RAF North Witham: Difference between revisions
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{{short description|World War II airfield in Lincolnshire, England}} |
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{{Infobox Military Structure |
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{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2017}} |
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|name= Royal Air Force Station North Witham<BR>USAAF Station 479 |
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{{Use British English|date=October 2017}} |
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[[Image:Ensign of the Royal Air Force.svg|90px]] |
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{{Infobox military installation |
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[[Image:Patch9thusaaf.png|60px]] |
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|name= RAF North Witham<br/>USAAF Station AAF-479 |
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|ensign=[[File:Ensign of the Royal Air Force.svg|90px]][[File:Patch9thusaaf.png|60px]] |
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|coordinates={{coor dms|52|47|57|N|000|36|26|W|}} |
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|location= [[North Witham]], [[Lincolnshire]], |
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|image= [[Image:NorthWitham-19mar44.jpg|300px]] |
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|country = [[England]] |
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|caption= North Wirtham airfield, [[19 March]] [[1944]] |
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|coordinates={{Coord|52|47|35|N|000|35|53|W|region:GB_type:airport|display=inline,title}} |
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|image= NorthWitham-19mar44.jpg |
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|image_size= 300px |
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|caption= North Witham airfield, 19 March 1944. Note the cluster of hangars in the technical site, to the northwest of the airfield, and the dispersed T-2 hangar, on the southeast side of the airfield. |
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|type= Military airfield |
|type= Military airfield |
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|code=NW |
|code=NW |
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|materials= |
|materials= |
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|height= |
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|used=1943- |
|used=1943-1956 |
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|demolished= |
|demolished= |
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|condition= |
|condition= |
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|ownership= |
|ownership= |
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|operator = [[Royal Air Force]]<BR>[[United States Army Air Forces]] |
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|controlledby=[[Ninth Air Force]]<br />RAF Maintenance Command |
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|garrison= |
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|commanders= |
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|commanders= |
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|occupants=1st Tactical Air Depot<BR>IX Troop Carrier Pathfinder Group (Provisional) |
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|occupants=1st Tactical Air Depot<br />IX Troop Carrier Pathfinder Group (Provisional) |
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|battles= [[European Theatre of World War II]]<BR>Air Offensive, Europe July 1942 - May 1945 |
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|battles= [[European Theatre of World War II]]<br />Air Offensive, Europe July 1942 - May 1945 |
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{{Location map|Lincolnshire |
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|pushpin_map= Lincolnshire |
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|pushpin_label_position=none |
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|lat= 52.79 |
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|pushpin_map_caption= Shown within Lincolnshire |
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|long= -0.60 |
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|pushpin_mapsize= 200 |
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}} |
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'''Royal Air Force North Witham''' or more simply '''RAF North Witham''' is a former [[Royal Air Force]] station located in [[Twyford Wood]], off the A1 between Stamford and Grantham, [[Lincolnshire]], England about {{convert|104|mi|km}} north-northwest of [[London]]. |
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'''RAF North Witham''' is a [[World War II]] airfield at British national grid reference {{getamap|SK947229|SK947229}} in [[Twyford Wood]], [[Colsterworth]], [[Lincolnshire]]. Its control tower is at National Grid reference SK946222, the centre of {{getamap|SK946222|this map}}. |
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The site opened in 1943 during the [[World War II|Second World War]] and used both the [[Royal Air Force]] and [[United States Army Air Forces]], initially as transport airfield then for miscellaneous uses, before closing in 1956. Today the remains of the airfield are mostly woodland maintained by the Forestry Commission with the old concrete runways still accessible. |
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It was established by the British [[Royal Air Force]], and was lent to the [[United States Army Air Forces]] [[Ninth Air Force]]. The airfield was also known as USAAF station 479. Today it is now abandoned. |
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==History== |
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===USAAF use=== |
