Royal Marines Base Chivenor Royal Marines Base Chivenor is a British military base used primarily by the Royal Marines . It is situated on the northern shore of the Taw estuary , adjacent to the South West Coast Path , on the north coast of Devon , England . The nearest towns are Barnstaple and Braunton . Originally a civil airfield opened in the 1930s , the site was taken over by the Royal Air Force in May 1940 for use as a Coastal Command Station , and was known as RAF Chivenor . After the Second World War , the station was largely used for training , particularly weapons training . During the 1960s , one of the RAF ' s Tactical Weapons Units ( TWU ) used Hawker Hunter aircraft for training . In 1974 the station was left on " care and maintenance " , though No . 624 Volunteer Gliding Squadron continued to fly from there . The TWU returned , flying BAE Hawk s , in 1979 and 1981 . In 1994 , the TWU left Chivenor , merging with No . 4 Flying Training School at RAF Valley , and the airfield was handed over to the Royal Marines . The Marines have an existing equipment testing base at Arromanches Camp , in Instow , located across the Taw Estuary and approximately two miles from Chivenor . The RAF still has the " A " flight of 22 Squadron with two search and rescue Sea King helicopter s stationed there , and No . 624 Volunteer Gliding Squadron operating Vigilant T1 motor gliders . In a spending review that was announced over the summer of 2004 , the presence of 22 Squadron at Chivenor was under review . After the flooding at Boscastle , this threat was rescinded . History . The beginning of RAF Chivenor . In February 1940 the Air Ministry constructed an aerodrome on the site of Chivenor farm near a civilian airfield . RAF Chivenor opened on 25 October 1940 within No . 17 Group , Coastal Command . There were two units based there initially , No . 3 ( Coastal ) Operational Training Unit RAF and No . 252 Squadron RAF , both operating Bristol Beaufighter s , Bristol Blenheim s and Bristol Beaufort s . 1942 — 1945 . From 1942 onward the role of Chivenor was changed from training to anti - submarine patrolling . From 1942 to 1943 the squadron flew the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley , then in 1943 the Chivenor squadron converted the Vickers Wellington equipped with the ASV radar and Leigh light s . In November 1941 the structure of the base changed with three new squadrons 51 , 77 and 502 flying a mixture of Whitleys and Wellingtons , and one new flight , 1417 , that was used to training crews on the Leigh light and radar Wellingtons . In July 1942 three squadrons of Beaufighter were located at Chivenor to offer long range protection in the Bay of Biscay . By September 1943 all of the Whitleys had been take out of active service at Chivenor , and four squadrons of Wellingtons , 172 , 407 , 612 and 304 , were located at the base . No 172 was the Wellington Training Squadron , taking over from 1417 Flight . The base had personnel from Canada , Poland and the UK . The Plan for the post war , was for Chivenor to become a full - time anti - submarine wing with two squadron ' s 14 and 36 Squadron . 1946 — 1949 . After the Second World War ended , the future of the station was not certain . In 1946 a group of miscellaneous meteorological and anti - aircraft units moved to Chivenor , including Halifaxes of Nos 517 and 521 Squadrons which flew 10 - hour sorties to collect weather information . At the same time the station played host to No 248 Squadron ( Mosquitos ) , No 254 Squadron ( Beaufighters ) , and the Spitfire s and Martinet s of No 691 Squadron , Army Air Corps . In October 1946 , No . 11 Group RAF Fighter Command took command of the station with No . 203 Advanced Flying School . This lasted until July 1949 when the station was transferred to 5 and 7 Squadrons , Army Air Corps and No 1 Overseas Ferry Unit . This latter unit had the duties to ferry Meteors , Vampires and Mosquitoes to the Middle East and the Far East . 1950 — 1957 . In February 1950 the Chivenor station flight was formed with Tiger Moth s . It was at this time that post - war civilian flying restarted , with Wrafton flying club later changing its name to the Puffin flying club . At this time the RAF was operating as No . 229 Operational Conversion Unit which flew Vampires and Meteors . Then in mid 1955 the first of the Hunter operational conversion courses was started : flying was still mainly on the Vampire FB5 with approximately 20 hrs on the Hunter F1 before pilots were sent to their operational squadrons . During the next 2 years the Vampires were phased out and the course became all Hunter once the Hunter T7 , a two - seater trainer version , became available . There were 2 squadrons called simply 1 and 2 , each capable of training a student from conversion to operational and weaponry training . Operational Units : 229 OCU , consisting of 2 squadrons . Chivenor Station Flight 1958 — 1974 . In May 1957 the RAF exercise ' Vigilant ' changed Chivenor ' s Squadrons ' status . They assumed a wartime reserve role and were renumbered as Nos 145 and 234 Squadrons . The squadrons were now flying the Hunter F4 and T7 until the F4 was replaced by the F6 . The two squadrons were numbered and then renumbered until they became 63 ( Reserve ) and 79 ( Reserve ) Squadrons , tasked with training RAF fighter pilots . Hunter FR . 10 fighter reconnaissance aircraft were also flown by 229 OCU in the late 1960s and early 1970s . In March 1967 the oil tanker ran aground on Seven Stones Reef near Lands End , spilling oil . For three days , Hunters from Chivenor and other bases fired training rockets at the ship to hole it below the waterline , before bombing it with high explosive and napalm in an unsuccessful effort to burn off the oil . The final Hunter unit based at Chivenor was the Singapore Operational Training Flight . In 1974 , 229 OCU was transferred to RAF Brawdy and the station was put into a rebuilding programme . It was in June 1957 that a new chapter in Chivenor ' s story started with the arrival of ' E ' Flight 275 Squadron with their Sycamore HR14s on search and rescue duties . In 1958 ' E ' Flight changed to ' A ' Flight 22 Squadron , which now has 50 years of twenty - four hour search and rescue experience operating from Chivenor . Hawks at RAF Chivenor . In 1979 the RAF rebuilding programme ended and the station was reactivated as No . 