| Ross Marven's Modelling Pages |
RAF St.Eval
History
Opened: 2/10/39 - Closed: 8/5/59.
ROYAL AIR FORCE COASTAL COMMAND, 1939-1945. © IWM (HU 92963)
Vertical aerial view of RAF St Eval, Cornwall 18th July 1942. Two badly-damaged hangars and numerous bomb craters around the technical site and adjoining fields attest to the many serious raids mounted by the Luftwaffe on this important Coastal Command airfield in 1941. Note the attempt to camouflage the airfield and runways as hedge and field patterns.
Units
Information derived from RAF Squadrons (Jefford), RAF Flying Training & Support Units (Sturtivant et al), Military Airfields of Britain - South Western England (Delve) and other books.N.B. (det) means only a part of the unit was detached to here from its main base, and possibly only for part of the period noted.
| Unit | Arrival | Departure | Aircraft | Notes |
| 217 Sqdn. | 2/10/39 | 29/10/41 | Anson, Beaufort | re-equpped Sept 40 |
| 6 CPF | 15/1/40 | 27/5/40 | Tiger Moth | Coastal Protection Flight |
| C Flt. 2 AACU | 27/4/40 | 16/8/40 | Shark, Battle | |
| 234 Sqdn. | 18/6/40 | 14/8/40 | Spitfire I | |
| 48 Sqdn. det. | Jun 40 | Jun 40 | Beaufort | |
| PRU det. | 1/7/40 | 18/10/42 | PR Spifires | became 543 Sqdn |
| 236 Sqdn. det | Jul 40 | 8/8/40 | Blenheim IVF | |
| 238 Sqdn. | 14/8/40 | 10/9/40 | Hurricane | |
| 247 Sqdn. det | 8/40 | 5/41 | Gladiator, Hurricane | based at Roborough |
| 234 Sqdn. | 11/9/40 | 24/2/41 | Spitfire I | |
| FAA | 7/10/40 | 3/11/40 | Albacore | 829 Sqdn. |
| 254 Sqdn. det. | 1940 | 1940 | Blenheim | late 1940 |
| FAA | Nov 40 | Dec 40 | Swordfish | 812 Sqdn. det. |
| 404 Flt. | 24/12/40 | 8/3/41 | Blenheim IV | became 1404 Flt |
| 263 Sqdn. det | 29/12/40 | 24/2/41 | Whirlwind | based at Exeter |
| FAA | 31/1/41 | 6/2/41 | Skua | 801 Sqdn. |
| 53 Sqdn. det | 22/2/41 | 20/3/41 | Blenheim IV | |
| 263 Sqdn. | 24/2/41 | 18/3/41 | Whirlwind | |
| 1404 Flt | 8/3/41 | 11/8/43 | Blenheim IV, Hudson III/IV, Albemarle, Hampden, Ventura II | |
| 53 Sqdn. | 20/3/41 | 3/7/41 | Blenheim IV | |
| 206 Sqdn. | 30/5/41 | 12/8/41 | Hudson | |
| 233 Sqdn. | 8/8/41 | 2/1/42 | Hudson | |
| 502 Sqdn (det) | 12/10/1941 | 14/10/41 | Whitley | 6 a/c for Atlantic sweep |
| 53 Sqdn. | 19/10/41 | 17/12/41 | Hudson | |
| 22 Sqdn. | 28/10/41 | 1/2/42 | Beaufort | |
| 224 Sqdn. | 9/12/41 | 19/2/42 | Hudson | |
| 86 Sqdn. | 10/1/42 | 5/3/42 | Beaufort | |
| 502 Sqdn | 22/2/42 | 2/3/43 | Whitley, Halifax | |
| 58 Sqdn. | 8/4/42 | 30/8/42 | Whitley | |
| 415 Sqdn. | 11/4/42 | 16/5/42 | Hampden TB1 | |
