RAF Fowlmere

Royal Air Force Fowlmere or more simply RAF Fowlmere is a former Royal Air Force station located 4.2 miles (6.8 km) northeast of Royston, Hertfordshire and 8.8 miles (14.2 km) southwest of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England.

RAF Fowlmere
USAAF Station 378
Near Cambridge, Cambridgeshire in England
Aerial photograph of Fowlmere airfield 31 May 1944, taken by 13th Photographic Squadron, 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group
RAF Fowlmere
Shown within Cambridgeshire
Coordinates52°04′57″N 000°03′31″E
TypeRoyal Air Force station
CodeFW
Site information
OwnerAir Ministry
OperatorRoyal Air Force
United States Army Air Forces
Site history
Built1940 (1940)
In use1946-1946 (1946)
Garrison information
Occupants339th Fighter Group
Airfield information
Elevation38 metres (125 ft) AMSL
Runways
Direction Length and surface
07/25 710 metres (2,329 ft) Grass
00/00  Asphalt

First World War

Flying at Fowlmere originated in 1918 when the airfield was used by Royal Air Force

Flying cadets of the Air Service, United States Army were trained at Fowlmere by RAF instructors, prior to their deployment to the Western Front in France.[2] After the First World War ended, the hangars were all demolished along with the assorted buildings by 1923.

Second World War

Royal Air Force use
A Supermarine Spitfire Mk 1 of No. 19 Squadron RAF being re-armed between sorties at Fowlmere, near Duxford, September 1940.
Flight Lieutenant P S Turner of No. 242 Squadron RAF, rests on the tail elevator of his Hawker Hurricane Mk I, after landing at Fowlmere, near Duxford in Cambridgeshire, September 1940.

With the eruption of the Second World War, Fowlmere was intended to be a satellite for nearby RAF Duxford and was used by 19 Sqn with Supermarine Spitfires[3] along with:

United States Army Air Forces use
Four United States Army Air Force officers standing in front of a Nissen hut. Handwritten on slide: "Paul Fickel, Bernie Allen, Anthony Hawkins, Ethelbert Graham 503FS Fowlmere James G. Robinson".
North American P-51 Mustangs of the 505th Fighter squadron. All are P-51D's with the exception of 42-10657 (2nd from front) which is a P-51B. Serials visible are 44-72437 (front), 42-10657, 44-11427 and 44-11215 (top)
Lt. Col. Joseph L Thury. [St. Paul MN]. 505th Fighter Squadron, 339th Fighter Group, 8th AF. North American P-51D Mustang 44-72437 6N-C "Pauline".
Captain George Hrico, Captain Evan M "Johnny" Johnson, Major Archie A Tower and Lieutenant Richard E Krauss of the 339th Fighter Group in front of a P-51 Mustang (6N-W, serial number 44-14705) nicknamed "Boomerang", assigned to Lieutenant Dick Thieme. Written on slide casing: 'Cpt Hrico, Johnson, Tower & Krauss, 505 FS, Archie Tower.'

When the airfield was turned over to the USAAF, Fowlmere was expanded to meet the requirements of a complete fighter group. The airfield was assigned USAAF designation Station 378 It was allocated to the United States Army Air Forces Eighth Air Force fighter command.

USAAF Station Units assigned to RAF Fowlmere were:[16]

  • 314th Service Group[17]
467th Service Squadron; HHS 314th Service Group
  • 331st Service Group[18]
464th and 465th Service Squadrons; HHS 331s Service Group
  • 18th Weather Squadron
  • 72nd Station Complement Squadron
  • 861st Engineer Aviation Battalion
  • 1178th Quartermaster Company
  • 1786th Ordnance Supply & Maintenance Company
  • 989th Military Police Company
  • 2120th Engineer Fire Fighting Platoon

The 339th Fighter Group arrived at Fowlmere from Rice AAF, California on 4 April 1944. The group was under the command of the 66th Fighter Wing of the VIII Fighter Command. Aircraft of the group were identified by a red/white chequerboard pattern.

Postwar Royal Air Force use

With the departure of the Americans, Fowlmere was used briefly by No. 11 Group RAF RAF Fighter Command until January 1946 then closed and placed into care and maintenance status. It was eventually sold back to local farmers in 1957.

Current use

With the end of RAF control, the concreted areas and buildings of Fowlmere airfield were largely ground into aggregate and sold for local construction projects.

The T-2 hangar is still in use by a local farmer and there are a few decaying huts on the west side of Fowlmere village. Other than that, there is little else to indicate previous use of the site as an active fighter airfield. Only fragments of taxi-track remain, and part of a secondary runway is used for light aircraft.[19]

See also

Citations
  1. Jefford 1988, p. 58.
  2. "Fowlmere". controltowers.co.uk. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  3. Jefford 1988, p. 30.
  4. Jefford 1988, p. 23.
  5. Jefford 1988, p. 29.
  6. Jefford 1988, p. 31.
  7. Jefford 1988, p. 56.
  8. Jefford 1988, p. 59.
  9. Jefford 1988, p. 63.
  10. Jefford 1988, p. 64.
  11. Jefford 1988, p. 65.
  12. Jefford 1988, p. 80.
  13. Jefford 1988, p. 90.
  14. Jefford 1988, p. 91.
  15. Jefford 1988, p. 103.
  16. "Fowlmere". American Air Museum in Britain. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  17. "331st Service Group". American Air Museum in Britain. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  18. "314th Service Group". American Air Museum in Britain. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  19. http://www.modair.co.uk/

Bibliography
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