RAF Little Walden
Encyclopedia
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, England. The airfield is located approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) north-northeast of Saffron Walden
Saffron Walden
Saffron Walden is a medium-sized market town in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England. It is located north of Bishop's Stortford, south of Cambridge and approx north of London...
; about 38 miles (61.2 km) north-northeast of London
Opened in 1944, it was used by both the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
and United States Army Air Force. During the war it was used primarily as a bomber and fighter combat airfield. After the war it was used for surplus military storage before being closed in 1958.
Today the remains of the airfield are located on private property being used as agricultural fields.
Overview
Little Walden Park and the adjoining farms was selected for a RAF Bomber Command airfield in the summer of 1942 and was originally called Hadstock. However, construction did not begin until 1943 and the official name was changed to Little Walden.The airfield was built to the Class A airfield
Class A airfield
Class A airfields were military installations originally built for the Royal Air Force in the Second World War. Several were transferred to the U.S...
standard, the main feature of which was a set of three converging runways each containing a concrete runway for takeoffs and landings, optimally placed at 60 degree angles to each other in a triangular pattern. It consisted of one main and two secondary concrete runways, aligned 32/14 (main), 04/22 and 09/27; over 75 loop dispersal hardstands connecting to an enclosing perimeter track, of a standard width of 50 feet.
A very large ground support station was constructed largely of Nissen hut
Nissen hut
A Nissen hut is a prefabricated steel structure made from a half-cylindrical skin of corrugated steel, a variant of which was used extensively during World War II.-Description:...
s of various sizes. The support station was where the group and ground station commanders and squadron headquarters and orderly rooms were located. Also on the ground station were where the mess facilities; chapel; hospital; mission briefing and debriefing; armory and bombsite storage; life support; parachute rigging; supply warehouses; station and airfield security; motor pool and the other ground support functions necessary to support the air operations of the group. These facilities were all connected by a network of single path support roads.
The technical site, connected to the ground station and airfield consisted of at least two T-2 type hangars and various organizational, component and field maintenance shops along with the crew chiefs and other personnel necessary to keep the aircraft airworthy and to quickly repair light and moderate battle damage. Aircraft severely damaged in combat were sent to repair depots for major structural repair. The Ammunition dump was located on the west side of the airfield, outside of the perimeter track surrounded by large dirt mounds and concrete storage pens for storing the aerial bombs and the other munitions required by the combat aircraft.
Various domestic accommodation sites were constructed dispersed away from the airfield to the southeast, but within a mile or so of the technical support site, also using clusters of Maycrete or Nissen huts. The Huts were either connected, set up end-to-end or built singly and made of prefabricated corrugated iron with a door and two small windows at the front and back. They provided accommodation for personnel, including communal and a sick quarters.
USAAF use
Little Walden airfield was assigned to the USAAF in August 1942 and was assigned to the Eighth Air ForceEighth Air Force
The Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana....
. It was known as USAAF Station AAF-165 for security reasons by the USAAF during the war, and by which it was referred to instead of location. It's USAAF Station Code was "LL".
409th Bombardment Group (Light)
The airfield was opened on 9 March 1944 and was first used by the United States Army Air Force Ninth Air ForceNinth Air Force
The Ninth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command . It is headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina....
409th Bombardment Group
409th Bombardment Group
The 409th Air Expeditionary Operations Group is a provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Mobility Command. It may be activated or inactivated at any time....
(Light), which arrived from DeRidder Army Airbase, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. The group consisted of the following squadrons and had the following fuselage codes:
- 640th Bombardment Squadron640th Bombardment SquadronThe 640th Bombing Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last was assigned to the 409th Bombardment Group, Ninth Air Force, stationed at Westover Field, Massachusetts. It was inactivated on 27 November 1945-History:...
(W5) - 641st Bombardment Squadron641st Bombardment SquadronThe 641st Bombing Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last was assigned to the 409th Bombardment Group, Ninth Air Force, stationed at Westover Field, Massachusetts. It was inactivated on 27 November 1945-History:...
