RAF Culm Head

The airfield at RAF Culm Head was constructed in 1940-41.  It was initially called RAF Church Stanton.  It was the first of 3 airfields to be built on the plateau at the top of the Blackdown Hills (the others were RAF Upottery/Smeatharpe and RAF Dunkeswell).  It was brought into service in June 1941 to provide shelter from bombing raids for aircraft, which were normally based at RAF Exeter but it was not officially opened until 1st August 1941.  

The first fighter squadrons to be based at RAF Church Stanton were with the Polish 2nd Fighter Wing (nos 302, 306 and 312).  They flew Mk II Hurricanes and later Spitfires Mk V.  They helped to defend the cities of Exeter and Bristol.  A Research Flight also conducted barrage balloon cable cutting experiments from Culm Head.

In June 1942 the Poles were replaced by Czechoslovakian Squadrons (nos 312 and 313), who flew Spitfires from here until June 1943.  In December 1943 the name of the airfield was changed from RAF Church Stanton to RAF Culm Head, to avoid confusion with other airfields with Church as a prefix e.g. Fenton and Broughton. 

The next occupants were the Naval Fighter Wing (Squadrons no 894 and 897) with Seafire IIIs.  They pursued enemy shipping in the English Channel and provided fighter cover for RAF Typhoon squadrons.

In March 1944 No 156 Squadron were based at Culm Head for a month with Mark IX Spitfires.  They were replaced by 610, 286  and 587 Squadrons with Mark XIV Spitfires.

After D-Day (6th June 1944), in July 1944 126, 131 and 616 Squadrons arrived to act as bomber escorts and to conduct attacks ahead of the arrival of ground troops in parts of France.  616 Squadron were equipped and trained with two Bristol Gloster Meteor fighters.  These were the allies first operational jet-propelled aircraft.

RAF Culm Head was placed under care and maintenance by November 1944.  It became active again in January 1945 when it was used by Flying Training Command when it was used as a satellite to RAF Exeter and Headquarters for No 3 Glider Training School.  They used it until July 1945 when it returned to care and maintenance status.  It was closed down in August 1946.

Map showing the layout of RAF Culm Head

Blister Hangar

This was used for the storage and maintenance of small aircraft

Pillbox with loopholes for rifles and machine guns

Key-hole shaped Gun Pit
This is the best preserved of 8 brick-lined gun pits located around the edges of the airfield. 

Aircraft Fighter Pens

These were designed to house two twin-engined aircraft

Aircraft Fighter Pens

Flight Offices

Tank Training on North Hill during the Second World War

In 1942 North Hill was taken into military control and it became the Minehead Armoured Vehicle Fighting Range.  It was one of five new tank training grounds in Britain.  Civilian access to North Hill was banned and the farms at East and West Myne were evacuated. A number of buildings were constructed, some with underground storage facilities, which were probably used either as air raid shelters or for the storage of tank ammunition. 

A concrete tank marshalling area was constructed at Moor Wood.  Four Nissen huts were probably also erected in this area, to provide accommodation for soldiers. 21 slit trenches (2 metres long by 1 metre wide) were constructed in this area, although their original purpose is unclear: they may have been part of the firing range or part of the defences of the nearby radar station.

Concrete roads were constructed that led west from Moor Wood to the tank firing ranges where there were three large triangles, which the tanks drove round and some sections of light railway, which were used to support moving targets.

Canadians troops, who had helped construct the site were the first to use it. 100 units were trained at North Hill in 1943, including many American troops preparing for D-Day.  Compared to other tank training grounds, such as Castlemartin in Pembrokeshire and Kirkcudbright in Dumfries and Galloway, the site at North Hill was small and offered only 3 firing areas with limited firing arcs.  However in the second half of 1944 it was used to train 40 American armoured units, which was more than at any other site.

The site closed on 9th November 1944 and the land was returned to civilian use, although the farmhouses at East and West Myne were not reoccupied. By the 1950s the buildings had all been removed.  However the concrete bases of the Nissen huts and the tank marshalling area at Moor Wood can still be seen, as can sections of concrete road further west.

The RADAR (RAdio Detecting And Ranging) station at North Hill was completed by February 1942,  It housed equipment, which was used to detect ships and aircraft flying at less than 500 feet.  It was known as a Chain Home Low (CHL) Station.  Inside the main concrete building there were three rooms and a hole in the roof connected the equipment inside to an external rotating antenna on a 10 foot high gantry.  There was a cluster of other associated buildings nearby: operations, power, administration and standby blocks.  The radar station was staffed 24 hours a day, often by women. By 1944 there were 244 radar stations across the country.  The radar station at Minehead closed in 1946 and most of the buildings, apart from the radar station itself had been demolished by 1950.

Tank marshalling area at Moor Wood

Concrete base of a Nissen hut at Moor Wood

Concrete base of a Nissen hut at Moor Wood

Radar Station near Moor Wood

Entrance to the Radar Station

Tank Washing Platform