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North Witham was designed as a bomber airfield as part of the [[Royal Air Force|RAF]]'s rapid expansion during [[World War II]] in the Air Ministry No. 7 Group area. Construction commenced late in 1942 with J. Mowlem & Co Ltd as main contractors. The acerage used for the airfield proper necessitated the closing of a minor road to Swayfield village. The runways were the optimum 6,000 ft main and 4,200ft secondaries, aligned 02-20, 06-24 and 12-30 respectively. The 50 hardstands were all loop type and the hangars the usual two T-2s. |
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North Witham was known as '''USAAF Station AAF-479''' for security reasons by the USAAF during the war, and by which it was referred to instead of location. Its USAAF Station Code was "NW". |
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==== 1st Tactical Air Depot ==== |
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It opened officially on [[15 December]] [[1943]], the first RAF personnel having arrived the day before. |
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North Witham was allocated to the USAAF Troop Carrier Command in August 1943. Its immediate task was to distribute transport aircraft and the means of maintaining them to operational groups of the USAAF. USAAF [[Douglas C-47 Skytrain]] maintenance repair activities continued at North Witham until May 1945, albeit on a reducing scale. |
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===RAF Maintenance Command use=== |
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On 1 June 1945 the station was handed over to No. 40 Group, [[RAF Maintenance Command]]. |
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The first American personnel arrived on [[31 December]] [[1943]], having been accommodated at the nearby [[RAF Cottesmore]]. Domestic accommodations had Nissen huts for 2,324 persons but in addition to this several hundred Gls had to be accommodated in tents. |
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==Current use== |
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=== 1st Tactical Air Depot === |
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The site was originally partially wooded and some of this remained to the northeast of the runways throughout the military period, but after closure the [[Forestry Commission]] planted most of the airfield with [[oak]] (''Quercus robur'') and [[Pinophyta|conifers]]. Part of it is now a [[nature reserves|reserve]] for [[butterflies]] and the [[concrete]] is slowly being broken up and removed. Ghostly outlines of large numbers of loop dispersal hardstands can be seen in [[aerial photography]], with the perimeter track being reduced to a single lane road. The runway pattern can clearly be seen, some still remaining at full width, other parts being now at half width or less. All of the remaining runway sections are in a very deteriorated condition. |
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North Witham was allocated to the USAAF Troop Carrier Command in August 1943, although the airfield was not fully completed until late in the year when it had become the preferred site for the 1st Tactical Air Depot. Its immediate task was to distribute transport aircraft and the means of maintaining them to operational groups of the USAAF. At this time that meant handling the type known by its maker, [[Douglas Aircraft Company|Douglas]], as the [[Douglas DC-3|DC-3]], to the RAF as the Dakota and to the USAAF as the [[C-47 Skytrain|C-47]], of which IX Troop Carrier Command (TCC) had 1,410 at peak inventory. |
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However, the southern end of the airfield is now something of an [[industrial estate]]. In 1957 Conder Seeds Limited (a subsidiary of Twyford Seeds Limited, the Adderbury-based seed specialists) was located on the site and after the closure of Conder Seeds Limited in 1969, Humber Warehousing/Humber Mc Veigh occupied the Conder Seeds Site. The industrial estate has developed considerably with large numbers of grain silos, belonging to Openfield Agriculture Ltd, and highway trailers being parked. In addition, on the part of the site formerly occupied by Conder Seeds Limited/Humber Warehousing/Humber McVeigh there appears to be a very large graveyard of ex [[Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Defence]] (MoD) equipment (now operated by Witham Specialist Vehicles Limited who dispose of surplus UK MoD equipment), where C-47s and [[Waco CG-4]] Gliders once were parked prior to the invasion of [[Continental Europe]]. |
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As at other airfields where Tactical Air Depots were established. the major organisations were two Air Depot Groups (ADGs), each having a Depot Repair Squadron and a Depot Supply Squadron, a Quartermaster Truck Company. a Quartermaster Supply Platoon and an Ordnance Medium Maintenance Company. |
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The airfield's proximity to a [[interchange (road)|junction]] of the [[A1 road (Great Britain)|A1 road]] means that development is pressing against the wood from the north-west. Nonetheless, the derelict [[control tower]] remains and on a warm [[summer]]'s day, on the runway, in the quiet of the trees, it is a very atmospheric place. |
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There were also specialist units present serving both ADGs and the usual Military Police Company and Station Complement Squadron to guard and run the airfield, The two ADGs at North Witham were the 29th and 33rd (the 85th ADG was present until February 1944) and, apart from their direct control of units on the airfield, they were responsible for seven Service Groups divided into A and B teams, each based with and serving one of the 14 Troop Carrier Groups in the IX TCC. |
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==See also== |
