RAF Raydon
Encyclopedia
RAF Raydon is a former United States Army Air Force station in England. It is located just to the northeast of the village of Raydon
, about 6 miles from Ipswich
on the B1070 in Suffolk
.
during 1942/43. The base was built to the standard, Class-A bomber design airfield, consisting of three intersecting concrete runways, numerous dispersal points and two T-2 type hangars. Accommodations were built to the southeast of the airfield to house about 3,000 men. Locals remember the village street being constantly full of trucks on the move. The road was not hard surfaced and quickly became a sea of mud so deep that the house fronts were completely covered in it.
Farms and houses were requisitioned and dynamited, changing the look of the village forever. Raydon was one of the last airfields of its type to be constructed in the war.
While under construction, a battle-damaged B-17 Flying Fortress crash-landed into the unfinished main runway.
A siding was built from the Hadleigh line into Raydon Wood. This siding, along with Raydon Station provided access to the airfield for supplies. Even whole, dissasembled aircraft were delivered to the base via the railway. In Raydon Wood there are still the original platforms along with a few remains of some buildings.
and Ninth
USAAF. During World War II it was known as USAAF Station 157.
The first American occupants of Raydon was the 357th Fighter Group
, moving in from Casper AAF, Wyoming
on 30 November 1943.
Operational squadrons of the 353d were:
One pilot with the 357th was a Lt. Charles ‘Chuck’ Yeager
.
When the group arrived at Raydon, it was assigned as part of the Ninth Air Force
. On 19 December the group received their first fighter, a single North American P-51B. It arrived in an olive drab and grey paint scheme, and was not even new. It had been very well used by the RAF
, and the roundels were still visible under the new paintwork. Fifteen of these aircraft had arrived by the end of 1943.
The small number of P-51s that were available during the two months at Raydon restricted the training they could perform. The three squadrons of the group had only a maximum 17 aircraft between them and the bulk of their operational aircraft only arrived shortly before the first operational combat missions, by which time they had moved to RAF Leiston
on 31 January 1944.
Its first missions were not flown by the group, but by individual pilots a few at a time. Commanders and Flight leaders flew their first sorties with the 354th Fighter Group out of nearby RAF Boxted
. The 354th was the first Mustang fighter group deployed to the ETO, and had also been allocated to the Ninth Air Force at a time when the Eighth Air Force
needed a long-range fighter. The Ninth Air Force refused to part with its Mustang group, but a compromise between the commands was reached in which the 354th would fly escort missions on temporary duty with VIII Fighter Command. The remaining P-51 units allocated to the Ninth, however, were diverted to the Eighth Air Force, including the 357th, which was exchanged with the P-47 Thunderbolt
358th Fighter Group.
The 358th Fighter Group
moved to Raydon from RAF Leiston
on 31 January 1944. The 358th was initially assigned to the 66th Fighter Wing, at Sawston Hall, Cambridge
, then transferred to the Ninth Air Force on 1 February 1944, in exchange for the 357th FG
Operational squadrons of the 358th were:
Group markings were red, yellow and red spinners, with a 12-inch red and yellow check band around the cowling behind the spinner. Aircraft of the 357th were P-47D "Thunderbolts".
At Raydon the group's mission was to attack enemy communications and fly escort missions with the light bomb groups of the 9th.
On 19th March 1944 a badly damaged B-17 landed at Raydon due to Raydon being the first airfield the crew came across. The B-17 was B-17 #42-31968 LN:D "Miss Irish" of the 350th Bomb Squadron of the 100th Bomb Group. The aircraft's nose art was a black four leafed clover. The B-17 took a direct 88mm flak hit while on a "milk run" (easy mission) over france. The shell blew a large hole in the radio compartment and the radio operator was blown out of the aircraft. The aircraft was severely weakened around the place of impact so the remaining crew decided to land at Raydon. The B-17 was salvaged.
On 13 April 1944, the 358th was transferred to RAF High Halden
.
Replacing the 9th AF 358th FG was the 353rd Fighter Group, moving in from RAF Metfeld
in April 1944. The 353d was assigned to the 66th Fighter Wing, at Sawston Hall, Cambridge
.