| 489 Sqdn | 9/5/42 | 13/6/42 | Hampden TB1 | |
| 53 Sqdn. | 16/5/42 | 3/7/42 | Hudson | |
| 61 Sqdn (det) | 16/7/42 | 23/8/42 | Lancaster I | 8 aircraft. R5724 QR.F sank U-751 on 17/7/42 |
| 10 OTU det | 4/8/42 | 23/7/43 | Whitley | |
| 50 Sqdn (det) | 20/8/42 | 23/8/42 | Lancaster I | 7 aircraft |
| 279 Sqdn (det) | 23/8/42 | 5/2/43 | Hudson | |
| 500 Sqdn. | 30/8/42 | 5/11/42 | Hudson | |
| 407 Sqdn | 1/10/42 | 7/11/42 | Hudson | |
| 161 Sqdn (det) | 2/10/42 | 12/2/43 ? | Havoc, Albemarle | Comms with French agents/boats |
| 415 Sqdn. (det) | 18/10/42 | 31/10/42 | Hampden TB1 | 6 a/c |
| 543 Sqdn | 19/10/42 | 15/10/43 | PR Spitfires | |
| FAA | 11/3/43 | 15/4/43 | Swordfish | 833 Sqdn. |
| 502 Sqdn. | 25/3/43 | 30/6/43 | Halifax | |
| 58 Sqdn. | 31/3/43 | 29/6/43 | Halifax | |
| 415 Sqdn. | 11/4/43 | 24/8/43 | Hampden TB1 | |
| 224 Sqdn. | 25/4/43 | 11/9/44 | Liberator | |
| 517 Sqdn. | 11/8/43 | 25/11/43 | Hudson III, Hampden | |
| 143 Sqdn. | 27/8/43 | 16/9/43 | Beaufighter | |
| 541 Sqdn | 15/10/43 | 18/7/44 | PR Spitfires | |
| 612 Sqdn. | 1/11/43 | 3/12/43 | Wellington | |
| GCA Flt.(det) | Nov 43 | 26/6/44 | Oxford | |
| 407 Sqdn | 3/11/43 | 2/12/43 | Wellington | |
| 53 Sqdn. | 3/1/44 | 7/9/44 | Liberator | |
| 547 Sqdn. | 10/1/44 | 29/9/44 | Liberator | |
| 206 Sqdn. | 12/4/44 | 11/7/44 | Liberator | |
| FAA | 7/8/44 | 26/8/44 | Avenger | 849 Sqdn. |
| 282 Sqdn. | 19/9/44 | 9/7/45 | Warwick, Sea Otter | |
| 179 Sqdn. | 1/11/44 | 30/9/46 | Warwick, Lancaster | |
| Station Flt. | 1945 | 1956 | various | |
| 304 Sqdn. | 3/3/45 | 9/7/45 | Wellington | |
| 224 Sqdn. | 20/7/45 | 10/11/47 | Liberator, Lancaster | |
| 210 Sqdn. | 1/6/46 | 10/9/52 | Lancaster | |
| 228 Sqdn. | 1/6/46 | 30/9/46 | Liberator | |
| 203 Sqdn. | 16/1/47 | 15/8/52 | Lancaster | |
| 19 Grp Comms Flt | 29/7/48 | 27/8/51 | Anson | |
| 220 Sqdn. | 14/11/51 | 4/12/56 | Shackleton | |
| 217 Sqdn. | 14/1/52 | 7/4/52 | Neptune MR1 | |
| 240 Sqdn. | 27/5/52 | 5/6/52 | Shackleton | |
| 42 Sqdn. | 28/6/52 | 8/10/58 | Shackleton | |
| 206 Sqdn. | 27/9/52 | 14/1/58 | Shackleton | |
| 228 Sqdn. | 1/7/54 | 29/11/56 | Shackleton | |
| 228 Sqdn. | 14/1/58 | 6/3/59 | Shackleton |
References
- Airfield Focus 7: St.Eval - Author: Chris Ashworth, Publisher: GMS Enterprises
- The Memories Linger On - A collection of reminiscences of wartime RAF St.Eval - Author: Jean Shapland, Publisher: Jean Shapland
- A large part of Roy Conyers Nesbit's book 'Woe to the Unwary' details his time at St.Eval as a navigator on Beauforts.
