RAF Exeter - A wartime history

08/06/2026

History Note – June 1943:

No. 131 Squadron arrived at RAF Exeter equipped with the Supermarine Spitfires IX.
The Squadron was previously based at RAF Castletown and it would be a relatively short stay departing again in August for RAF Redhill. The Squadron was disbanded on the 10 June 1945.

The Squadron code was ‘NX’

All images are credited to the original copyright owners.

07/06/2026

History Note - 7 June 1944:

Following the mass invasion in Normandy on 6 June, D-Day, the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) role at Station 463, Exeter, would now change to a full supporting role. Around 13,100 paratroopers of the U.S. 82nd Airborne and 101st Airborne Divisions made night parachute drops early on D-Day, followed by 3,937 glider troops flown in by day. The unit lost three C-47s dropping the paratroopers over Carentan in the early morning of 6 June.

On the 7 June they continued flying para-packs, fuel and ammunition to the landing area of Normandy, losing two more aircraft, for which they received the Distinguished Unit Commendation. They lost a third aircraft that day, when it was hit by a stray bomb from a higher flying P47 Thunderbolt.

Ferry flights by C47 Skytrain aircraft took place over the coming weeks returning injured personnel back to Exeter where they were treated either at the on-base medical Centre or Exeter hospitals depending on the extent of injuries. Supplies were also flown across once a suitable landing ground had been safely secured in Normandy. The base went from being very busy with many military personnel based around the airfield to a steady trickle of these air ambulance/support flights.
The airfield continued to be used by the USAAF Ninth Air Force for the air evacuation of wounded and a station complement squadron remained until November.

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An overview of the 440th Troop Carrier Group’s Exeter period, highlighting training, transport missions, and its vital role in preparing for major airborne operations.

06/06/2026

Lest We Forget flag up this weekend 🙏

06/06/2026

I was listening to one of the wonderful veterans explaining why they return to Normandy every year if they can. A line he said struck a chord with me and that was,

‘We have no right to go home and forget them’ 🙏

06/06/2026

On This Day in History - 82 Years Ago – 5/6 June 1944 - D-DAY:

In preparation for the Liberation of Normandy in June 1944 the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) took over RAF Exeter. The RAF Squadrons were redeployed to other stations and Exeter airfield became known as ‘Station 463’ of the USAAF.

The Airfield was now in the hands of the US 9th Air Force. The 440th Troop Carrier Group was first established on 25 May 1943. The unit was activated on 1 July 1943 and moved to England in March 1944. After the initial station at Bottesford, Northamptonshire, the 440th moved into Exeter, Devon, on 18 April 1944, with forty plus C-47/C-53 Skytrain aircraft (aka Dakota). Most of the hard standings were taken up with this mass arrival so some aircraft were parked on grass areas.

Four units in total made up of the 95th, 96th, 97th and 98th Squadrons training with the 82nd Airborne Division Paratroopers. From April 1944 until 4 June, the Troop carried out various training sorties providing some pretty impressive sights and sounds of transport formations and parachute drops. Pilots practiced day and night getting airborne in their C47 Dakotas flying in sets of three in a Vic formation.

On 5 June 1944, 3rd Battalion 506th Parachute infantry Regiment (PIR) 101st Airborne Division, and 2 Platoons of the 326th Airborne Engineers flew from Exeter. The lead C47 Skytrain from Exeter had the famous ‘Filthy Thirteen’ with their mohican haircuts and war paint.

In the early hours of 6 June, Exeter units were way down the line in the actual mass formation making them more vulnerable to attack from the enemy, who would have had time to prepare following the initial surprise. The Squadrons from nearby Upottery were much earlier in the mass formation.

Three C47 aircraft were lost over France on the 6 June 1944, coded 42-100733, 42-100905 and 42-100914. The Group dropped the 101st Airborne Division near a place called Carentan. Operational sorties continued the next day with a continuous drop of supplies gaining the Group a Distinguished Unit Commendation Award. Even over the following weeks after D-Day the Group continued to resupply units in France as the invasion continued.

Although the 95th, 96th and 97th Squadrons had already departed Exeter following D-Day, the 98th TCS remained at Exeter until 7 August when it began operating from RAF Ramsbury. On 11 September the headquarters of the 440th TCG was established at the group's new base at Reims, France (ALG A-62D), and the last of the air echelon left Exeter on the 13 September 1944.

The 440th was disbanded deactivated on 18 October 1945.

On this day in History – 6 June 1944 – D-Day:

Order of Flight Operations:

The Pathfinders x 20 aircraft
438 TCG RAF Greenham Common Berkshire
436 TCG RAF Membury Berkshire
439 TCG RAF Upottery Devonshire
435 TCG RAF Welford Park Bershire
441 TCG RAF Merryfield Somerset
440 TCG RAF Exeter Devonshire x 45 aircraft
316 TCG RAF Cottesmore Rutland
315 TCG RAF Spanhoe Northamptonshire
314 TCG RAF Saltby Leicestershire
313 TCG RAF Folkingham Lincolnshire
61 TCG RAF Barkeston Heath Lincolnshire
442 TCG RAF Fulbeck Lincolnshire

TCG = Troop Carrier Group:

Extract from RAF Exeter Operational Record Book for this day:

45 Dakotas dropped Paratroops in Normandy, returning to base about 03:00 hrs. All ambulances stood by on the line, but only one casualty received – wound of scalp – not serious: Transferred to the 67th U.S.G.H, Taunton. Medical arrangements for this operation, though not taxed, appeared satisfactory. Aircraft carrying wounded detach themselves from main formation at the same time firing red verey. On landing they taxi to perimeter by control tower where they are met by ambulances, spotlight on control tower is used to assist unloading. One difficulty was met in the form of spectators: arrangements have been made for all spectators to be kept without the perimeter track. Rest of day uneventful. 63 Dakotas took off at 20:00 hrs. for another base.