Operational squadrons of the 353d were:
Group markings were black, yellow, black, yellow spinners, with a 48-inch black and yellow check band around the cowling to the end of the exhaust stubs.
During the Battle of Normandy
, the 353rd supported the breakthrough at Saint-Lô
in July and received the Distinguished Unit Citation for supporting the airborne attack on Holland
when the group contributed to the operation by protecting bombers and troop carriers and by strafing and dive-bombing ground targets during the period 17–23 September 1944.
In October 1944, the group converted to the P-51 "Mustang". About this time Raydon was known colloquially as "Bomb Alley" due to the number of German V-1 "Doodlebug" flying bombs which flew directly overhead on their way to London. One V-1 blew up as it went over and the engine narrowly missed the bomb dump in Raydon Great Wood.
The group continued its fighter-bomber, escort, and counter-air activities, participating in the Battle of the Bulge
(December 1944-January 1945) and the airborne attack across the Rhine
(March 1945).
The 353d flew combat missions until the end of April 1945. After the end of hostilities, the group trained and prepared for transfer to the Pacific Theater
. With the end of World War II in September, the group left Raydon and transferred back to Camp Kilmer, New Jersey
where it was deactivated on 18 October 1945.
on 20 December 1945. The base remained under RAF control but was not used for any flying units. In 1952, a small part of the airfield was sold for agricultural use, and the facility was closed on 8 August 1958.
During 1960/62 the Ministry of Defence
sold the remaining airfield parts of RAF Raydon to agricultural interests, retaining most of the technical site for storage of emergency vehicles by the Home Office
. They were given up and sold in the 1980s.
Raydon has also been the scene of some paranormal
incidents, one being the sighting of an American M.P. with his dog, still patrolling the base.
The control tower
and much of the concrete parts of the airfield was removed in the 1960s, being used to construct the A12 highway. Today RAF Raydon retains many of the buildings of the old technical site, including two T-2 hangars in very good condition (one used by the farmer and the other used for car storage). Also, some of the taxiways and part of the main runway is still intact. The firing Butts are also still intact but are covered by a large growth of foliage.
Raydon is one of the more complete World War II USAAF bases in East Anglia
that was not used by the USAF during the Cold War
.
Raydon
Raydon is a village and civil parish in Suffolk, England. Located around two miles south-east of Hadleigh, it is part of Babergh district. The parish also includes the hamlets of Lower Raydon and The Woodlands...
, about 6 miles from Ipswich
Ipswich
Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...
on the B1070 in Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
.
Origins
RAF Raydon was built by the 833rd and 867th Engineer (Av.) Battalions of the United States Army Corps of EngineersUnited States Army Corps of Engineers
The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 38,000 civilian and military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...
during 1942/43. The base was built to the standard, Class-A bomber design airfield, consisting of three intersecting concrete runways, numerous dispersal points and two T-2 type hangars. Accommodations were built to the southeast of the airfield to house about 3,000 men. Locals remember the village street being constantly full of trucks on the move. The road was not hard surfaced and quickly became a sea of mud so deep that the house fronts were completely covered in it.
Farms and houses were requisitioned and dynamited, changing the look of the village forever. Raydon was one of the last airfields of its type to be constructed in the war.
While under construction, a battle-damaged B-17 Flying Fortress crash-landed into the unfinished main runway.
A siding was built from the Hadleigh line into Raydon Wood. This siding, along with Raydon Station provided access to the airfield for supplies. Even whole, dissasembled aircraft were delivered to the base via the railway. In Raydon Wood there are still the original platforms along with a few remains of some buildings.
USAAF use
Raydon was primarily a fighter base for the EighthEighth 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....
and Ninth
Ninth 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....
USAAF. During World War II it was known as USAAF Station 157.
357th Fighter Group
357th Fighter Group
The 357th Fighter Group was an air combat unit of the United States Army Air Forces during the Second World War. The 357th operated P-51 Mustang aircraft as part of the U.S. Eighth Air Force and its members were known unofficially as "The Yoxford Boys" after a village near their base...
, moving in from Casper AAF, Wyoming
Casper, Wyoming
Casper is the county seat of Natrona County, Wyoming, United States.. Casper is the second-largest city in Wyoming , according to the 2010 census, with a population of 55,316...
on 30 November 1943.
