Fowlmere Airfield is a small airfield located northeast of Royston,

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and southwest of

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. It was previously a Royal Air Force satellite station, RAF Fowlmere.

History

First World War

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

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

No. 124 Squadron RAF No. 124 (Baroda) Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron formed to be a light bomber unit in World War I and reformed as a fighter unit in World War II. History Formation and World War I No. 124 Squadron Royal Flying Corps was formed on ...

No. 125 Squadron RAF ("Never to be tamed") , colors= , colors_label= , march= , mascot= , equipment= , equipment_label= , battles= , anniversaries= , decorations= , battle_honours=• World War II• Home Defence • Operation Overlord , commander1= , commander1_la ...

No. 126 Squadron RAF No. 126 (Persian Gulf) Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron formed to be a day bomber unit in World War I and reformed as a fighter unit in World War II. History Formation and First World War No. 126 Squadron Royal Flying Corps was fo ...

Flying cadets of the

Air Service, United States Army The United States Army Air Service (USAAS)Craven and Cate Vol. 1, p. 9 (also known as the ''"Air Service"'', ''"U.S. Air Service"'' and before its legislative establishment in 1920, the ''"Air Service, United States Army"'') was the aerial warf ...

were trained at Fowlmere by RAF instructors, prior to their deployment to the Western Front in France. After the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

ended, the hangars were all demolished along with the assorted buildings by 1923.

Second World War

Royal Air Force use

With the eruption of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Fowlmere was intended to be a satellite for

RAF Fighter Command RAF Fighter Command was one of the commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It served throughout the Second World War. It earned near-immortal fame during the Battle of Britai ...

at nearby

RAF Duxford Duxford Aerodrome is located south of Cambridge, within the civil parish of Duxford, Cambridgeshire, England and nearly west of the village. The airfield is owned by the Imperial War Museum (IWM) and is the site of the Imperial War Muse ...

and was used by 19 Squadron with

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...

s along with: *

No. 2 Squadron RAF Number 2 Squadron, also known as No. II (Army Co-operation) Squadron, is the most senior Squadron (aviation), squadron of the Royal Air Force. It is currently equipped with the Eurofighter Typhoon, Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 at RAF Lossiemouth, C ...

. *

No. 15 Squadron RAF Number 15 Squadron, sometimes written as No. XV Squadron, was a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It most recently operated the Panavia Tornado, Panavia Tornado GR4 from RAF Lossiemouth as No. XV (Reserve) Squadron. It was the RAF's Operational ...

. *

No. 16 Squadron RAF Number 16 Squadron, nicknamed ''the Saints'', is a flying squadron of the Royal Air Force providing Elementary Flying Training (EFT) with the Grob Tutor T.1 from RAF Wittering. It formed in 1915 at Saint-Omer to carry out a mixture of offensi ...

. * No. 21 Squadron RAF. *

No. 111 Squadron RAF ("Standing by") , colors= , colors_label= , march= , mascot= , equipment= , equipment_label= , battles= , anniversaries= , decorations= , battle_honours= Palestine 1917–1918*, Megiddo, Home Defence 1940–1942*, France and Low Countries 1940, ...

. * No. 133 (Eagle) Squadron RAF. * No. 154 Squadron RAF. *

No. 167 Squadron RAF No. 167 Squadron RAF is a former Royal Air Force List of Royal Air Force aircraft squadrons, squadron. History Inter-war years 167 Squadron was formed on 18 November 1918 just after the Armistice of the World War I, First World War at RAF Birc ...

. *

No. 174 Squadron RAF No. 174 (Mauritius) Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron that was a fighter-bomber unit in World War II. History Formation in World War II The squadron formed on 2 March 1942 at RAF Manston and equipped with Hawker Hurricane, Hurricanes ...

. *

No. 264 Squadron RAF No. 264 Squadron RAF, also known as No. 264 (Madras Presidency) Squadron, was a squadron of the Royal Air Force. World War I The squadron was first formed during the First World War, from two former Royal Naval Air Service flights, No. 439 ...

. * No. 411 (Canadian) Squadron RAF. * No. 421 (Canadian) Squadron RAF. * No. 655 Squadron RAF.

United States Army Air Forces use

339th Fighter Group - P-51D Mustang 44-72437

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 The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

Eighth Air Force The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Force ...

fighter command. USAAF Station Units assigned to RAF Fowlmere were: * 314th Service Group : 467th Service Squadron; HHS 314th Service Group * 331st Service Group : 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 The 339th Fighter Group was a unit of the United States Air Forces during World War II.Maurer, Maurer (1983). ''Air Force Combat Units Of World War II''. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. . It comprised the 503rd, 504th, and 5 ...

arrived at Fowlmere from Rice AAF,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

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 No. 11 Group is a group in the Royal Air Force first formed in 1918. It had been formed and disbanded for various periods during the 20th century before disbanding in 1996 and reforming again in 2018. Its most famous service was in 1940 in the Ba ...

until January 1946 then closed and placed into care and maintenance status. It was eventually sold back to local farmers in 1957. 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.

Current use

The airfield is in active use, with new management as of November 2020. It is home to the British Aerobatic Academy and the Modern Air flying club. There is a grass runway 07/25, with PPR (Prior Permission Required) necessary to land. Fowlmere Airfield Museum is on-site, open one Sunday per month.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * Freeman, Roger A. (1978) ''Airfields of the Eighth: Then and Now''. After the Battle * Freeman, Roger A. (1991) ''The Mighty Eighth: The Colour Record''. Cassell & Co. * Maurer, Maurer (1983). ''Air Force Combat Units Of World War II''. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. .
USAAS-USAAC-USAAF-USAF Aircraft Serial Numbers--1908 to present

mighty8thaf.preller.us Fowlmere

339th Fighter Group on www.littlefriends.co.uk

External links

Fowlmere Airfield (current website)British Aerobatic AcademyModern Air
flying club
Fowlmere Airfield Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fowlmere Airfields of the VIII Fighter Command in the United Kingdom Royal Air Force stations in Cambridgeshire Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom World War I airfields World War I sites in England

Airfield An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...