(7G) - 642d Bombardment Squadron642d Bombardment SquadronThe 642d Bombing Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last was assigned to the 409th Bombardment Group, Ninth Air Force, stationed at Westover Field, Massachusetts. It was inactivated on 27 November 1945-History:...
(D6) - 643d Bombardment Squadron643d Bombardment SquadronThe 643d Bombing Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last was assigned to the 409th Bombardment Group, Ninth Air Force, stationed at Westover Field, Massachusetts. It was inactivated on 27 November 1945-History:...
(5I)
The 409th flew the A-20 "Havoc" and A-26
A-26 Invader
The Douglas A-26 Invader was a United States twin-engined light attack bomber built by the Douglas Aircraft Co. during World War II that also saw service during several of the Cold War's major conflicts...
"Invader" light bomber and was originally trained in low-level attack missions. However, the group was busy flying medium-altitude bombing runs from 10,000 ft. Over 100 missions were flown by the group, attacking coastal defences, V-weapon sites, aerodromes, and other targets in France in preparation for the invasion of Normandy
D-Day
D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
. The group supported ground forces during the Battle of Normandy
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...
by hitting gun batteries, rail lines, bridges, communications, and other objectives. During July 1944, aided the Allied offensive at Caen
Caen
Caen is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the Basse-Normandie region. It is located inland from the English Channel....
and the breakthrough at Saint-Lô
Saint-Lô
Saint-Lô is a commune in north-western France, the capital of the Manche department in Normandy.-History:Originally called Briovère , the town is built on and around ramparts. Originally it was a Gaul fortified settlement...
with attacks on enemy troops, flak positions, fortified villages, and supply dumps.
The group moved to their Advanced Landing Ground in at Bretigny, France (A-48) to support Third Army's advance toward Germany on 10 September. A total of ten aircraft were lost by the group flying from Little Walden.
In February 1945 the 409th moved to Laon-Couvron Air Base
Laon-Couvron Air Base
Laon-Couvron Air Base is a former French and United States Air Force base in France. It is located in the Aisne département of France, less than one mile southeast of the village of Couvron and 6 miles northwest of Laon; on the southwest side of the Autoroute des Anglais 1 Mile east of the...
(A-70) France, remaining until June. The group returned to the United States and was deactivated at Seymour Johnson AAF
Seymour Johnson Air Force Base
Seymour Johnson Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located to the southeast of Goldsboro, North Carolina. The base is named for Navy test pilot Seymour Johnson, a native of Goldsboro...
North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
on 6 October 1945.
361st Fighter Group
With the departure of the 409th, Little Walden was transferred to the Eighth Air ForceEighth Air Force
The Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana....
which transferred the 361st Fighter Group
361st Fighter Group
The 361st Fighter Group was a World War II United States Army Air Forces combat organization. It served primarily in the European Theatre of World War II....
from RAF Bottisham
RAF Bottisham
RAF Bottisham is a former World War II airfield in England. The field is located 5 miles E of Cambridge, S of Bottisham village in Cambridgeshire.- RAF Fighter Command use:...
to the airfield on 26 September 1944. The group was under the command of the 65th Fighter Wing of the VIII Fighter Command
VIII Fighter Command
The VIII Fighter Command is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the United States Air Forces in Europe, being stationed at RAF Honington, England. It was inactivated on 20 March 1946....
. Aircraft of the group were identified by yellow around their cowling.
The group consisted of the following squadrons:
- 374th Fighter Squadron (B7)
- 375th Fighter Squadron (E2)
- 376th Fighter Squadron376th Fighter SquadronThe 376th Fighter Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last was assigned to the 361st Fighter Group, VIII Fighter Command, stationed at Camp Myles Standish, Massachusetts...
