Former RAF Faldingworth

United Kingdom / England / Welton-Dunholme /
 Second World War 1939-1945, abandoned / shut down, RAF - Royal Air Force, draw only border, closed / former military
Faldingworth was constructed on an isolated area of farmland covering three parishes southeast of the River Ancholme, 4.5 miles from Market Rasen. The contractors involved were Tarmac Ltd and J.Cryer & Sons Ltd, with work totalling £810,000.

Site clearance of woodland and hedges began in July 1942 and runway laying was completed by the following summer. Built to Class A standard, the runway lengths were 08-26 at 2,000 yards, and 1,400 yards for each of the subsidiaries, O1-1.9 and 13-31. Thirty-six hardstandings, all loops, and two T2 and a single B1 hangar were provided. The dispersed camp sites were towards Newton by Toft in the north-east, giving accommodation for up to 1,957 males and 281 females.

No. 1667 Heavy Conversion Unit arrived in August 1943 flying Halifaxes and Lancaster's, losing several in crashes before being moved to Sandtoft in February 1944. This was to allow No.300 Squadron a more suitable airfield from which to operate Lancaster's, conversion from Wellingtons taking place when the squadron arrived at Faldingworth from Ingham's grass surface. No.300 was the veteran Polish-manned bomber unit and it was to remain at this station until disbanded in October 1945. During its operations a total of 37 Lancaster's were lost flying from Faldingworth, 32 of which were classified as failing to return.

After the war the station became a holding camp for Polish forces with No. 305 Squadron flying its Mosquito's in from the Continent prior to dispersal and eventual disbandment.

Although no further use was made of the airfield as an RAF flying station, it was kept in a state of care and maintenance for some years. In the early l95Os its comparatively isolated position in the Lincolnshire countryside saw the airfield selected for development as one of the major stores for nuclear weapons. Underground bunkers were built in western part of the former flying field and surrounded by high fences, with guard towers to afford tight security. For much of the next two decades the main controlling agency was No. 92 Maintenance Unit. In the early 1970s this central store was no longer required by the RAF and the site was eventually taken over by an armaments manufacturer associated with Royal Ordnance. This organisation used Faldingworth for secure armament storage and experimentation until 1996 when this facility was put up for sale. Royal Ordnance still retains part of Faldingworth, security being maintained. In 1999 the main runway remains intact and a single B1 hangar also survives. The major area of the airfield, some 470 acres, was sold for agricultural use in 1998.
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Faldingworth
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   53°21'17"N   -0°26'49"E

Comments

  • Yet another former WW2 airfield - don't know which one
  • This airfield is Faldingworth a ww2 bomber base.
  • 300 "Masovian" Polish Bomber Squadron Already before the outbreak of World War II, the Polish government signed an agreement with the Royal Air Force. According to the appendix to the Polish-British Alliance, should the war with Germany break out, two Polish bomber squadrons were to be created on British soil. However, following the German invasion of Poland and subsequent Soviet invasion of Poland, most of Polish airmen who managed to get to the west were incorporated into the Polish Air Forces being created in France. It was not until the fall of France that Polish airmen started to arrive to the United Kingdom in large numbers. Polish evacuees and refuges with experience in aerial warfare were initially kept in a military camp in Eastchurch. Finally on July 1, 1940 the No. 300 Polish Bomber Squadron was created as the first such Polish units at RAF Bramcote, as a part of the Polish Air Forces in Great Britain. As the number of Polish airmen, often with experience in fights against the Germans from Poland and France, was high, by July 24 additional bomber squadrons were created. Between July 19, 1940 and May 8, 1945, the crews of the squadron flew 3,891 sorties and spent 20,264 hours in air. Initially equipped with Fairey Battle light bombers, the squadron was equipped with Vickers Wellington medium bombers on November 16, 1940. The squadron used several versions, including Mark IC, IV, III and X. In 1941 while the unit was equipped with Wellingtons and flying from Hemswell on 'Gardening' (mining) operations, the squadron's Intelligence Officer was Michael Bentine, later to become well known as an entertainer. On March 5, 1944 the unit was re-equipped with Avro Lancaster bombers and continued to use that bomber until the end of World War II (versions Mk I and Mk III). During the war, the squadron took part in most of the notable air offensives in Europe, including attacks on the German Navy preparing for Operation Seelöwe, also its naval ships such as the German battleship Gneisenau docked in Brest, other naval facilities in Wilhelmshaven and its U boat facilities in St. Nazaire, Millennium Offensive on large bombing raids on Cologne, bombing raids on V-weapon sites, D-Day, in support of crossing the Rhine, the Battle of the Ruhr, the bombing of Hamburg and the Battle of Berlin. A number of the crew members were in late 1942 attached to the RAF Tempsford based No. 138 (Special) Squadron RAF as the newly-formed Flight C operating Handley Page Halifax bomber. The last mission was flown on May 8, 1945 against Adolf Hitler's residence in Berchtesgaden. The unit was disbanded on January 2, 1947, after the Allies withdrew their support for the Polish government.
This article was last modified 14 years ago