Army Air Corps Middle Wallop Army Air Corps Middle Wallop is a British Army base near the Hampshire village of Middle Wallop . The base hosts 2 Regiment Army Air Corps and the School of Army Aviation . The role of 2 Regiment is training and so AAC Middle Wallop is the base where most Army Air Corps pilots begin their careers . The base was previously under Royal Air Force control and it was then known as RAF Middle Wallop . History . Early use . The base was opened as RAF Middle Wallop , a training school for new pilots in 1940 . It was originally intended for bomber use , however with the Battle of Britain being fought , No . 609 Squadron RAF , flying the Supermarine Spitfire , and 238 Squadron RAF flying the Hurricane Mk1 were moved to Middle Wallop as part of 10 group RAF Fighter Command . In September 1940 604 Squadron RAF a specialist night fighter unit received the Bristol Beaufighter , equipped with four 20 - mm cannon under the nose and improved Mark IV AI radio - location equipment . As one of the few Squadrons thus equipped , 604 squadron helped provide night time defence over the UK during the Blitz from late 1940 until mid - May 1941 . In this time 50 air victories had been claimed by No . 604 Squadron , 14 by F / L John Cunningham . RAF Chilbolton was designated the relief landing airfield for Middle Wallop , until it became a fully fledged Fighter Station in its own right , as the Battle of Britain progressed . USAAF use . Middle Wallop was also used by the United States Army Air Forces Ninth Air Force as IX Fighter Command Headquarters beginning in November 1943 . Along with its headquarters mission , the airfield also hosted the 67th Reconnaissance Group being moved from RAF Membury in December 1943 to be in close proximity to IX FC Headquarters . The 67th Group flew the photographic versions of the Lockheed P - 38 Lightning ( F - 5 ) and North American P - 51 Mustang ( F - 6 ) to fly artillery - adjustment , weather - reconnaissance , bomb - damage assessment , photographic - reconnaissance , and visual - reconnaissance missions to obtain photographs that aided the invasion of the Continent . After D - Day , both the 67th RG moved to its Advanced Landing Ground at Le Molay - Littry ( ALG A - 9 ) and IX FC Headquarters moved to Les Obeaux , France in late June 1944 ending the USAAF presence at Middle Wallop . During the American use , the airfield was designated as USAAF Station 449 , ID Code : MW . RAF / RNAS use . Middle Wallop returned to Royal Air Force use from July 1944 for No . 418 Squadron RCAF and its de Havilland Mosquito nightfighters . In January 1945 , in an exchange with the RAF , Middle Wallop was transferred to Royal Navy use and became ' RNAS Middle Wallop ' . HMS " Flycatcher " the HQ for the Mobile Naval Air Base organization then moved in from RNAS Ludham , which reverted to RAF use . Five units were assembled at Middle Wallop , four transferring to Australia , Hong Kong and Singapore as planned ; the last , MONAB X ( " HMS " Nabhurst " " ) , remained in the UK following the end of the war in the Pacific . In 1946 the Royal Air Force occupied Middle Wallop again . No . 164 Squadron RAF with its Spitfires came and were renumbered to No . 63 Squadron RAF . The following year 227 OCU , an Army Air Observation Post training unit , was moved to the airfield . This was renamed as the " Air Observation Post School " in 1950 and the " Light Aircraft School " in 1952 . From mid - 1953 to 1957 , Middle Wallop was the home for No . 288 Squadron RAF with its Boulton Paul Balliol s . Army Air Corps use . In 1954 a Development Flight ( CFS ) with helicopters was formed there , this led to the Joint Experimental Helicopter Unit in 1955 . On 1 September 1957 , when British Army aviation became independent of the RAF , Middle Wallop transferred to the new Army Air Corps . It became the School of Army Aviation , to which it has remained to the present date . Operational units . Army Aviation Centre