RAF Little Walden
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Royal Air Force Station Little Walden USAAF Station 165 |
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Located Near Saffron Walden, Essex, England | |
Little Walden Airfield - 9 July 1946 |
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Type | Military Airfield |
Coordinates | |
Location code | LL |
Built | 1943 |
In use | 1944-1958 |
Controlled by | United States Army Air Forces |
Garrison | Ninth Air Force Eighth Air Force |
Occupants | 409th Bombardment Group 361st Fighter Group |
Battles/wars | European Theatre of World War II Air Offensive, Europe July 1942 - May 1945 |
RAF Little Walden is a former World War II airfield in England. The field is located 3.5 miles NE of Saffron Walden in Essex.
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[edit] Origns
Little Walden Park and the adjoining farms was selected for a Class A Bomber airfield in the summer of 1942 and was originally called Hadstock. However, construction did not begin until 1943 and the official name was changed to Little Walden.
[edit] USAAF use
Little Walden airfield was assigned to the USAAF in August 1942 and was assigned to the Eighth Air Force. It was given the designation Station 165. However the airfield was passed to Ninth Air Force in October 1943.
[edit] 409th Bombardment Group (Light)
The airfield was opened on 9 March 1944 and was first used by the United States Army Air Force Ninth Air Force 409th Bombardment Group (Light), which arrived from DeRidder AAF, Louisiana. The group consisted of the following squadrons and had the following fuselage codes:
- 640th Bomb Squadron (W5)
- 641st Bomb Squadron (7G)
- 642d Bomb Squadron (D6)
- 643d Bomb Squadron (5I)
The 409th flew the A-20 "Havoc" and A-26 "Invader" light bomber and was originally trained in low-level attack missions. However, the group was busy flying medium-altitude bombing runs from 10,000 ft. Over 100 missions were flown by the group, attacking coastal defences, V-weapon sites, aerodromes, and other targets in France in preparation for the invasion of Normandy. The group supported ground forces during the Battle of Normandy by hitting gun batteries, rail lines, bridges, communications, and other objectives. During July 1944, aided the Allied offensive at Caen and the breakthrough at St Lo with attacks on enemy troops, flak positions, fortified villages, and supply dumps.
The group moved to their Advanced Landing Ground in at Bretigny, France (A48) to support Third Army's advance toward Germany on 10 September. A total of ten aircraft were lost by the group flying from Little Walden.
In February 1945 the 409th moved to Laon-Couvron Air Base (A-70) France, remaining until June. The group returned to the United States and was deactivated at Seymour Johnson AAF North Carolina on 6 October 1945.
[edit] 361st Fighter Group
With the departure of the 409th, Little Walden was transferred to the Eighth Air Force which transferred 361st Fighter Group from RAF Bottisham to the airfield on 26 September 1944. The group was under the command of the 65th Fighter Wing of the VIII Fighter Command. Aircraft of the group were identified by yellow around their cowling.
The group consisted of the following squadrons:
- 374th Fighter Squadron (B7)
- 375th Fighter Squadron (E2)
- 376th Fighter Squadron (E9)
At Little Walden, the 361st served primarily as a B-17/B-24 escort organization, covering the penetration, attack, and withdrawal of bomber formations that the USAAF sent against targets on the Continent. The group also engaged in counter-air patrols, fighter sweeps, and strafing and dive-bombing missions. Attacked such targets as airfields, marshalling yards, missile sites, industrial areas, ordnance depots, oil refineries, trains, and highways.
The group supported the airborne attack on Holland in September 1944 and deployed to Chievres, Belgium between February and April 1945 flying tactical ground support missions during the airborne assault across the Rhine.
The unit returned to Little Walden and flew its last combat mission on 20 April 1945.
On 10 November the 361st Fighter Group returned to Camp Kilmer New Jersey and was deactivated.
[edit] 493rd Bombardment Group (Heavy)
The 493rd Bombardment Group (Heavy) transferred from RAF Debach in March 1945 while repairs were carried out on their home runways. The group flew a few combat missions at the very end of the war, the last being an attack on marshalling yards at Nauen, on 20 April 1945.
The 493d returned its aircraft to Debach after V-E day, and was deactivated in August at Sioux Falls AAF, South Dakota.
[edit] 56th Fighter Group
The 56th Fighter Group transferred from RAF Boxted in September 1945 after Boxted was turned over to the RAF. The group used Little Walden as a staging area on its way to Camp Kilmer, New Jersey where it was inactivated on 16 October.
[edit] Postwar RAF Use
After the war, the field was used by the RAF as a storage facility for surplus United States Army/Army Air Force military vehicles. Over the next several years, they were auctioned off to the civilian marketplace. Little Walden airfield was finally declared surplus and was sold, returning to agricultural use in May 1958.
[edit] Civil Use
With the end of military control, the airfield hangars found uses as a grain store and for warehouse space. The technical site was eventually developed for a variety of light industries. Most of the concrete areas were removed for hardcore, but the B1052 Saffron Walden to Linton road was routed along part of the southwest/northeast runway.
After remaining derelict for many years, the control tower was restored and contains a memorial to the USAAF groups that used Little Walden airfield.
[edit] See also
- List of RAF stations
- USAAF Eighth Air Force - World War II
- USAAF Ninth Air Force - World War II
- 409th Bombardment Group
- 361st Fighter Group
[edit] References
- Freeman, Roger A. (1978) Airfields of the Eighth: Then and Now. After the Battle ISBN 0900913096
- Freeman, Roger A. (1991) The Mighty Eighth The Colour Record. Cassell & Co. ISBN 0-304-35708-1
- Freeman, Roger A. (1994) UK Airfields of the Ninth: Then and Now 1994. After the Battle ISBN 0900913800
- Freeman, Roger A. (1996) The Ninth Air Force in Colour: UK and the Continent-World War Two. After the Battle ISBN 1854092723
- Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0892010924.
[edit] External links
- www.controltowers.co.uk Little Walden
- mighty8thaf.preller.us Little Walden
- www.littlefriends.co.uk 361st FG
- www.littlefriends.co.uk 56th FG
- USAAS-USAAC-USAAF-USAF Aircraft Serial Numbers--1908 to present
- 361st Fighter Group website
- 493d Bomb Group website
- Aerial photo of RAF Little Walden from Multimap.Com
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