Royal Air Force Bottesford or more simply RAF Bottesford 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 on the

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county border, north west of

Grantham Grantham () is a market and industrial town in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road. It lies some 23 miles (37 km) south of the Lincoln a ...

, Lincolnshire and south of

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and about north-northwest of

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. Opened in 1942, it was used by both the Royal Air Force (RAF) 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 ...

(USAAF). During

World War II 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

it was used primarily as a troop carrier airfield for paratroopers and as a bomber airfield before closing in 1948. Today the remains of the airfield are located on private property with the technical site being used as an industrial estate.One of the runways is currently used by

Cazoo Cazoo is a British online car retailer based in London, England which was founded in 2018 by Alex Chesterman. History Cazoo was founded in 2018 by British internet entrepreneur Alex Chesterman. It launched an online marketplace for used cars i ...

for storing cars and the control tower used as an office.

History

RAF Bomber Command use

The airfield was opened as a

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 ...

station in

No. 5 Group RAF No. 5 Group was a Royal Air Force bomber group of the Second World War, led during the latter part (February 1943 – 1945) by AVM Sir Ralph Cochrane. History Overview The Group was formed on 1 September 1937, with its headquarters at RAF Mi ...

area during the autumn of 1941, with No. 207 Squadron RAF moving in with its troublesome

Avro Manchester The Avro 679 Manchester was a British twin-engine heavy bomber developed and manufactured by the Avro aircraft company in the United Kingdom. While not being built in great numbers, it was the forerunner of the famed and vastly more successful ...

s during November. However, because of continual difficulties experienced with their

Rolls-Royce Vulture The Rolls-Royce Vulture was a British aero engine developed shortly before World War II that was designed and built by Rolls-Royce Limited. The Vulture used the unusual " X-24" configuration, whereby four cylinder blocks derived from the R ...

engines operations were frequently curtailed, but in March 1942 the squadron was able to step up its bombing raids on

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when it became one of the first to receive the new

Avro Lancaster The Avro Lancaster is a British Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to the same specification, as well as the Short Stir ...

in March 1942. No. 207 Sqn left in September 1942 for RAF Langar and in November a new Australian manned squadron,

No. 467 Squadron RAAF No. 467 Squadron RAAF was a Royal Australian Air Force bomber squadron, active over North West Europe during World War II. Formed in November 1942 as an Article XV Squadron in Britain, the squadron was notionally an Australian squadron under th ...

, arrived in November 1942 commencing operations on the night of 2/3 January 1943.

USAAF use

It was first occupied by the

50th Troop Carrier Wing The 50th Troop Carrier Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. The wing was formed in 1941 as the 50th Transport Wing, a headquarters fpr air transport organizations of the Air Corps. In 1942, it became a training organization for tr ...

Headquarters on 15 November. It was then opened as a reception base for Douglas C-47/C-53 Skytrain groups that were scheduled to fly in from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. It was known as USAAF Station AAF-481 for security reasons by the USAAF during the war, and by which it was referred to instead of location. Its USAAF Station Code was "AQ".

436th Troop Carrier Group

The first USAAF group to arrive at Bottesford was

436th Troop Carrier Group 436th may refer to: *436th Airlift Wing, an active United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Mobility Command Eighteenth Air Force based at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware * 436th Operations Group, an active United States Air Force unit, the ...

a few days into the New Year from Baer Army Airfield,

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. Operational squadrons of the group were: * 79th Troop Carrier Squadron (S6) *

80th Troop Carrier Squadron The 80th Troop Carrier Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Formed in April 1943, its last assignment was with the 436th Troop Carrier Group, based at Standiford Municipal Airport, Kentucky. It was inactivated on 16 April 1951. ...

(7D) * 81st Troop Carrier Squadron (U5) *

82nd Troop Carrier Squadron The 82d Troop Carrier Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 436th Troop Carrier Group,operated from Standiford Municipal Airport, Kentucky. It was inactivated on 16 April 1951. History Formed in ...

(3D) The 436th TCG was assigned to the 53rd Troop Carrier Wing. On 3 March the 436th Group was moved south to lake up station at

RAF Membury Royal Air Force Membury or more simply RAF Membury is a former Royal Air Force station built in the civil parish of Lambourn in Berkshire, England. The airfield is located approximately north-northwest of Hungerford, at the Membury services ...

440th Troop Carrier Group

Within a week (between 8/11 March), the C-47s of the

440th Troop Carrier Group 44 may refer to: * 44 (number) * one of the years 44 BC, AD 44, 1944, 2044 Military *44M Tas, a Hungarian medium/heavy tank design of World War II *44M Tas Rohamlöveg, a Hungarian tank destroyer design of World War II, derived from the 44M Tas ta ...

started to arrive from Baer Army Airfield. Operational squadrons of the group were: * 95th Troop Carrier Squadron (9X) * 96th Troop Carrier Squadron (6Z) * 97th Troop Carrier Squadron (W6) * 98th Troop Carrier Squadron (8Y) After using the airfield during the following two months for glider repair and modification, the USAAF then departed.

Subsequent RAF wartime use

The USAAF relinquished Bottesford to No. 5 Group Bomber Command in July 1944. After the end of the war, a small holding party remained for a few years until it was sold off in 1948. The following units were also here at some point:

Current use

With the facility released from military control, farmers were using the land for crops. Today, the technical site buildings are operated as an industrial facility. Runways, all of which still exist with just a small amount of concrete (mostly dispersal loops) being removed for hardcore. The perimeter track and two T-2 hangars still exist, being used for unknown purposes, although the condition of the perimeter track is very deteriorated. The former airfield control tower has been restored and used as offices.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * Freeman, Roger A. (1994) UK Airfields of the Ninth: Then and Now 1994. After the Battle * *

External links

RAF Bottesford

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bottesford Airfields of the IX Troop Carrier Command in the United Kingdom Royal Air Force stations in Leicestershire Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom