Former RAF Great Dunmow

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RAF Great Dunmow (Also known as Little Easton) is a former World War II airfield in England. The airfield is located 6 miles East of Bishops Stortford and a mile north of Stane Street, the A120. the main road from Bishops Stortford to Colchester in Essex.

USAAF use:
Great Dunmow airfield was one of 15 airfields in Essex that was allocated to the United States Army Air Forces by the Air Ministry in 1942. It was designed as a standard Class A bomber airfield, built by the US Army 818th Engineer Battalion (Aviation) with specialised work by British contractors. It had a 6,000 ft long main runway, aligned 15-33 and two secondary 4,200 ft long secondary runways, aligned 11-29 and 04-22. An encircling perimeter track was also constructed, containing 50 loop-type hardstands. The airfield was built on ancient parkland and over 200 mature trees had to be removed during its construction. In addition two T-2 and one blister-type hangars were built along with accommodations for 2,888 persons.

It was opened on 1 July 1943 and was used by the United States Army Air Force Eighth and Ninth Air Forces. It was assigned as USAAF station 164 (GD).

386th Bombardment Group (Medium)

Douglas A-26B-15-DL Invader Serial 41-31956 of the 553d Bomb SquadronThe first American unit to use Great Dunmow was the 386th Bombardment Group (Medium) which arrived from RAF Boxted on 24 September 1943. The group was assigned to the 3d Bomb Wing and flew Martin B-26B/C Marauders. Operational squadrons of the 322d were:

552d Bomb Squadron (RG)
553d Bomb Squadron (AN)
554th Bomb Squadron (RU)
555st Bomb Squadron (YA)
Missions of the 386th concentrated on airfields but also bombed marshalling yards and gun positions during the first months of combat.

In common with other Marauder units of the 3d Bomb Wing, the 386th was transferred to Ninth Air Force on 16 October 1943. Tactical operations were carried out against V-weapon sites along the coast of France in the winter of 1943-1944, and bombed airfields in Holland and Belgium during Big Week, 20-25 Feb 1944.

Great Dunmow was the first airfield visited by General Eisenhower in his USAAF airfield tour on Tuesday, 11 April 1944, and he arrived in time to see thirty-nine Ninth Air Force Marauders take off at twenty second intervals for a mission to attack the marshalling yards in Charleroi Belgium.

The 386th hammered gun positions, and airfields preceding the invasion of Normandy and made numerous assaults on bridges of the Seinelate in May. Struck coastal batteries on D-Day and hit bridges, supply and fuel stores, gun positions, and defended areas during the remainder of the Battle of Normandy. Supported Allied forces at Caen, and participated in the massive blows against the enemy at St Lo on 25 July 1944. Knocked out targets to help clear the Falaise pocket of German forces in August 1944 and hit strong points at Brest during September.

In July 1944, the 553d Bomb Squadron was selected to perform operational testing on the new Douglas A-26 Invader. However due to technical troubles with the aircraft, the type was withdrawn in September. Several damaged aircraft were moved to one side of the airfield, being abandoned along with wrecks of several Marauders and a Boeing B-17 which crash-landed at the airfield.

On 2 October 1944, the 386th Bomb Group moved to Beaumont-sur-Oise (A-60) Airfield, in Normandy France. On the continent, the 386th BG used the following Advanced Landing Grounds:

A-60 Beaumont-sur-Oise France 2 October 1944
A-92 St Trond Belgium 9 Apr-Jul 1945
After V-E Day the group returned to the United States, deactivating at Seymour Johnson AFB North Carolina on 7 August 1945.

RAF use
In October 1944, Great Dunmow was transferred to the RAF as a base for No. 38 Group. Two Stirling squadrons, Nos. 190 and 620, arrived on the 14th of the month both squadrons converting to Halifax aircraft in 1945. These squadrons took part in Operation Varsity, the British airborne assault across the Rhine. After V-E Day, No. 190 squadron was disbanded on December 28, 1945 and No. 620 posted to Palestine.

During 1946, the Army moved in to use the airfield for storing hundreds of surplus military vehicles which were disposed of at auctions during the following year. The airfield was abandoned in 1948.

Postwar use:
During the 1950s, the grassed areas were cut for a grass meal company which supplied it to various farms in the region. Starting in 1960, farming operations commenced and the concrete areas were removed for aggregate in 1965/66 for use as part of the new A12 highway.

Today, there is very little left except some single track agricultural roads remaining from the perimeter track and a blister hangar with a few nissen huts near Easton Lodge. The 22 end of the secondary northeast runway does however, have a short full width of runway intact, being used for haystack storage. There is a small museum in Great Dunmow which holds some exhibits of the airfield and the 386th Bomb Group, along with a stained glass window memorial in the church.
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Great_Dunmow
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   51°53'5"N   0°18'39"E

