Royal Air Force Talbenny, or more simply RAF Talbenny, is a former Royal Air Force station located 5.6 miles (9.0 km) north west of Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire and 7.9 miles (12.7 km) south west of Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, Wales.

[6] There was a requirement identified for a longer runway sometime later, however, due to the need to divert a road to achieve this, a decision was made not to pursue it.

Additional facilities included two T2 hangars, one in the south-east corner and the other in north east-corner, along with a Technical site.

Operating with Vickers Wellington IC aircraft, it remained for around a year and saw action undertaking anti-submarine duties and shipping strikes, along the Western Approaches and in the Bay of Biscay,[4] along with 304 Squadron (Polish) from RAF Dale, which supported the anti-submarine patrols in the Bay of Biscay.

However, in August, Pilot Officer Nyvlt, in Vickers Wellington HF922 'H', attacked and claimed German submarine U-578.

During air encounters a Kriegsmarine (German Navy) Arado Ar 196 floatplane was shot down, unfortunately No.

The Commander-in-chief of RAF Coastal Command, Air Chief Marshal Sir Philip Joubert de la Ferté, congratulated both No.

304 Polish Bomber Squadron on their start to operating life within RAF Coastal Command.

[8] During the latter part of 1942 bad weather hindered the anti-submarine patrols, and during October both squadrons reported only a single attack, but the lack of encounters could also be attributed to many U-boats being moved towards north Africa following Operation Torch and the Allied invasion of French North Africa.

248 Squadron arrived at RAF Talbenny[10] provided fighter cover for the Vickers Wellington aircraft of No.

[8] With its secondary diversionary role, notable landings included a BOAC Liberator aircraft, registration ‘'G-AGFO'’, a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress from a USAAF weather reconnaissance unit, which had conducted a meteorological flight, and a USAAF B-24 Liberator, during January 1943.

[4] The RAF approached the Admiralty and looked to swap Talbenny airfield with RNAS St Merryn (HMS Vulture), in June 1943.

It used Miles Master and Miles Martinet aircraft alongside Westland Lysander and Fairey Battle aircraft, and due to it being a RAF Coastal Command unit, it was classed as a lodger unit at RAF Talbenny.

The squadron was equipped with Vickers Wellington IC aircraft,[20] a British twin-engined, long-range medium bomber.

It flew operations over the Bay of Biscay and the Western Approaches, tasked with anti-submarine patrols and shipping attacks.

[21] The squadron's aircraft were in RAF Bomber Command's camouflage scheme, which was unsuitable for maritime patrols, and weren't repainted in RAF Coastal Command's Temperate Sea Scheme (dark slate grey and extra dark sea grey above, and white below), until September 1942.

311 Sqn achieved the highest success rate in RAF Coastal Command between June 1942 and April 1943,[23] while based at RAF Talbenny, in spite of their Vickers Wellington aircraft variant not being equipped with any form of air-to-surface-vessel (ASV) radar,[24] although in April 1943 it was partly re-equipped with five Wellington Mark X aircraft.

248 Squadron RAF was tasked with carrying out fighter cover and escort duties over the Western Approaches and the Bay of Biscay,[16] operating as part of No.

[21] It operated out of RAF Talbenny between 3 and 30 December 1942,[20] while work took place on the runways at the squadron's home airfield.

The unit's primary role was aircraft preparation and aircrew training for overseas deployment flights.

[16] The units role was to co-ordinate the ferry flights of military aircraft to their next air base.

[32] Training in aircraft ordnance for the Lockheed Hudson and Handley Page Halifax squadrons within RAF Coastal Command was provided by the Armament Practice Camp, and practice was also given to the United States Navy's Navy Patrol Bomber Squadron VPB-103, Fleet Air Wing 7, which continued aerial anti-submarine warfare based at RAF Dunkeswell, their AAF aircraft being redesignated under the USN/USMC system of the time as PB4Y-1 Liberator.

19 Group RAF, and provided instruction in Air-to-air combat, air-to-surface firing and anti-submarine attacks.

The Coastal Command Development Unit RAF, was based there from April to September 1943,[37] and it was briefly used by No.

303 Ferry Training Unit RAF, while a Drem Lighting System, to aid a visual approach, was being installed at Talbenny.

Eight Consolidated B-24 Liberator aircraft of the 44th Bombardment Group (Heavy) of the Eighth Air Force attempted to land at Talbenny on 3 January 1943.

[3] The Ministry of Agriculture used the accommodation buildings and other facilities to house volunteer harvest labourers, working on the local farms, during the 1950s.

[3] Pembrokeshire Motor Club ran sprint events at Talbenny Airfield in the 1950s through to the early 1980s.

[3] Nearly all of the airfield's infrastructure was demolished in the late 1950s / early 1960's, including the hangars and some sections of the runways.

[4] with a few Maycrete huts (prefabricated structures of reinforced concrete posts supporting a pitched roof frame with an infilling of sawdust concrete panels) and Nissen huts remaining, utilised for farm storage.