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Royal Air Force Steeple Morden or more simply RAF Steeple Morden 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) an ...
station located west of
Royston Royston may refer to: Places Australia *Royston, Queensland, a rural locality Canada * Royston, British Columbia, a small hamlet England *Royston, Hertfordshire, a town and civil parish, formerly partly in Cambridgeshire * Royston, South Yorks ...
,
Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For gov ...
,
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
.


History


RAF Bomber Command use

Between 1940 and September 1942, Steeple Morden was a grass satellite dispersal airfield used by No. 11 Operational Training Unit of
RAF Bomber Command RAF Bomber Command controlled the Royal Air Force's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. Along with the United States Army Air Forces, it played the central role in the strategic bombing of Germany in World War II. From 1942 onward, the British bo ...
flying
Vickers Wellington The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engined, long-range medium bomber. It was designed during the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey. Led by Vickers-Armstrongs' chief designer Rex Pierson; a key feature of the aircraft is its ...
s from
RAF Bassingbourn Royal Air Force Bassingbourn or more simply RAF Bassingbourn is a former Royal Air Force station located in Cambridgeshire approximately north of Royston, Hertfordshire and south west of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England. During the Second ...
. During this time No. 3 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit RAF (OTU) also used the airfield.


USAAF use

When the airfield was turned over for American use, Steeple Morden was assigned USAAF designation Station 122. Hard-surface runways were laid down, along with concrete hardstands and a permanent T-2 hangar.


3d Photographic Reconnaissance Group

Although not planned for use until 1943 Steeple Morden was first used by 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 Forc ...
3d Photographic Reconnaissance Group, arriving from RAF Membury on 16 October 1942. The 3d consisted of the 5th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th and 23d squadrons and only stayed at the airfield until 10 December, departing for La Senia
Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...
as part of
Operation Torch Operation Torch (8 November 1942 – 16 November 1942) was an Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of securing victory in North Africa while al ...
. During the stay of the 3d PRG, Lieutenant-Colonel
Elliott Roosevelt Elliott Roosevelt may refer to: * Elliott Roosevelt (general) (1910–1990), American general * Elliott Roosevelt (socialite) (1860–1894), American socialite {{hndis, Roosevelt, Elliott ...
, son of Franklin D. Roosevelt served as commander and also flew an F-4 "Lightning". Between January 1943 and May 1943 the airfield was used by No. 17 OTU which used
Bristol Blenheim The Bristol Blenheim is a British light bomber aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company (Bristol) which was used extensively in the first two years of the Second World War, with examples still being used as trainers until ...
s.


355th Fighter Group

With the departure of the photo-recon squadrons, the
355th Fighter Group 355th may refer to: Aviation * 355th Fighter Squadron, an inactive United States Air Force unit * 355th Fighter Wing, a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command's Twelfth Air Force * 355th Tactical Airlift Squadron, a U.S. Ai ...
, arrived from
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
Municipal Airport on 9 July 1943. The group was under the command of the 65th Fighter Wing of the
VIII Fighter Command The VIII Fighter Command was a United States Army Air Forces unit of command above the wings and below the numbered air force. Its primary mission was command of fighter operations within the Eighth Air Force. In the World War II European The ...
. Aircraft of the group were identified by white around their cowling and tail. The group consisted of the following squadrons: *
354th Fighter Squadron The 354th Fighter Squadron (354 FS) is part of the 355th Fighter Wing at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. It operates A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft conducting close air support missions. The squadron conducts Close Air Support, Air Int ...
(WR) *
357th Fighter Squadron The 357th Fighter Squadron is part of the 355th Fighter Wing at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. It operates Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft training pilots for close air support missions. The squadron was first activa ...
(OS) * 358th Fighter Squadron (YF) The 355th FG flew its first combat mission, a fighter sweep over
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...
, on 14 September 1943 and afterwards served primarily as escort for
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Thea ...
/
Consolidated B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...
bombers that attacked industrial areas of
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...
, marshalling yards at
Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...
, an airfield at Neuberg, oil refineries at Misburg, synthetic oil plants at
Gelsenkirchen Gelsenkirchen (, , ; wep, Gelsenkiärken) is the 25th most populous city of Germany and the 11th most populous in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia with 262,528 (2016) inhabitants. On the Emscher River (a tributary of the Rhine), it lies ...
, locks at
Minden Minden () is a middle-sized town in the very north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the greatest town between Bielefeld and Hanover. It is the capital of the district (''Kreis'') of Minden-Lübbecke, which is part of the region of De ...
, and other objectives. The group also flew fighter sweeps, area patrols, and bombing missions, striking such targets as air parks, locomotives, bridges, radio stations, and armoured cars. On 5 April 1944, shortly after converting from
Republic P-47 Thunderbolt The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bomber ...
s to
North American P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James ...
s, the group successfully bombed and strafed German airfields during a snow squall, a mission for which the group was awarded a
Distinguished Unit Citation The Presidential Unit Citation (PUC), originally called the Distinguished Unit Citation, is awarded to units of the uniformed services of the United States, and those of allied countries, for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enem ...
. The group provided fighter cover for Allied forces landing in Normandy on 6 June 1944, and afterwards hit transportation facilities to cut enemy supply lines. Hit fuel dumps, locomotives, and other targets in support of ground forces during the breakthrough at Saint-Lô in July. The 355th Fighter Group flew its last combat mission on 25 April 1945. On 3 July the group transferred to Gablingen, Germany for duty with
United States Air Forces in Europe United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...
as part of the army of occupation. Transferred, without personnel and equipment, to Mitchel Field
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
on 1 August 1946, and was inactivated on 20 November.


4th Fighter Group

The 4th Fighter Group transferred to Steeple Morden in July 1945 replacing the 355th FG. The unit stayed until November when it returned to Camp Kilmer
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...
and was inactivated. The group consisted of the following squadrons: * 334th Fighter Squadron (QP), former ES71 (XR) * 335th Fighter Squadron (WD), former ES121 (AV) * 336th Fighter Squadron (VF), former ES133 (MD)


Postwar use

With the departure of the Americans, Steeple Morden was transferred to
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 Brita ...
on 1 November 1945 and then was closed down on 1 September 1946 and abandoned. It was sold to private interests between 1960 and 1961 and was largely returned to agriculture.


Current use

With the end of military control, Steeple Morden was returned to agricultural use. The former airfield is virtually unrecognizable. A few single-width concrete farm roads, which are remnants of the perimeter track and runways are all that remains.


See also

*
List of former Royal Air Force stations This list of former RAF stations includes most of the stations, airfields and administrative headquarters previously used by the Royal Air Force. The stations are listed under any former county or country name which was appropriate for the du ...


References


Citations


Bibliography

* * *


External links


355th Fighter Group Website



mighty8thaf.preller.us Steeple Morden

355th Fighter Group on www.littlefriends.co.uk


{{DEFAULTSORT:Steeple Morden 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