Former RAF Woolfox Lodge

 Second World War 1939-1945, abandoned / shut down, RAF - Royal Air Force, draw only border, former air force base

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The need for a satellite airfield for Cottesmore resulted in the selection of an area of large grazing meadows four miles away on the eastern side of the A1 trunk road five miles north of Stamford. The site lay mostly in the parish of Pickworth but due to the requisition of the nearby country mansion, Woolfox Lodge, for aircrew accommodation, this was the name by which the satellite became known.

No more than a landing ground when first used by the Hampdens of No. 14 OTU in 1940, it was soon developed into an independent airfield with the necessary fuel and bomb stores (in woodland to the north), two T2 hangars and, later, a B1 on the main technical site alongside the A1. A hard taxiway, 24 pan aircraft standings were added besides the three concrete runways. Construction was carried out by John Mowlem & Son Ltd, at a cost of £644,000 for the ground work. No. 5 Group then acquired Woolfox Lodge as a satellite for North Luffenham and brought in No. 61 Squadron from there in October 1941. The squadron had just converted to the Manchester and it spent a dismal winter on the airfield endeavouring to master this beast which was to produce the highest loss per sortie ratio of any other type used by Bomber Command. While at Woolfox Lodge, No. 61 lost 12 Manchesters and another four in crashes out of some 180 sorties. Lancasters started to arrive as replacements in April 1942 but the squadron still had a dozen Manchesters when it moved to Syerston in May.

The airfield was then scheduled for extensions to the runways. While this work was being carried out, No. 1429 (Czech) Operational Training Flight with a few Wellingtons was brought in from East Wretham where it had previously served the Czech Wellington squadron. After two months the flight moved on to Church Broughton. Construction of the main runway was virtually parallel to the A1 on a bearing of 15-33, extended to 1,850 yards at the 15 end. The other runways, 04-22 and 09-27, were pushed out to 1,430 yards, with the 04 and 09 thresholds starting at the main runway. This was to allow enough distance from the Al for aircraft on approach or departure to clear the road at a safe height. Additional perimeter track was laid to take in the extensions. A total of 28 pan hardstandings remained after this work and eight loops were added. An additional technical site was built on the north side near runway head 15 and an extra camp area of dispersed sites constructed on the western side of the A1 among the woodland adjoining Exton Park. Maximum accommodation was then given as for 1,946 males and 192 females.

When it reopened, Woolfox Lodge was allocated to No. 3 Group, which was hard pressed for airfields in its own area. No. 1665 Heavy Conversion Unit from Waterbeach with its Stirlings arrived in June 1943 to prepare crews for the Group's squadrons. During 1943, two more T2 hangars were erected between runway heads 27 and 33 to house 32 Horsa gliders. At the end of January 1944, No. 1665 HCU moved west to Tilstock as the station was wanted for an operational squadron although there was some delay before this could be effected as the runway lighting system had to be overhauled. In March, No. 218 Squadron and its Stirlings were transferred in from Downham Market and conducted operations from Woolfox Lodge until soon after converting to Lancasters in late July, the squadron carrying out its last raid from the station on August 2.

After No. 218 went to Methwold, the station had no resident flying units for three months during which time 24 loop hardstandings were added. At the end of August, No. 3 Group handed over the station to the USAAF for use by a C-47 group of IX Troop Carrier Command for Operation `Market'. However, apart from odd support units and the occasional flying visitor, the USAAF never based an operational flying group on the airfield. The Americans relinquished the station on October 20 whereupon it became a sub-station of North Luffenham, receiving No. 1651 HCU from Chedburgh during the second week of November 1944. This unit operated Stirlings but gradually shed these when Lancasters became available. Twenty Bomber Command aircraft - ten Manchesters and ten Stirlings - failed to return or crashed in the UK in the course of operations launched from Woolfox Lodge. No. 1651 HCU was disbanded in July 1945 and in the same month another Lancaster Heavy Conversion Unit, No. 1654, was brought in from Wigsley yet its days were also numbered and it was disbanded at the beginning of September.

Care and maintenance then descended under the watch of No. 259 Maintenance Unit, which had the hangars for storage. In later years it was used as a relief landing ground by training aircraft, but the runways had deteriorated to such a degree by the spring of 1954 that the airfield had to be closed to flying. In 1960 a Bloodhound missile site under No. 62 Squadron was positioned in a secure area adjacent to the A1 road near the former technical site. These missiles were removed in 1964 and the RAF withdrew completely the following year. Sold in 1966, the flying area returned to agriculture with the removal of runways for A1 improvement hard-core. The technical area came into use by commercial organisations and in the last years of the century was used as a vehicle depot.

www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/s85.html