Operational squadrons of the 353d were:
- 362d Fighter Squadron (G4)
- 363d Fighter Squadron (B6)
- 364th Fighter Squadron (C5)
One pilot with the 357th was a Lt. Charles ‘Chuck’ Yeager
Chuck Yeager
Charles Elwood "Chuck" Yeager is a retired major general in the United States Air Force and noted test pilot. He was the first pilot to travel faster than sound...
.
When the group arrived at Raydon, it was assigned as part of the Ninth Air Force
Ninth 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....
. On 19 December the group received their first fighter, a single North American P-51B. It arrived in an olive drab and grey paint scheme, and was not even new. It had been very well used by the RAF
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 the roundels were still visible under the new paintwork. Fifteen of these aircraft had arrived by the end of 1943.
The small number of P-51s that were available during the two months at Raydon restricted the training they could perform. The three squadrons of the group had only a maximum 17 aircraft between them and the bulk of their operational aircraft only arrived shortly before the first operational combat missions, by which time they had moved to RAF Leiston
RAF Leiston
RAF Leiston is a former airfield in the United Kingdom. The airfield is located northwest of Leiston and south of Theberton in Suffolk.-USAAF use:...
on 31 January 1944.
Its first missions were not flown by the group, but by individual pilots a few at a time. Commanders and Flight leaders flew their first sorties with the 354th Fighter Group out of nearby RAF Boxted
RAF 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...
. The 354th was the first Mustang fighter group deployed to the ETO, and had also been allocated to the Ninth Air Force at a time when the Eighth Air Force
Eighth 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....
needed a long-range fighter. The Ninth Air Force refused to part with its Mustang group, but a compromise between the commands was reached in which the 354th would fly escort missions on temporary duty with VIII Fighter Command. The remaining P-51 units allocated to the Ninth, however, were diverted to the Eighth Air Force, including the 357th, which was exchanged with the P-47 Thunderbolt
P-47 Thunderbolt
Republic Aviation's P-47 Thunderbolt, also known as the "Jug", was the largest, heaviest, and most expensive fighter aircraft in history to be powered by a single reciprocating engine. It was heavily armed with eight .50-caliber machine guns, four per wing. When fully loaded, the P-47 weighed up to...
358th Fighter Group.
358th Fighter Group
358th Fighter Group
The 358th Fighter Group is an inactive United States Army Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the Second Air Force stationed at La Junta Army Air Field , Colorado. It was inactivated on 7 November 1945....
moved to Raydon from RAF Leiston
RAF Leiston
RAF Leiston is a former airfield in the United Kingdom. The airfield is located northwest of Leiston and south of Theberton in Suffolk.-USAAF use:...
on 31 January 1944. The 358th was initially assigned to the 66th Fighter Wing, at Sawston Hall, Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, then transferred to the Ninth Air Force on 1 February 1944, in exchange for the 357th FG
Operational squadrons of the 358th were:
- 365th Fighter Squadron (CH)
- 366th Fighter Squadron366th Fighter SquadronThe 366th Fighter Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last was assigned to the 358th Fighter Group, IX Fighter Command, stationed at La Junta Army Airfield, Colorado. It was inactivated on 7 November 1945-History:...
(IA) - 367th Fighter Squadron367th Fighter SquadronThe 367th Fighter Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last was assigned to the 358th Fighter Group, IX Fighter Command, stationed at La Junta Army Airfield, Colorado. It was inactivated on 7 November 1945-History:...
(CP)
Group markings were red, yellow and red spinners, with a 12-inch red and yellow check band around the cowling behind the spinner. Aircraft of the 357th were P-47D "Thunderbolts".
At Raydon the group's mission was to attack enemy communications and fly escort missions with the light bomb groups of the 9th.
On 19th March 1944 a badly damaged B-17 landed at Raydon due to Raydon being the first airfield the crew came across. The B-17 was B-17 #42-31968 LN:D "Miss Irish" of the 350th Bomb Squadron of the 100th Bomb Group. The aircraft's nose art was a black four leafed clover. The B-17 took a direct 88mm flak hit while on a "milk run" (easy mission) over france. The shell blew a large hole in the radio compartment and the radio operator was blown out of the aircraft. The aircraft was severely weakened around the place of impact so the remaining crew decided to land at Raydon. The B-17 was salvaged.
