Royal Air Force Spanhoe or more simply RAF Spanhoe (also known as

Harringworth Harringworth is a village and civil parish in North Northamptonshire, England. It is located close to the border with Rutland, on the southern bank of the River Welland, and around north of Corby. At the 2001 Census, the population of the pa ...

Wakerley Wakerley is a linear village and civil parish in the county of Northamptonshire, England. Forming part of North Northamptonshire, Wakerley is close to, and south of, the River Welland that forms the boundary with Rutland; its nearest neighbour, ...

) is a former

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 ...

station near

Uppingham Uppingham is a market town in Rutland, England, off the A47 between Leicester and Peterborough, south of the county town, Oakham. It had a population of 4,745 according to the 2011 census, estimated at 4,853 in 2019. It is known for its ep ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

, England. The airfield is located approximately east of

; about north-northwest of

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Opened in 1943, it was used by both the

and

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 ...

. During the war it was used primarily as a transport airfield. After the war it was closed in late 1945. Today, much of the airfield has been returned to agriculture, however one runway remains and the airfield is currently active and houses various privately owned light aircraft.

USAAF use

The airfield was known as USAAF Station AAF-493 for security reasons by the USAAF during the war, and by which it was referred to instead of location. Its USAAF Station Code was "UV".

315th Troop Carrier Group

Basically complete late in 1943 and opened on New Year's Day 1944, the station had already been earmarked for US troop carrier use and a station complement squadron moved in to ready the base between 4 and 7 January. On 7 February 1944, the headquarters of the 315th Troop Carrier Group took up residence, a somewhat reduced organisation as most of the air echelon had been sent on detachment to

Twelfth Air Force The Twelfth Air Force (12 AF; Air Forces Southern, (AFSOUTH)) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. The command is the air component to U ...

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during May 1943. The operational squadrons and fuselage codes of the group at Spanhoe were: * 34th Troop Carrier Squadron (NM) * 43rd Troop Carrier Squadron (UA) *

309th Troop Carrier Squadron 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...

(M6) *

310th Troop Carrier Squadron 31 may refer to: * 31 (number) Years * 31 BC * AD 31 * 1931 CE ('31) * 2031 CE ('31) Music * ''Thirty One'' (Jana Kramer album), 2015 * ''Thirty One'' (Jarryd James album), 2015 * "Thirty One", a song by Karma to Burn from the album ''Wild, ...

(4A) The 315th TCG was part of the

IX Troop Carrier Command The IX Troop Carrier Command was a United States Army Air Forces unit. Its last assignment was with the Ninth Air Force, based at Greenville Army Air Base, South Carolina. It was inactivated on 31 March 1946. As a component command of the Ninth ...

52nd Troop Carrier Wing The 52d Troop Carrier Wing (52 TCW) is a disbanded unit of the United States Air Force. It was last assigned to the New York Air National Guard (NY ANG) as the 52d Fighter Wing, being stationed at Westchester County Airport, New York. It was in ...

. On 8 July 1944 two

Douglas C-47 Skytrain The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF, and SAAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in ...

s of the 315th collided shortly after take-off for an exercise. One crew member managed to parachute safely but eight others and 26 Polish paratroops perished in the crash at

Tinwell Tinwell is a village and civil parish in the county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England. The population at the 2001 census was 209, increasing to 234 at the 2011 census. Village The village's name origin is dubious. Possibly, 'spring/str ...

, near Stamford. Between 6/11 6 April 1945, the 315th TCG moved from Spanhoe to their

Advanced Landing Ground Advanced Landing Grounds (ALGs) were temporary advance airfields constructed by the Allies during World War II during the liberation of Europe. They were built in the UK prior to the invasion and thereafter in northwest Europe from 6 June 19 ...

(ALG) at Amiens/Glisy airfield, France (ALG B-48).

Closure and Valiant crash

In 1946 RAF Spanhoe was closed and returned to the farmers from whom it had been requisitioned. On 12 August 1960 a Vickers Valiant, BK1 ''XD864'' of No. 7 Squadron, nose wheel failed to retract on takeoff from

RAF Wittering Royal Air Force Wittering or more simply RAF Wittering is a Royal Air Force station within the unitary authority area of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire and the unitary authority area of North Northamptonshire. Although Stamford, Lincolnshire, Sta ...

. While sorting it out the aircraft stalled and crashed into the ground at Spanhoe airfield. All five of the crew were killed.Halley 2001, p. 20.

Civil use

Memorial at entrance to Spanhoe Airfield - geograph

Between 1964 and 1967 the airfield was used by Perkins Engines Gliding Club, later known as Welland Gliding Club. The gliding club's origins were Perkins Engines Sports Association of Peterborough and moved to Spanhoe from their previous base at Westwood Airfield in Peterborough. In the 1970s, the north and west areas were excavated for iron ore and today little of the airfield remains. The majority of the main runway was removed along with the perimeter track and dispersal hardstands, although a small portion of the northeast (08) end of the main runway remains along with part of the perimeter road and a few loop hardstands. The 02/20 secondary runway is faintly visible in aerial photography As of 2007, the airfield is currently active and houses various privately owned light aircraft. It is also the home of Windmill Aviation. The south-western taxiway is now runway 27, and the southeast section of the wartime 14/32 runway was re-opened in 2004. Some of the wartime

Nissen huts A Nissen hut is a prefabricated steel structure for military use, especially as barracks, made from a half-cylindrical skin of corrugated iron. Designed during the First World War by the American-born, Canadian-British engineer and inventor Majo ...

are in use and a new hangar and maintenance building was erected on the site of what was a large wartime J-type hangar. A memorial obelisk on the approach road to the airfield commemorates the 315th Troop Carrier Group and a memorial in

All Saints' Church, Tinwell All Saints' Church is a church in Tinwell, Rutland, England. It is a Grade II* listed building. History The church dates from the 13th century but the windows date from the 15th century. The church is made up of a vestry, clerestory, tower, ...

commemorates US and Polish victims of the C-47 collision.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* Freeman, Roger A. (1994) UK Airfields of the Ninth: Then and Now. After the Battle * Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. .
Crash of Vickers Valiant XD864, 12 August 1960

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spanhoe Military units and formations established in 1943 Airfields of the IX Troop Carrier Command in the United Kingdom Royal Air Force stations in Northamptonshire 1960 disasters in the United Kingdom