Second World War The airfield was constructed to the south of the village of
Valley (Y Fali) or Y Dyffryn in the latter part of 1940 and opened for operations on 1 February 1941 as a Fighter Sector Station under
No. 9 Group RAF with the task of providing defence cover for England's industrial north-west and shipping in the
Irish Sea. Initial detachments were made by
Hawker Hurricanes of
312 (Czechoslovak) Squadron RAF and
615 (County of Surrey) Squadron AAF. A detachment of
Bristol Beaufighters of
219 (Mysore) Squadron provided night fighter cover.
No. 456 Squadron Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) formed at Valley on 30 June 1941 and became operational on 5 September flying
Boulton Paul Defiants. By November the squadron had been completely re-equipped with Beaufighter IIs, and these provided defensive night patrols over the Irish Sea until March 1943, when the unit moved to
RAF Middle Wallop. As a result of many accidents in the Irish Sea, due to the number of training aircraft active in the area,
275 Squadron formed at Valley in October 1941, equipped with
Westland Lysanders and
Supermarine Walrus amphibians and these performed
Air-sea rescue (ASR) missions until the unit moved to
RAF Warmwell in April 1944. The runways and taxiways were extended in early 1943, and on 19 June 1943 the
United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Ferry Terminal became operational. This handled American aircraft arriving from transatlantic flights and on European sorties. Eleven
Consolidated B-24 Liberators of the
United States Navy arrived from
Iceland on 17 August. During the winter of 1943/1944, the ferry route was switched to a southerly route via the
Azores and
Marrakesh and on 18 February, 62
Douglas C-47 Skytrains arrived from North Africa. One of Valley's busiest days was on 17 September 1944 when 99 USAAF
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses and Liberators were ferried in from Iceland. In the middle of 1944 there was a daily transatlantic
Douglas C-54 Skymaster service from
Stephenville bringing airmen of all ranks, who continued their journeys to
London on the
LMSR Irish Mail train from
Holyhead. Because of the large scale USAAF activities at Valley, RAF operations were scaled down, but on 1 November 1944, No. 1528 BAT Flight re-formed here operating
Airspeed Oxford twin-engined aircraft which were used in the
Beam Approach training role until moving out on 17 December 1945. RAF Valley's USAAF ferry role was reversed as soon as the
European War ended, and over 2,600 bombers passed through on their way back to the US for redeployment, each carrying 20 passengers and crew. The USAAF Movement Section closed in September 1945, and in June 1947 the airfield was put on a care and maintenance basis.
Postwar operations During 1950 many improvements were made to the hangars and buildings at Valley, and on 1 April 1951 No. 202 Advanced Flying School was reformed here within
No. 25 Group to train fighter pilots on
de Havilland Vampire and
Gloster Meteor jet aircraft. Vampire FB.5 and T.11 and Meteor T.7 marks were used until the unit was redesignated
No. 7 Flying Training School (FTS) on 1 June 1954. On 15 August 1960 the unit was renumbered No. 4 FTS RAF which is still based at the airfield. The first
Folland Gnat jet trainers were received on 7 November 1962 and many examples of the type were successfully operated for many years. These were supplemented by
Hawker Hunters for advanced training, marks F.6 and T.7 being used. The first
Hawker Siddeley Hawk T.1s arrived on 11 November 1976 RAF Valley previously hosted the Headquarters and 'C Flight' of
No. 22 Squadron, part of the RAF's
Search and Rescue Force. By October 2015, the RAF SAR Force had been relieved of their responsibility by a new
contractor-led operation, run by
Bristow Helicopters, and the nearest SAR unit is now based at
Caernarfon Airport. The RAF
Operational Conversion Unit,
203(R) Squadron, was also based at Valley to train new aircrew onto the
Westland Sea King HAR.3/3A, and prepare them for their SAR operations.
The then Duke of Cambridge, Prince William, now heir apparent to the
British Throne, was assigned to C Flight, 22 Squadron at RAF Valley, as a pilot flying the
Sea King search and rescue helicopter. He finished his last shift as a pilot on Tuesday 10 September 2013. No.
208(R) Squadron, which provided legacy Hawk T.1 advanced flying training and tactical weapons training, disbanded in June 2016. In September 2017, a project to upgrade the airfield was completed. The project involved resurfacing of the runway and link taxiways and the creation of a new section of airside perimeter road. New visual aids, aeronautical lighting and signage were installed. A hangar was refurbished to accommodate three
Jupiter HT.1 helicopters which will be used to train pilots from all three
British armed services, as part of the
UK Military Flying Training System (UKMFTS). On 20 March 2018 a
BAE Systems Hawk of the
Red Arrows aerobatic team crashed, killing Corporal Jonathan Bayliss, an engineer. The pilot, Flight Lieutenant David Stark, survived and was treated in hospital for non-life-threatening injuries. On 28 November 2019,
No. 72 Squadron was officially "stood up" at RAF Valley, flying the Beechcraft Texan T.1 aircraft in the basic flying training role. The squadron transitioned from
Short Tucano (
RAF Linton-on-Ouse) to Texan (RAF Valley) in a major investment by the UK Military Flying Training System. The squadron operates a fleet of 10 Texan T.1s, so that RAF Valley is now home to two-thirds of fast jet training, delivering both basic and advanced courses. In May 2020,
Virginia Crosbie, MP for
Ynys Môn and members of the
Senedd wrote to the
Ministry of Defence (MoD) seeking assurance that travel to and from the base was limited to critical journeys during the
COVID-19 pandemic. The MoD told the
Local Democracy Reporting Service that training remained under "constant review". Initially staff thought it was an emergency landing, but the pilot said he landed there "to go to the beach". The Indian trainers would be deployed with
No. 4 Flying Training School at RAF Valley. In January 2026, an IAF officer was deployed at the
Royal Air Force College Cranwell as an instructor for the first time. Earlier, an
Indian Navy and an
Indian Army officer remains on continuous deployment since May 2024 and May 2025 at the
Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth and
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. On 12 February, during the 19th UK-India Air Staff Talks in
New Delhi, a letter of agreement was signed for the deployment of three QFI of the Indian Air Force at RAF Valley to impart fast jet training to British pilots for two years. They will instruct on Hawk T2 or
Beechcraft Texan T.1. During the tenures, the instructors shall remain under the Indian command while working for RAF commanders on instructional duties. == Role and operations ==