(E9)
At Little Walden, the 361st served primarily as a B-17/B-24 escort organization, covering the penetration, attack, and withdrawal of bomber formations that the USAAF sent against targets on the Continent. The group also engaged in counter-air patrol
Counter-air patrol
Counter-air patrol is a type of flying mission for fighter aircraft against other fighters, common in World War II and sometimes combined with fighter sweeps against targets of opportunity...
s, fighter sweeps, and strafing and dive-bombing missions. Attacked such targets as airfields, marshalling yards, missile sites, industrial areas, ordnance depots, oil refineries, trains, and highways.
The group supported the airborne attack on Holland in September 1944 and deployed to Chievres
Chièvres
Chièvres is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut. On January 1, 2006 Chièvres had a total population of 6,198. The total area is 46.91 km² which gives a population density of 132 inhabitants per km²....
, Belgium between February and April 1945 flying tactical ground support missions during the airborne assault across the Rhine
Operation Varsity
Operation Varsity was a successful joint American–British airborne operation that took place toward the end of World War II...
.
The unit returned to Little Walden and flew its last combat mission on 20 April 1945.
On 10 November the 361st Fighter Group returned to Camp Kilmer
Camp Kilmer
Camp Kilmer, New Jersey is a former United States Army camp that was activated in June 1942 as a staging area and part of an installation of the New York Port of Embarkation. The camp was organized as part of the Army Service Forces Transportation Corps. Troops were quartered at Camp Kilmer in...
New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
and was deactivated.
493rd Bombardment Group (Heavy)
The 493d Bombardment Group493d Bombardment Group
The 493d Bombardment Group is an inactive United States Army Air Force unit. Its last assignment was to the Army Service Forces, being stationed at Sioux Falls Army Air Field, South Dakota. It was inactivated on 28 August 1945....
(Heavy) transferred from RAF Debach
RAF Debach
RAF Debach is a former World War II airfield in England. The field is located 3 miles NW of Woodbridge, Suffolk.-USAAF use:Debach was one of the last Eighth Air Force heavy bomber stations to be occupied. being built by the 820th Engineer Battalion of the US Army during 1943/1944...
in March 1945 while repairs were carried out on their home runways. The group flew a few combat missions at the very end of the war, the last being an attack on marshalling yards at Nauen
Nauen
Nauen is a town in the Havelland district, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated 38 km west of Berlin and 26 km northwest of Potsdam.-History:...
, on 20 April 1945.
The 493d returned its aircraft to Debach after V-E day, and was deactivated in August at Sioux Falls AAF, South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
.
56th Fighter Group
The 56th Fighter Group transferred from RAF BoxtedRAF Boxted
RAF Boxted is a former World War II airfield in Essex, England. The airfield is located approximately north-northeast of Colchester; about northeast of London...
in September 1945 after Boxted was turned over to the RAF. The group used Little Walden as a staging area on its way to Camp Kilmer
Camp Kilmer
Camp Kilmer, New Jersey is a former United States Army camp that was activated in June 1942 as a staging area and part of an installation of the New York Port of Embarkation. The camp was organized as part of the Army Service Forces Transportation Corps. Troops were quartered at Camp Kilmer in...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
where it was inactivated on 16 October.
Postwar RAF use
After the war, the field was used by the RAF as a storage facility for surplus United States Army/Army Air Force military vehicles. Over the next several years, they were auctioned off to the civilian marketplace. Little Walden airfield was finally declared surplus and was sold, returning to agricultural use in May 1958.Civil use
With the end of military control, the airfield hangars found uses as a grain store and for warehouse space. The technical site was eventually developed for a variety of light industries. Most of the concrete areas were removed for hardcore, but the B1052 Saffron Walden to Linton road was routed along part of the southwest/northeast runway.Today very little remains of the former wartime airfield. Only a few small concreted areas used by agricultural buildings remain. None of the runways, or hardstands or perimeter track remain at full width, being converted to single lane agricultural roads. The ghostly remains of some loop hardstands and the ends of the main runways are visible as disturbed earth in aerial photogarphy.
After remaining derelict for many years, the control tower 52°04′00"N 000°16′19"E was restored and contains a memorial to the USAAF groups that used Little Walden airfield.