Comments

  • Image is a 1947 ariel photo of the site.
  • I have accidently approved the latest revision of this tag, this is not my intention to approve it. :-(
  • Latest revision change by user crossmyloof is correct.
  • I wish to take exception to the comment on the A-26 group who arrived in September, 1944. The A-26 group was from the A=26 Test combat unit out of Barksdale Field in Louisiana. The groups mission was to prepare the A-26 for combat in Europe and then convert all of the bomb groups who flew the A-20 and B-26 to the A-26.. The 386th Bomb Group was chosen as the site to fly the first bomb missions that was highly successful. The bomb site mount was the only thing found to be an issue. However, when the B-26 mount was used it corrected the instability of the original mount. The 386th Bomb Group flew the B-26 Marauder that was due to be withdrawn and replaced by the A-26. The pilots and crews of the 386th loved the Marauder and did not want to give them up. When the A-26 aircraft arrived, at Great Dunmow, they came in 2 groups. The second group arrived in the late afternoon in light rain. They were directed to land in the wrong direction, (with the wind), causing three A-26 aircraft to run off the end of runway. The 3rd aircraft crashed into the other two. The three A-26 were too damaged to be repaired and were dragged off the end of the runway where they remained until after the war. The aircraft losses combined with strong resistance by the pilots of the 386th, caused Col. Kelly, who lead the A-26 Test Combat Unit, to scrap plans to convert the 386th. Instead, the A-26 group was detached and started with the 416th Bomb Group and then the 409th Bomb Group. The reference that the A-26 was withdrawn, is simply untrue and just shows how much the resentment was on attempts to convert from the B-26 to the A-26.
  • I feel the need to correct an error in your website concerning the statement that the A26 Douglas Invader had initially been assigned to the 553 Squadron of the 386th Bomb Group but had problems and had to be withdrawn. That is in error. The A-26 was the newest medium bomber in the US Air Force capable of cruising as fast as a fighter and could out turn a German fighter ME-109. My mother’s first husband, 1st Lt Mark L Robb was a B-26 training instructor at Barksdale Field, Louisiana. During the early summer of 1944, he and the other training instructors were told that B-26 Martin Marauder and the A-20 Havok aircraft were being withdrawn from the European war effort. The A-26 Test Combat Unit’s mission was to convert all 9th Air Force bomb groups to the A-26. Following intensive training on the A-26 and how to train the 9th Air Force Bomber groups to fly the A-26, Lt Robb, along with 17 other training instructor crews and appropriate maintenance and operational staff were to be temporarily assigned to the 553rd Squadron of the 386th Bomb Group at RAF Great Dunmow. The 386th was to assist the Unit to fly 8 missions to ensure the A-26 was ready for combat operations. Then the 386th Bomb Group was to be the first group to receive the new aircraft. The new A-26 Test Combat Unit was commanded by Colonel Jack Kelly who arranged for 18 brand new A-26’s to be delivered to Barksdale Field where the newly formed unit learned to fly and maintain the A-26. In August, 1944, the A-26 Test Combat Unit flew the North Atlantic Route where they initially landed at RAF Nutts Corner near Belfast, Ireland. The following day, August 24, 1944, they were then to split into two groups to fly the last leg to RAF Great Dunmow. The next morning, Lt Col. Frank Harris from the 99th CBW, responsible for ferrying A-26 aircraft from the States to England, along with Colonel Kelly led the first flight of A-26 aircraft to Great Dunmow. Lt Col. Harris then returned to lead the second group to fly in during the afternoon. Before arriving at Great Dunmow, it was already known to Colonel Kelly that the 386th Bomb Group crews were raising hell about having to give up their B-26 aircraft. The B-26 had one of the best records for surviving combat missions and the men loved their B-26’s and were resisting giving up their aircraft. The resistance soon made itself known when the second group entered RAF Great Dunmow air space and requested landing instructions. As Lt. Col Harris and his group approached Great Dunmow, low clouds and rain forced Harris to lead the formation down below 400 feet. The decent and temperature change caused the plexiglass windscreens to fog over, forcing each trailing aircraft to shift so the aircraft ahead could be seen through their left side window. Lt. Col Harris received permission to land on runway 15. When he landed, his aircraft did not touch down until 1,500 feet down the slick runway and he could not stop until he was 30 yards off the end of the runway. Before Lt. Col. Harris could warn the others that they had been ordered to land with the wind instead of into the wind, Lt. Robb landed too far down to stop before going off the runway. The next plane to land was Maj, Farris who came in too hot and lost control attempting to avoid the two aircraft ahead of him. His left wing slammed into Lt. Robb’s aircraft shearing off its vertical stabilizer, before striking the upper gun turret. Maj. Farris’ aircraft then spun to the left striking Lt, Col. Harris’ aircraft along the left wing and propeller. All three aircraft were written off and left as described in your website. Fortunately, the other seven aircraft were waved off preventing further loss of aircraft. While it cannot be proven that Lt. Col. Harris’ flight were purposely directed to land in the wrong direction, it did raise serious concerns with members of the A-26 Test Combat Unit. The 3 wrecked aircraft were quickly replaced and members of the 553rd squadron assisted the A-26 crews to prepare to fly 8 missions. During preparation it was discovered that the bombsite bracket on the A-26 was too unstable for accurate bombing. 553rd maintenance soon found that the bombsite bracket from the B-26, with slight modification worked perfectly. In early September the A-26 Test Combat Unit flew its first mission against the French port city of Brest. The mission was a success and the Unit completed all 8 missions without any losses. With the missions complete, Col. Kelly decided that the landing incident on August 24, 1944, combined with the ongoing resistance of the 386th to convert to A-26 aircraft could jeopardize other bomb groups from accepting the A-26. Instead, the A-26 Test Combat Unit moved on to convert the 416th and 409th Bomb Groups. Some of the 386th websites state they converted to A-26 aircraft in November. Others show they never converted. I hope that you will correct the error in your website about the A-26 aircraft having been withdrawn. I understand the 386th’s resistance to convert to the A-26. The Martin B-26 Marauder was an excellent aircraft and it is a shame there are so few examples left. Please feel free to call me should you wish to discuss. Send me your email address and I will send you a photograph of Maj. Farris’ wrecked A-26 that was left at Great Dunmow. Best Regards, Steve Connolly 410=877-7732
This article was last modified 12 years ago