RAF Babdown Farm

Post-WWII military drawdown. The airfield was built as a temporary wartime training facility, and with the end of World War II, the massive requirement for aircrew training ceased. It was deemed surplus to requirements by the Air Ministry.

The site is no longer an active military or commercial airport. The majority of the former airfield has been converted into the Babdown Airfield Industrial Estate, a thriving commercial park hosting numerous businesses. Many of the original wartime buildings, including hangars and technical blocks, have been repurposed for industrial and storage use. The outlines of the former runways and perimeter tracks are still visible, with some sections now serving as access roads for the industrial estate. A small, private grass airstrip still operates on a portion of the original site, which is the likely reference for the ICAO code GB-0104, but it is for light private aircraft only and is not a public airport.

RAF Babdown Farm was a significant World War II training airfield. It opened in 1940, initially serving as a Relief Landing Ground (RLG) for RAF Hullavington and later for RAF Kemble. Its primary purpose was to provide additional space for flight training, taking pressure off the main airfields.

Key operations and units included:
- **No. 9 Service Flying Training School (SFTS):** Used the airfield for training pilots on aircraft like the Airspeed Oxford.
- **No. 2 Service Flying Training School (SFTS):** Also utilized the site for overflow training.
- **No. 3 Glider Training School (GTS):** Perhaps its most notable role was training glider pilots from 1942. Pilots trained here on General Aircraft Hotspur gliders, towed by Hawker Hector biplanes. These glider pilots were essential for airborne operations such as the landings in Normandy (D-Day) and Operation Market Garden.

The airfield had three grass runways and was equipped with temporary Bessonneau and Blister hangars, typical of wartime training bases.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening RAF Babdown Farm as a public, commercial, or military airport. The extensive development of the site as an industrial estate, with dozens of established businesses, makes any large-scale aviation redevelopment economically unfeasible and logistically impractical. The small private airstrip is likely to continue its limited operations, but a full reopening is highly improbable.