RAF Birch
Encyclopedia
RAF Station Birch is a former World War II
airfield in Essex
, England
. The airfield is located approximately 2 mi (3.2 km) northeast of Tiptree
; about 43 mi (69.2 km) northeast of London
Opened in 1942, it was used by both the Royal Air Force
and United States Army Air Force. During the war, it was used primarily as a reserve transport airfield. After the war, it was closed in late 1945.
Today, the remains of the airfield are located on private property being used as agricultural fields.
for development into a heavy bomber base but construction work did not get under way until well into 1943. In October 1943 the base was transferred to the Ninth Air Force
.
Birch was constructed by the 846th Engineer Battalion, U.S. Army, and it was the last of the UK airfields to be completed by a unit of the U.S. Army. The airfield was built to the Class A airfield
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° angles to each other in a triangular pattern. The main runway (08/26) being 6000 ft (1,828.8 m), and two secondaries (02/20, 13/31) of 4200 ft (1,280.2 m) each. There were 50 hard standings of the loop type connecting to an enclosing perimeter track, of a width of 50 ft (15.2 m).
The ground support station was constructed largely of Nissen hut
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 east 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, 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 2,894 personnel, including communal and a sick quarters.
During the first week of April 1944 the personnel of the 410th Bombardment Group arrived from Lakeland AAF, Florida
to an airfield that was still unfinished. The group's Douglas A-20 Havoc light bombers were still in transit by ship. After about two weeks, the personnel of the 410th were transferred to RAF Gosfield
and Birch was returned to the construction crews.
By the end of May, Ninth Air Force
had no requirement for Birch, and the airfield was transferred back to the Eighth Air Force
for use by its 3d Bombardment Division as a reserve airfield. When construction was completed in June, no operational units were assigned to the facility, and throughout the balance of 1944 Birch only hosted a small USAAF station complement to handle the occasional exercise or provided an emergency haven for battle-damaged aircraft needing a place to land.
In September 1944, Birch was selected as a base for Douglas C-47 Skytrain
groups of the 52d Troop Carrier Wing
which were to move south from the Grantham area, but this never happened.
, the airborne crossing of the Rhine.
Most of the aircraft returned to other bases and the 46 Group withdrew from the base after a few days.
Thereafter, Birch was largely abandoned, with only a few RAF personnel assigned to the facility for the balance of the war. Birch was almost immediately placed on "care and maintenance" status by the RAF and was disposed of by the Ministry of Defense within a year after the end of the war.
Today, most of the concreted areas have been removed for hardcore, leaving single tracked farm roads along the main runway, and both secondaries. A few loop hardstands remain intact off the remains of the single-tracked perimeter track along the north side of the airfield. However, other than these farm roads, there is little remaining of the wartime airfield that was never used other than some ghostly disturbed areas in aerial photography of loop dispersal hardstands and the long since removed perimeter track.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
airfield in Essex
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
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The airfield is located approximately 2 mi (3.2 km) northeast of Tiptree
Tiptree
Tiptree is a village in the English county of Essex, situated south-east of Colchester and around north-east of London. Surrounding villages include Messing, Tolleshunt Knights, Layer Marney, Inworth, Birch, Great Braxted, Great Totham and Little Totham....
; about 43 mi (69.2 km) northeast of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
Opened in 1942, 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 reserve transport airfield. After the war, it was closed in late 1945.
Today, the remains of the airfield are located on private property being used as agricultural fields.
Overview
Birch Airfield was allocated in August 1942 to the United States Army Air Force 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....
for development into a heavy bomber base but construction work did not get under way until well into 1943. In October 1943 the base was transferred to 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....
.
Birch was constructed by the 846th Engineer Battalion, U.S. Army, and it was the last of the UK airfields to be completed by a unit of the U.S. Army. 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° angles to each other in a triangular pattern. The main runway (08/26) being 6000 ft (1,828.8 m), and two secondaries (02/20, 13/31) of 4200 ft (1,280.2 m) each. There were 50 hard standings of the loop type connecting to an enclosing perimeter track, of a width of 50 ft (15.2 m).
The 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 east 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, 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 2,894 personnel, including communal and a sick quarters.
USAAF use
Birch was known as USAAF Station AAF-149 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 "BR".During the first week of April 1944 the personnel of the 410th Bombardment Group arrived from Lakeland AAF, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
to an airfield that was still unfinished. The group's Douglas A-20 Havoc light bombers were still in transit by ship. After about two weeks, the personnel of the 410th were transferred to RAF Gosfield
RAF Gosfield
RAF Station Gosfield is a former World War II airfield in Essex, England. The airfield is located approximately north of Braintree; about north-northeast of LondonOpened in 1943, it was used by both the Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Force...
and Birch was returned to the construction crews.
By the end of May, 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....
had no requirement for Birch, and the airfield was transferred back to 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....
for use by its 3d Bombardment Division as a reserve airfield. When construction was completed in June, no operational units were assigned to the facility, and throughout the balance of 1944 Birch only hosted a small USAAF station complement to handle the occasional exercise or provided an emergency haven for battle-damaged aircraft needing a place to land.
In September 1944, Birch was selected as a base for Douglas C-47 Skytrain
C-47 Skytrain
The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota is a military transport aircraft that was developed from the Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in front line operations through the 1950s with a few remaining in operation to this day.-Design and...
groups of the 52d Troop Carrier Wing
52d Troop Carrier Wing (World War II)
The 52d Troop Carrier Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the New York Air National Guard. It was inactivated on 31 October 1950....
which were to move south from the Grantham area, but this never happened.
RAF use
In March 1945, a large number of British Horsa gliders were moved to the airfield and the RAF No. 46 Group's 48,233, and 437 Squadrons of C-47s arrived from RAF Blakehill Farm. At about 06:00 on 24 March, the C-47s commenced taking off each towing a glider, a total of 60 aircraft and 60 gliders to take part in Operation VarsityOperation Varsity
Operation Varsity was a successful joint American–British airborne operation that took place toward the end of World War II...
, the airborne crossing of the Rhine.
Most of the aircraft returned to other bases and the 46 Group withdrew from the base after a few days.
Thereafter, Birch was largely abandoned, with only a few RAF personnel assigned to the facility for the balance of the war. Birch was almost immediately placed on "care and maintenance" status by the RAF and was disposed of by the Ministry of Defense within a year after the end of the war.
Civil use
With the facility released from military control, the airfield was returned to agricultural use.Today, most of the concreted areas have been removed for hardcore, leaving single tracked farm roads along the main runway, and both secondaries. A few loop hardstands remain intact off the remains of the single-tracked perimeter track along the north side of the airfield. However, other than these farm roads, there is little remaining of the wartime airfield that was never used other than some ghostly disturbed areas in aerial photography of loop dispersal hardstands and the long since removed perimeter track.