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When IX TCC was transferred from the Ninth Air Force to the First Allied Airborne Army control on [[1 September]] [[1944]], the North Witham organisation's title was changed to IX Troop Carrier Service Wing (Provisional) although activities continued much as before. As North Witham had only two T-2 hangars, US army engineers erected six Butler combat hangars to give additional coveted shelter for engineering work. Additional workshops were also erected on the technical site. |
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* [[List of former Royal Air Force stations]] |
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=== IX Troop Carrier Pathfinder Group (Provisional) === |
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* [[82d Airborne Division]] |
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[[Image:Eisenhower d-day.jpg|thumb|left|Gen. [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] gives the order of the Day. `Full victory-nothing else' to paratroopers in England, just before they board their airplanes to participate in the first assault in the invasion of the continent of Europe. Note the tents.]] |
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: (US 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment) also flew from [[RAF Folkingham]]. |
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In March 1944, the Command Pathfinder School of the U.S. IX Troop Carrier Command, moved in from a nucleus formed at from [[RAF Cottesmore]] to train air crews and [[Pathfinders (military)|pathfinder]] [[paratrooper]]s. The latter would act as scouts, provide with radio communication, including beacons, ahead of a main drop of parachute troops. At this stage, much of the living accommodation was under canvas. |
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* [[101st Airborne Division]] |
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==References== |
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IX TCC groups selected three crews each for training, and trained on school C-47s fitted with "Gee" radar [[triangulation]] navigational equipment and a limited number of SCR-717-C search radar sets. "Rebecca" (AN/APN-2) interrogators were also installed to query "Eureka" (ANIPPN-l) transponders, the ground set which was used to mark the landing or dropping zones during an airborne operation, the combination [[Rebecca/Eureka transponding radar]] system used as a [[homing beacon]]. The pathfinder air crews worked with teams drawn from paratroop regiments, the task being to locate a given dropping point with a combination of Gee and SCR-717-C, drop the paratroops who would then set up Eureka sets and visual aids on the ground to guide in the main airborne force to within an optimum visual range for an accurate delivery. |
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{{Air Force Historical Research Agency}} |
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===Citations=== |
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It was IX TCC Pathfinder School C-47s that led the air invasion forces on [[5 June]] [[1944]], when the pathfinders of US [[U.S. 82nd Airborne Division|82nd]] and [[101st Airborne Division|101st]] Airborne Divisions took off for [[Normandy]], leading the [[American airborne landings in Normandy]] as part of [[Operation Overlord]]. |
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{{Reflist}} |
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===Bibliography=== |
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At 21:30 hours on [[5 June]] [[1944]] the first of seven serials (six of three aircraft and one of two) with about 300 pathfinders were dispatched from North Witham for the French [[Cotentin Peninsula]], in 20 [[C-47 Skytrain|C-47]] aircraft. They began to drop at 00:15 on [[June 6]], to prepare the drop zones for the follow-on airborne parachute divisions. They were the first US troops on the ground on [[D-Day]]. However, their aircraft were scattered by low clouds and [[anti-aircraft]] fire. Many never found their assigned landing zones. Some of the landing zones were too heavily defended, some were flooded. One of the pathfinder C-47s for the 101st Airborne was forced to ditch en route to Normandy. |
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* [[Bruce Barrymore Halpenny]] ''Actions Stations 2'' (1991) {{ISBN|1-85260-405-0}}. |
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In August 1944, twelve Pathfinder C-47s were detached to operate from Marcigliano airfield, north of [[Rome]], for [[Operation Dragoon|Operation "Dragoon"]]. Just prior to [[Operation Market-Garden|Operation "Market"]], the Pathfinder School, re-designated the IX Troop Carrier Pathfinder Group (Provisional), moved from North Witham to [[RAF Chalgrove]] between 10/14 September due to an expansion of the C-47/C-53 Air depot. |
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Training of [[Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade|Polish airborne troops]] followed but by December, the war had moved on and the Air Depot Group began to move to [[France]]. |
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USAAF C-47 maintenance repair activities continued at North Witham until May 1945, albeit on a reducing scale. |
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== RAF Maintenance Command use== |
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On [[1 June]] [[1945]] the station was handed over to No. 40 Group, RAF Maintenance Command. |
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Under RAF control, the airfield became a bomb dump under 100 Maintenance Unit. There had been bomb dumps in fields and roadsides all round the country especially in a county like Lincolnshire, full of [[Bomber Command]] air stations. These were decommissioned as quickly as possible and the bombs brought to more secure places to await the slower process of decommissioning the bombs themselves. 100 MU had been at nearby RAF South Witham since March 1942 and as operational demand died off, the unit expanded from Morkery Wood onto the runways of North Witham. |