Sourced from RAF Exeter ORB The National Archives, Kew, London.

440th Tactical Command Group out of Station 463 (Exeter)

Sqn Code Aircraft

95 9X C47 -Skytrain
96 6Z C47 -Skytrain
97 W6 C47 -Skytrain
98 8Y C47 -Skytrain

05/06/2026

Eve of D‑Day — Exeter Holds Its Breath

5 June 1944

Exeter woke to a day that felt… different. Not louder, not busier — but emptier. For months the city had lived with the constant presence of American voices, vehicles, and uniforms. Camps full. Roads busy. The pubs livelier than they’d been in years. A sense of anticipation humming beneath everything.

But today, that hum had vanished.

The US personnel — thousands of them — were suddenly nowhere to be seen.
Confined to camp.
Sealed off.
Gone from the streets, the shops, the pavements they’d filled only yesterday.

The absence was louder than their presence had ever been.

And the people of Exeter, who had learned to read the war in its silences as much as its sounds, felt something shifting. Something imminent. Something vast.

As dusk fell, the city settled into an uneasy quiet.
The blackout deepened.
The air felt heavy, expectant.

Then — in the small hours — it began.

**The rumble.
Low at first.
Then growing.
Then multiplying.**

Forty‑five C‑47 Dakotas, engines beating the night air into a steady, rolling thunder, lifting from airfields across the region and forming up over Devon. A procession of wings and courage, carrying men who knew exactly what awaited them on the far side of the Channel.

Exeter would have heard them long before it saw them — that deep, rhythmic pulse of piston engines echoing off the valley, rolling over the rooftops, vibrating through the very walls of the sleeping city.

People stirred.
Curtains twitched.
Some stepped quietly into their gardens, looking up into the blackness, seeing nothing but hearing everything.

And then — just as suddenly — the sound began to fade.

The engines thinned.
The vibration softened.
The sky emptied.

And Exeter was left in an eerie, profound silence.
A silence that wasn’t peace.
A silence that wasn’t safety.
A silence that meant the greatest operation in history was now underway.

The city stood there in the dark, holding its breath, knowing that by the time the sun rose, the world would be different — and that many of the young men who had passed overhead would never return.

Sleepy old Exeter, so often overlooked, had just witnessed the opening heartbeat of D‑Day.

Image is credited to the original copyright owner.

04/06/2026

This weeks entries of the RAF Exeter Operations Record Book (R.A.F. Form 540)
1 June 1944 - 5 June 1944.

Sourced from the National Archives, Kew, London.

04/06/2026

Total Respect and thank you for your service. 🙏

Lieutenant Commander Chris Gayson, 42, Somerset
Lieutenant Lily-Mae Fisher, 31, Surrey
Petty Officer Owen Green, 24, Hampshire

All three dedicated their lives to serving the Royal Navy and their country. Our thoughts remain with their families, friends and colleagues at this time.

We can confirm the names of the three members of the Royal Navy who tragically lost their lives during a helicopter training exercise on Wednesday 3 June.

They are:
Lieutenant Commander Chris Gayson, 42, Somerset
Lieutenant Lily-Mae Fisher, 31, Surrey
Petty Officer Owen Green, 24, Hampshire

All three dedicated their lives to serving the Royal Navy and their country. Our thoughts remain with their families, friends and colleagues at this time.

https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news/2026/june/04/20260604-royal-navy-mourns-the-loss-of-three-service-personnel-following-a-training-exercise

03/06/2026

This weeks entries of the RAF Exeter Operations Record Book (R.A.F. Form 540)
1 June 1943 - 7 June 1943.

Sourced from the National Archives, Kew, London.

03/06/2026

On This Day in History – 3 June 1940:

In June 1940, a research unit (part of the Central Gunnery School) was formed at the airfield from personnel of the Armament Testing Squadron which was based at Boscombe Down. The move to Exeter was deemed a safer option to Boscombe Down in terms of less chance of airfield attacks. That of course was not the case however moving to Exeter also had the advantage of working with Exeter University's new physics and chemistry laboratories known as the Washington-Singer building.

The Unit would become known as the Gunnery Research Unit (GRU) and was responsible for testing and trialling machine guns, turrets, and gunsights for both fighter and bomber aircraft.

During 1941, the Unit would be notable for a certain Sir Reginald Herbert Embleton Emson, who not only served with the unit, but helped to develop the gyro gunsight, for which he was awarded the AFC. As an Air Marshal, Sir Reginald H.E. Emson retired from the RAF in 1969, as its last Inspector-General.

Images are credited to original copyright owners.