RAF Welford
Royal Air Force station near Welford, Berkshire, United Kingdom
Royal Air Force Welford or more simply RAF Welford is an active Royal Air Force station in Berkshire, England. The station lies approximately 6 miles (10 km) northwest of Newbury, and about 50 miles (80 km) west of London.
Opened in 1943, it was used during the Second World War by both the Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Forces. During the war it was used primarily as a transport airfield. After the war it was closed in 1946 and placed in reserve status. As a result of the Cold War, the station was reopened in 1955 as a munitions depot by the United States Air Force.
Today it is one of the largest ammunition compounds for the United States Air Force in Western Europe for heavy munitions.
Location
RAF Welford is in West Berkshire and has a dedicated but rarely used access road from the eastbound M4 motorway, halfway between junctions 13 (A34, Newbury) and 14 (A338, Hungerford). The access road from the M4 is signposted "Works Unit Only", and until 2015 the 1-mile marker sign had the distinctive red border of a defence establishment.
History
USAAF use
In October 1943 the airfield was allocated to Ninth Air Force IX Troop Carrier Command (TCC).
The public source identifies “RAF Welford” as royal Air Force station near Welford, Berkshire, United Kingdom. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Welford, Royal and Force.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “RAF Welford”, the useful work is to connect “royal Air Force station near Welford, Berkshire, United Kingdom” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 28, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7275663. Authority coordinates are 51.470, -1.400. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1943, 1946, 1955 and 2015.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “RAF Welford”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow RAF Welford primary sources, RAF Welford archive and Welford research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “RAF Welford”?
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- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “RAF Welford” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.