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== Civil use== |
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The Site was originally partially wooded and some of this remained to the north-east of the runways throughout the military period but after closure, the [[Forestry Commission]] planted most of the airfield with [[oak]] (''Quercus robur'') and [[Pinophyta|conifers]]. Part of it is now a [[nature reserves|reserve]] for [[butterflies]] and the [[concrete]] is slowly being broken up and removed. However, the southern end of the airfield is something of an [[industrial estate]] and its proximity to a junction of the [[A1 road]] means that development is pressing against the wood from the north-west. Nonetheless the derelict [[control tower]] remains and on a warm summer's day, on the runway, in the quiet of the trees, it is a very atmospheric place. |
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==See also== |
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* [[List of RAF stations]] |
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* [[Ninth Air Force|USAAF Ninth Air Force - World War II]] |
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* [[82d Airborne Division]]<BR>(US 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment) also flew from [[RAF Folkingham]]. |
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* [[101st Airborne Division]] |
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==References== |
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* [[Bruce Barrymore Halpenny]] ''Actions Stations 2'' (1991) ISBN 1-85260-405-0. |
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* [http://www.forestry.gov.uk/website/wildwoods.nsf/LUWebDocsByKey/EnglandLincolnshireKestevenForestTwyfordWood Forestry Commission website, Twyford Wood wildlife] |
* [http://www.forestry.gov.uk/website/wildwoods.nsf/LUWebDocsByKey/EnglandLincolnshireKestevenForestTwyfordWood Forestry Commission website, Twyford Wood wildlife] |
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* Freeman, Roger A. |
* Freeman, Roger A. (1994) UK Airfields of the Ninth: Then and Now 1994. After the Battle {{ISBN|0-900913-80-0}} |
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* Chorlton, Martyn O (2003) Paths in the Wood: A Complete History of RAF North Witham. Old Forge Publishing {{ISBN|0-9544507-0-1}}. |
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* Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. {{ISBN|0-89201-092-4}}. |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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{{commons category|RAF North Witham}} |
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*[http://raf-lincolnshire.info/northwitham/northwitham.htm Lincolnshire RAF History Site] |
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*[http://www.controltowers.co.uk/N/NorthWitham.htm Modern pictures] |
*[http://www.controltowers.co.uk/N/NorthWitham.htm Modern pictures] |
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{{Royal Air Force}} |
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{{mmuknr photo|495000|322600|25|Aerial Photo of RAF North Wirtham from Multimap.Com}} |
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{{RAF stations in Lincolnshire}} |
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{{USAAF 9th Air Force UK}} |
{{USAAF 9th Air Force UK}} |
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{{authority control}} |
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[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1943]] |
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[[Category:Royal Air Force stations in Lincolnshire|North Witham]] |
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[[Category:History of Lincolnshire|RAF North Witham]] |
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[[Category:Defunct World War II USAAF Fields]] |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:North Witham}} |
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[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1943]] |
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[[Category:Royal Air Force stations in Lincolnshire]] |
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[[Category:Airfields of the IX Troop Carrier Command in the United Kingdom]] |
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[[Category:Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom]] |
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Latest revision as of 10:00, 9 February 2024
| RAF North Witham USAAF Station AAF-479   | |
|---|---|
| North Witham, Lincolnshire, in England | |
 North Witham airfield, 19 March 1944. Note the cluster of hangars in the technical site, to the northwest of the airfield, and the dispersed T-2 hangar, on the southeast side of the airfield. | |
  Shown within Lincolnshire | |
| Coordinates | 52°47′35″N 000°35′53″W / 52.79306°N 0.59806°W |
| Type | Military airfield |
| Code | NW |
| Site information | |
| Operator | Royal Air Force United States Army Air Forces |
| Controlled by | Ninth Air Force RAF Maintenance Command |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1942 |
| In use | 1943-1956 |
| Battles/wars | European Theatre of World War II Air Offensive, Europe July 1942 - May 1945 |
| Garrison information | |
| Occupants | 1st Tactical Air Depot IX Troop Carrier Pathfinder Group (Provisional) |
Royal Air Force North Witham or more simply RAF North Witham is a former Royal Air Force station located in Twyford Wood, off the A1 between Stamford and Grantham, Lincolnshire, England about 104 miles (167 km) north-northwest of London.
