USAAF use In 1943, the USAAF
Ninth Air Force required several temporary advanced landing grounds along the southern
English Channel coast prior to the
Normandy invasion to provide tactical air support for the ground forces landing in France. Christchurch was provided to support this mission. Christchurch was known as
USAAF Station AAF-416 for security reasons by the USAAF during the war, and by which it was referred to instead of location. Its USAAF Station Code was "CH".
405th Fighter Group Christchurch airfield saw the arrival of the USAAF
405th Fighter Group on 4 April 1944, the group arriving from
Walterboro Army Airfield South Carolina. The 405th had the following operational squadrons: • 509th Fighter Squadron (G9) •
510th Fighter Squadron (2Z) • 511th Fighter Squadron (K4) The 405th was a group of
Ninth Air Force's
84th Fighter Wing,
IX Tactical Air Command. It flew the
Republic P-47D Thunderbolt. The 405th moved to its
Advanced Landing Ground at Picauville, France (ALG A-8) on 22 June 1944, ending the USAAF's use of Christchurch. Additional units: ==Current use==