On 13 April 1944, the 358th was transferred to RAF High Halden
RAF High Halden
thumb|Republic P-47D-28-RE Thunderbolt Serial 44-20244 of the 367th Fighter SquadronRAF Station High Halden is a former World War II airfield in Kent, England...
.
353d Fighter Group
RAF Metfeld
RAF Metfield is a former United States Army Air Force station in England. It is located just to the southeast of the village of Metfield in Suffolk....
in April 1944. The 353d was assigned to the 66th Fighter Wing, at Sawston Hall, Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
.
Operational squadrons of the 353d were:
- 350th Fighter Squadron (LH)
- 351st Fighter Squadron351st Fighter SquadronThe 351st Fighter Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with 353d Fighter Group stationed at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey....
(YJ) - 352d Fighter Squadron (SX)
Group markings were black, yellow, black, yellow spinners, with a 48-inch black and yellow check band around the cowling to the end of the exhaust stubs.
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...
, the 353rd supported 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...
in July and received the Distinguished Unit Citation for supporting the airborne attack on Holland
Operation Market Garden
Operation Market Garden was an unsuccessful Allied military operation, fought in the Netherlands and Germany in the Second World War. It was the largest airborne operation up to that time....
when the group contributed to the operation by protecting bombers and troop carriers and by strafing and dive-bombing ground targets during the period 17–23 September 1944.
In October 1944, the group converted to the P-51 "Mustang". About this time Raydon was known colloquially as "Bomb Alley" due to the number of German V-1 "Doodlebug" flying bombs which flew directly overhead on their way to London. One V-1 blew up as it went over and the engine narrowly missed the bomb dump in Raydon Great Wood.
The group continued its fighter-bomber, escort, and counter-air activities, participating in the Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...
(December 1944-January 1945) and the airborne attack 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...
(March 1945).
The 353d flew combat missions until the end of April 1945. After the end of hostilities, the group trained and prepared for transfer to the Pacific Theater
Pacific Ocean theater of World War II
The Pacific Ocean theatre was one of four major naval theatres of war of World War II, which pitted the forces of Japan against those of the United States, the British Commonwealth, the Netherlands and France....
. With the end of World War II in September, the group left Raydon and transferred back to Camp Kilmer, 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 deactivated on 18 October 1945.
Emblems of units assigned to Raydon
 |
 |
RAF Fighter Command use
After the Americans left, Raydon was transferred to RAF Fighter CommandRAF Fighter Command
RAF Fighter Command was one of three functional 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, gaining recognition in the Battle of Britain. The Command continued until 17 November 1943, when...
on 20 December 1945. The base remained under RAF control but was not used for any flying units. In 1952, a small part of the airfield was sold for agricultural use, and the facility was closed on 8 August 1958.
During 1960/62 the Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
sold the remaining airfield parts of RAF Raydon to agricultural interests, retaining most of the technical site for storage of emergency vehicles by the Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
. They were given up and sold in the 1980s.
Civil use
With the end of military control Raydon was converted into Notley Industrial Park. The buildings that remain are largely unaltered in appearance.Raydon has also been the scene of some paranormal
Paranormal
Paranormal is a general term that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation" or that indicates phenomena understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure...
incidents, one being the sighting of an American M.P. with his dog, still patrolling the base.
The control tower
Control tower
A control tower, or more specifically an Air Traffic Control Tower , is the name of the airport building from which the air traffic control unit controls the movement of aircraft on and around the airport. Control towers are also used to control the traffic for other forms of transportation such...
and much of the concrete parts of the airfield was removed in the 1960s, being used to construct the A12 highway. Today RAF Raydon retains many of the buildings of the old technical site, including two T-2 hangars in very good condition (one used by the farmer and the other used for car storage). Also, some of the taxiways and part of the main runway is still intact. The firing Butts are also still intact but are covered by a large growth of foliage.
Raydon is one of the more complete World War II USAAF bases in East Anglia
East Anglia
East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
that was not used by the USAF during the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
.