2 TWU flying BAe Hawks with Nos 63 ( R ) and 151 ( R ) Squadrons training fast jet pilots and navigators . In 1992 , the government ' s options for change defence review resulted in the structure of the station changing with 2 TWU being re - designated as 7 Flying Training School . The squadrons also changed their numbers from 63 ( R ) and 151 ( R ) to 19 ( R ) and 92 ( R ) . 7 Flying Training School operated in conjunction with 4 Flying Training School at RAF Valley . This training course was called the Mirror Image Training Course which lasted for three years until 1995 when the MOD announced that RAF Chivenor would close . For a time the future of the base was not assured but the Royal Marines filled the gap . RAF Chivenor closed on 1 October 1995 . A new beginning as RMB Chivenor . From 1 October 1995 onwards , the Royal Marines took control of the base , it being renamed Royal Marines Base Chivenor ( RMB Chivenor ) and is home to the Commando Logistics Regiment , Royal Marines and 24 Commando Regiment Royal Engineers . The airfield is still an operational airfield used by the Royal Navy , Royal Marines and RAF . Search and rescue duties are undertaken by a detachment of 22 Squadron RAF and by 624 Volunteer Gliding Squadron which operates Vigilant T1 motor gliders , providing flights for the Air Training Corps and Combined Cadet Force . The airfield is also used for training by many aircraft types including Merlins , Sea Kings , Pumas , Chinooks , Lynx , Hercules C - 130 , C17 Globemasters and Hawks . There are regular flights by Hercules , C17 and many helicopters supporting the Marines ' operations . Operational Units Role . Commando Logistic Regiment . The Commando Logistic Regiment ' s role is to ensure the re - supply of ammunition , water , fuel and food , known as " combat supplies " to the ground forces , Also to provide first line medical care to any service person or civilian , It also provided specialist services to sustain the brigade ' s operation 24 Commando Regiment Royal Engineers . Formed in April 2008 , 24 Commando Engineer Regiment is a unit of the British Army ' s Royal Engineers which supports 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines . Expeditionary in nature , this elite fighting force is optimised as an Amphibious formation , with the unique ability to rapidly deploy around the World and project force without reliance on ports or airfields . 22 Squadron . " A " Flight of 22 Squadron , with three Sea King HAR3A helicopters for Search and Rescue duties . Part of the RAF Search and Rescue Force Mechanical Transport and Armoury Facilities ( DSG ) . At RMB Chivenor new state - of - the - art Mechanical Transport and Armoury facilities have been built . This facility is a joint unit with Royal Navy and Royal Marine technicians working alongside Babcock Marine technicians . The facility ' s main job is to support the Royal Marine fleet of vehicles like the Jackal and the Viking . Another task that the facility is used for is the testing of the Jackal , the Jackal is built in Devonport before being taken to Chivenor to be tested on nearby ranges . Finally the facility acts as a recovery centre . When vehicles are damaged in areas like Afghanistan they are loaded onto transport aircraft straight to Chivenor for repair in the Mechanical Transport and Armoury Facility . 624 VGS Squadron . 624 Squadron ' s role is as a Volunteer Gliding Squadron operating military Vigilant T . 1 motor gliders . They train Air Cadets from local Combined Cadet Force and Air Training Corps detachments . Arromanches Camp . Arromanches Camp is located at Instow as the crow flies from Chivenor across the River Taw . Although 11 Squadron ( Amphibious , Trials Training ) based at this camp is part of 1 Assault Group Royal Marines from Naval Base Plymouth it is an administered by the RMB Chivenor Base Support Regiment that provides messing and support facilities from Chivenor . The name of the camp comes from the name of the town on Gold Beach of the Normandy landing from the Second World War . The village of Instow is twinned with Arromanches . 2007 HMS Cornwall incident . On 23 March 2007 , 15 British Royal Navy personnel , from HMS Cornwall ( F99 ) , were detained by the Navy of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards . The 15 personnel were released on 4 April 2007 , then they were taken to Chivenor where they were reunited with their families and gave press interviews . RMB Chivenor in the media . Saunton Sands , the seaward ( westward ) portion of nearby Braunton Burrows dune system , was used as a filming location for the film " A Matter of Life and Death " , for the scene when Peter Carter is washed ashore . As he talks to the shepherd boy , the De Havilland Mosquito that flies over him almost certainly has just taken off from RAF Chivenor , which borders the dune system to the east . On 21 November 2008 the BBC " Top Gear " ( current format ) series filmed segments near to Chivenor . In the segments the presenter Jeremy Clarkson takes part in a mock battle on the beach at Instow with around 30 marines from Chivenor and elsewhere . The Sea King from 22 squadron A - Flight at Chivenor took a starring role in the National Geographic Channel documentary television series Sea Patrol UK , with B - Flight of 22 Squadron at AAC Wattisham alongside Royal Navy and Coastguard units . The 2011 BBC television series " The Choir : Military Wives " featured Chivenor . The programme documented choirmaster Gareth Malone forming a choir of wives and partners of Chivenor personnel deployed on active service in the Afghanistan War . In forming a choir , Malone aimed to raise the women ' s morale and raise their profile in the public perception . The song " Wherever You Are " was recorded by the Military Wives Choir and is to be released as a single in December 2011 , with proceeds going to the Royal British Legion and SSAFA Forces Help .