RAF Bratton

The primary reason for closure was its redundancy following the end of World War II. As a Relief Landing Ground, its purpose was to support the massive pilot training programs. With the post-war demobilization and reduction of the Royal Air Force, auxiliary airfields like Bratton were decommissioned as they were surplus to requirements.

The site of the former RAF Bratton has been completely redeveloped. It is now home to the Bratton Solar Farm, a large-scale photovoltaic power station. The original grass runways and most of the military-era buildings have been removed to accommodate the solar panels and associated infrastructure. There are virtually no visible remnants of its past as an airfield.

RAF Bratton was a World War II-era airfield that served as a Relief Landing Ground (RLG) for the main training bases at RAF Shawbury and RAF Tern Hill. Its primary role was to provide a satellite field for elementary and advanced flight training, relieving congestion at the parent airfields. Trainee pilots would practice circuits, landings, and take-offs here, primarily using trainer aircraft such as the de Havilland Tiger Moth and the Airspeed Oxford. It was a crucial but unglamorous part of the vast UK-based training infrastructure that produced thousands of pilots for the war effort. It was never an operational combat station with its own squadrons.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening the site as an airport. The land has been repurposed for renewable energy generation with the construction of the Bratton Solar Farm, making any future conversion back to aviation use extremely unlikely and economically unfeasible.