury Business Park industrial estate.