- Similarly a large part of Terence O'Brien's book 'Chasing After Danger' details his time as a Blenheim IV pilot in 53 Sqdn at St.Eval.
- Also a part of Group Captain 'Dickie' Richardson's book 'Man is Not Lost' covers his time as commander of 502 Sqdn at St.Eval and other places.
- Dinghy Drop - the history of 279 Sqdn.- Author: Tom Docherty, Publisher: Pen & Sword - gives details of the detachments. 4 aircraft were detached to St.Eval on 23/8 including V9046/F & H with 3 more on 30/8 including Y & T (V8987/Y was lost on 8/9). P & R were also part of the detachment by November.
- My Life with RAF St.Eval by Roy Dunstan - self published ? Not a serviceman but a farm lad telling how the building and operation of the airfield affected his father's farm.
- Memories of a Country Boy by Sid Bone - self published ? Reminiscences of a ground crewman at St.Eval from 1940 to 1944.
- Photos From Andrew Long
Modelling Notes for individual aircraft
- Anson I of 217 Sqdn on p42 of Battle For Britain (Scale Aircraft Monograph) by Paul Lucas, publisher: Guideline
- Whitley V Z6795 JL.W of 10 OTU landed on the beach at Plomodiern, Brittany 21/9/42 after running out of fuel and was salvaged by the Germans. Photos appear to show it as all Night with Red codes and serial. See https://www.flickr.com/photos/bud_scotland/8619708263/in/photostream/
- Several Anson Is of 217 Sqdn can be seen in the film catalogue number RMY 148-25 on the IWM website. It is possible to identify MW.J K8714(?) (later windscreen), MW.N K8787(?) (earlier) and MW.P K6311(?) (later). The film also shows Blenheim IV fighters of 236 Sqdn, Hurricanes of 238 Sqdn and an unidentified Hudson.
- Mosquito XVI, PF604, used for trials of the Vickers A.2 scale model of the Miles M52 is shown on p148 of the Crowood book on the Mosquito with more notes and sketches on p41 & 42 of Modeller's Datafile 1, The De Havilland Mosquito. The chase plane for the trials was Meteor IV EE568 "equipped with five forward-facing G.S.A.P. 9-mm cameras housed in the gun positions." [ref. trials report p41] and it can be seen (partially) at 3:23 into this set of film stills with the Mosquito appearing a bit later. More detail on the Mosquito and model can be found in these stills and the report on the trials here. There is also an article in Flight here and discussion on the Britmodeller website here.
- 415 Sqdns first operational mission was from St.Eval on 27/4/42 when Hampdens GX.A/AT232 and GX.M/AT244 went on anti shipping patrols.
- A detachment of two Havocs (AW399 'Z'and BJ477 'R') of 161 Sqdn was at St.Eval from 2nd October 1942 to mid-February 1943, being joined by two Albemarle Is, P1378 on 6th October and P1390 on 10th. The Havocs carried VHF radio equipment for communicating with agents in Brittany, Breton fishing boats etc. The Albemarles seem to have been used just as escorts for clandestine boat operations - source 'Flights of the Forgotten by K.Merrick, also mentioned at the start of Chapter 3 of 'Flight Most Secret' by G.McCall. Flights of the Forgotten shows Havoc I AW399 coded Z with an intruder type nose and the additional VHF aerials painted in a light colour overall, captioned as cerulean PRU blue. One of the Albemarles is the subject of the Contrail kit.
