forming the 6th Tactical Air Depot which specialised in the repair and modification of Republic P-47 Thunderbolt.. 366th Fighter Group In January 1944 the 366th Fighter Group arrived at Membury from Bluethenthal AAF North Carolina. Operational squadrons of the group were: 389th Fighter Squadron (A6) 390th Fighter Squadron (B2) 391st Fighter Squadron (A8) The 366th was a group of Ninth Air Force's 71st Fighter Wing, IX Tactical Air Command. Before the group could become operational, the unit was moved to RAF Thruxton on 1 March. 436th Troop Carrier Group The 436th Troop Carrier Group with its Douglas C-47/C-53 Skytrains arrived on 3 March from RAF Bottesford. Operational squadrons of the group were: 79th Troop Carrier Squadron (S6) 80th Troop Carrier Squadron (7D) 81st Troop Carrier Squadron (U5) 82nd Troop Carrier Squadron (3D) The 436th TCW was assigned to the 53rd Troop Carrier Wing. When the 53rd Troop Carrier Wing moved its groups to France in February 1945 the 436th vacated Membury between the 21st and 25th for its new location at Melun (A-55). Nevertheless, there was still a US presence at Membury until a few weeks after the end of hostilities as the airfield was being used by the IX Troop Carrier Command as a pick-up point. RAF Transport Command use and closure With the 436th leaving Membury for Melun in France and the Americans departing by the end of June the station was back under RAF control. In October 1946 when the station was closed and Membury was reduced to care and maintenance status. Much of the 1951 novel Air Bridge by Hammond Innes is set in the closed RAF Membury at the time of the Berlin Airlift, and describes how the decaying airfield and its surroundings looked at that time. Doctor Who The airfield was used as the location for a UNIT airfield twice in the shows history, the first time was in the opening episode of the 1971 serial The Daemons and again in the second episode of 1974's Planet of the Spiders. Current use Many small industries took over the old buildings on the former Air Depot technical site which are used for light industrial purposes. The former aircraft hangars are used for grain storage. The former airfield tower stood until 1998 when it was demolished. Membury is now jointly owned and operated by Southern Sailplanes / Flight Composites, an aircraft repair and maintenance company, and