The site opened in 1943 during the Second World War and used both the Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Forces, initially as transport airfield then for miscellaneous uses, before closing in 1956. Today the remains of the airfield are mostly woodland maintained by the Forestry Commission with the old concrete runways still accessible.
History
[edit]USAAF use
[edit]North Witham was known as USAAF Station AAF-479 for security reasons by the USAAF during the war, and by which it was referred to instead of location. Its USAAF Station Code was "NW".
1st Tactical Air Depot
[edit]North Witham was allocated to the USAAF Troop Carrier Command in August 1943. Its immediate task was to distribute transport aircraft and the means of maintaining them to operational groups of the USAAF. USAAF Douglas C-47 Skytrain maintenance repair activities continued at North Witham until May 1945, albeit on a reducing scale.
RAF Maintenance Command use
[edit]On 1 June 1945 the station was handed over to No. 40 Group, RAF Maintenance Command.
Current use
[edit]The site was originally partially wooded and some of this remained to the northeast of the runways throughout the military period, but after closure the Forestry Commission planted most of the airfield with oak (Quercus robur) and conifers. Part of it is now a reserve for butterflies and the concrete is slowly being broken up and removed. Ghostly outlines of large numbers of loop dispersal hardstands can be seen in aerial photography, with the perimeter track being reduced to a single lane road. The runway pattern can clearly be seen, some still remaining at full width, other parts being now at half width or less. All of the remaining runway sections are in a very deteriorated condition.
However, the southern end of the airfield is now something of an industrial estate. In 1957 Conder Seeds Limited (a subsidiary of Twyford Seeds Limited, the Adderbury-based seed specialists) was located on the site and after the closure of Conder Seeds Limited in 1969, Humber Warehousing/Humber Mc Veigh occupied the Conder Seeds Site. The industrial estate has developed considerably with large numbers of grain silos, belonging to Openfield Agriculture Ltd, and highway trailers being parked. In addition, on the part of the site formerly occupied by Conder Seeds Limited/Humber Warehousing/Humber McVeigh there appears to be a very large graveyard of ex Ministry of Defence (MoD) equipment (now operated by Witham Specialist Vehicles Limited who dispose of surplus UK MoD equipment), where C-47s and Waco CG-4 Gliders once were parked prior to the invasion of Continental Europe.
The airfield's proximity to a junction of the A1 road means that development is pressing against the wood from the north-west. Nonetheless, the derelict control tower remains and on a warm summer's day, on the runway, in the quiet of the trees, it is a very atmospheric place.
See also
[edit]- (US 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment) also flew from RAF Folkingham.
References
[edit]
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
Citations
[edit]Bibliography
[edit]- Bruce Barrymore Halpenny Actions Stations 2 (1991) ISBN 1-85260-405-0.
- Forestry Commission website, Twyford Wood wildlife
- Freeman, Roger A. (1994) UK Airfields of the Ninth: Then and Now 1994. After the Battle ISBN 0-900913-80-0
- Chorlton, Martyn O (2003) Paths in the Wood: A Complete History of RAF North Witham. Old Forge Publishing ISBN 0-9544507-0-1.
- Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.
External links
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to RAF North Witham.
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