- More when I get a chance !
| Pictorial References For Modellers | |||||||
| Type | Mark | Unit | Code | Serial | Reference | Page | Resident/Visitor |
| Anson | I | 217 Sqdn | MW.F | K6285 | Battle for Britain | 42 | R |
| Beaufighter | I | 248 Sqdn | WR.F | T4776 | Coastal Command (Ashworth) | 49 | R |
| Beaufighter | IC | 248 Sqdn | WR.F | T4776 | Airfield Focus 7 | 8 | R |
| Beaufort | I | 217 Sqdn | MW.R | L9878 | Cornish Skies | 53 | R |
| Beaufort | I | 42 Sqdn | AW.K | W6498 | Action Stations Revisited 4 | 255 | R |
| Halifax | GRII srsI (sp) | 502 Sqdn | J2 | HR686 | Osprey Combat Aircraft 14 - Halifax Squadrons of WWII | 65 | R |
| Halifax | GRII srsI (sp) | 502 Sqdn | J2 | HR686 | Coastal Command (Ashworth) | 132 | R |
| Havoc | I | 161 Sqdn | MA.Z | AW399 | Flights of The Forgotten by K.Merrick | photos | R |
| Hudson | I | 206 Sqdn | VX.M | P5143 | Action Stations Revisited 4 | 255 | R |
| Hudson | I | 206 Sqdn | VX.F | P5143 | Cornish Skies | 55 | R |
| Hudson | I | 206 Sqdn | ? | P5143 ? | Aviation in Cornwall | 59 | R |
| Hudson | I | Kings Flight | - | N7263 | Airfield Focus 7 | 5 | V |
| Lancaster | GR3 | 224 Sqdn | XB.F | PB529 | Airfield Focus 7 | 16 | R |
| Lancaster | MR.III | 203 Sqdn | CJ.G | SW329 | Model Alliance decals 72210 | R | |
| Liberator | GR.VI | 224 Sqdn | XB.S | EW309 | Action Stations Revisited 4 | 259 | R |
| Liberator | GRVI | 224 Sqdn | XB.S | EW309 | Airfield Focus 7 | 14 | R |
| Liberator | GRVIII | 224 Sqdn | XB.J | KK332 | Airfield Focus 7 | 12 | R |
| Martinet | TT1 | SF | 2A.D ? | EM439 | RAF Aircraft EA100-EZ999 | 92 | R |
| Mosquito | PR34 | 58 Sqdn | OT.A | RG300 | Coastal Command (Ashworth) | 197 | V |
| Oxford | Empire Radio Sch. | FC.UD | HN117 | Air Britain HA100-HZ999 | 103 | V | |
| Shackleton | MR.2 | 220 Sqdn | T.K | WL737 | Model Alliance decals 72210 | R | |
| Shackleton | MR.2 | 228 Sqdn | 228.X | WR960 | Action Stations Revisited 4 | 261 | R |
| Shackleton | MR1A | 206 Sqdn | B | WG510 | Airfield Focus 7 | 19 | R |
| Shackleton | MR1A | 206 Sqdn | B | WG510 | Cornish Skies | 94 | R |
| Spitfire | F | PRU | LY | X4384 | Coastal Command (Ashworth) | 156 | R |
| Spitfire | XI | 541 Sqdn | MB787 | Coastal Command (Ashworth) | 164 | R | |
| Warwick | GR.V | 179 Sqdn | OZ.V | PN811 | Action Stations Revisited 4 | 260 | R |
| Warwick | GRV | 179 Sqdn | OZ.R | PN807 | Coastal Command (Ashworth) | 142 | R |
| Wellington | GR.XIV | 304 Sqdn | QD.V | HF448 | 304 Squadron (Mushroom) | 62 | R |
| Whitley | V | 10 OTU | JL.W | Z6795 | Coastal Command (Ashworth) | 81 | R |
| Whitley | VII | 502 Sqdn | H | BD569 | Man is not Lost by 'Dickie' Richardson | photos | R |
| Whitley | VII | 502 Sqdn | YG.R | BD572 | Man is not Lost by 'Dickie' Richardson | photos | R |