RAF Great Dunmow
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 1.4 miles (2.3 km) mi west of Great Dunmow
Great Dunmow
Great Dunmow is an ancient market town in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England in which the great Shannon Gray, also known as Hazzah Potter, lives...
, north of the A 120
A120 road
The A120 is an important trunk road in southern England. It follows the course of Stane Street, a Roman road from Standon, Hertfordshire at its western terminus to Colchester...
; about 42 miles (67.6 km) miles northeast of London
Opened in 1943, 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 Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
during the war, primarily as a bomber airfield. The airfield was closed in 1948.
Today the airfield is located on private land primarily used for agriculture.
Overview
Great Dunmow was designed as a Class A airfieldClass 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...
bomber airfield, built by the US Army 818th Engineer Battalion (Aviation) with specialised work by British contractors.
The airfield was built on ancient parkland belonging to Easton Lodge
Easton Lodge
Easton Lodge was a Victorian Gothic style stately home to the west of Great Dunmow, Essex in England. Once famous for its weekend society gatherings frequented by the Prince of Wales , it was one of many country houses destroyed during the 20th century...
and some 10,000 trees were destroyed to enable its construction, including over 200 mature oak trees. It consisted of 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. The runways were a 6,000 ft long main runway, aligned 15/33 and two secondary 4,200 ft long secondary runways, aligned 11/29 and 04/22. An encircling perimeter track was also constructed, containing 50 loop-type hardstands.
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 two T-2 and one blister-type 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 southeast 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 2,888 personnel, including communal and a sick quarters.
USAAF use
Great Dunmow airfield was one of 15 airfields in EssexEssex
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...
that was allocated to the United States Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
by the Air Ministry in 1942. It was opened on 1 July 1943 and was used by the United States Army Air Force Eighth
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....
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....
Air Forces. It was known as USAAF Station AAF-164 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 "GD".
386th Bombardment Group (Medium)
The first unit to use Great Dunmow was the American 386th Bombardment Group (Medium) which arrived 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...
on 24 September 1943 when construction of the base was half completed, but the runways, dispersals, and technical site operational. The group was assigned to the VIII Air Support Command
VIII Air Support Command
The VIII Air Support Command is an inactive United States Army Air Forces unit. Its last assignment was with Eighth Air Force, stationed at Sunninghill, Berkshire, England. It was inactivated on 1 December 1943....
3d Bombardment Wing
98th Bombardment Wing (World War II)
The 98th Bombardment Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the United States Air Force Reserve, based at Bedford Field, Massachusetts...
and flew Martin B-26B/C Marauders
B-26 Marauder
The Martin B-26 Marauder was a World War II twin-engine medium bomber built by the Glenn L. Martin Company. First used in the Pacific Theater in early 1942, it was also used in the Mediterranean Theater and in Western Europe....
. Operational squadrons of the 322d were:
- 552d Bombardment Squadron (RG)
- 553d Bombardment Squadron (AN)
- 554th Bombardment Squadron (RU)
- 555th Bombardment Squadron (YA)
Missions of the 386th concentrated on airfields but also bombed marshalling yards and gun positions during the first months of combat.
In common with other Marauder units of the 3d Bomb Division, the 386th was transferred to 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....
98th Bombardment Wing
98th Bombardment Wing (World War II)
The 98th Bombardment Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the United States Air Force Reserve, based at Bedford Field, Massachusetts...
on 16 October 1943. Tactical operations were carried out against V-weapon sites along the coast of France in the winter of 1943-1944, and bombed airfields in Holland and Belgium during Big Week
Big Week
Between February 20–25, 1944, as part of the European strategic bombing campaign, the United States Strategic Air Forces launched Operation Argument, a series of missions against the Third Reich that became known as Big Week. The planners intended to lure the Luftwaffe into a decisive battle by...
, 20-25 February 1944.
Great Dunmow was the first airfield visited by General Eisenhower in his USAAF airfield tour on Tuesday, 11 April 1944, and he arrived in time to see thirty-nine 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....
Marauders take off at twenty second intervals for a mission to attack the marshalling yards in Charleroi
Charleroi
Charleroi is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. , the total population of Charleroi was 201,593. The metropolitan area, including the outer commuter zone, covers an area of and had a total population of 522,522 as of 1 January 2008, ranking it as...
Belgium.
The 386th hammered gun positions, and airfields preceding the invasion 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...
and made numerous assaults on bridges of the Seine
Seine
The Seine is a -long river and an important commercial waterway within the Paris Basin in the north of France. It rises at Saint-Seine near Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plateau, flowing through Paris and into the English Channel at Le Havre . It is navigable by ocean-going vessels...
late in May. Struck coastal batteries on D-Day
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...
and hit bridges, supply and fuel stores, gun positions, and defended areas during the remainder of 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...
. Supported Allied forces 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 participated in the massive blows against the enemy 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...
on 25 July 1944. Knocked out targets to help clear the Falaise pocket
Falaise pocket
The battle of the Falaise Pocket, fought during the Second World War from 12 to 21 August 1944, was the decisive engagement of the Battle of Normandy...
of German forces in August 1944 and hit strong points at Brest
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
during September.
In July 1944, the 553d Bomb Squadron was selected to perform operational testing on the new Douglas A-26 Invader
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...
. However due to technical troubles with the aircraft, the type was withdrawn in September. Several damaged aircraft were moved to one side of the airfield, being abandoned along with wrecks of several Marauders and a Boeing B-17 which crash-landed at the airfield.
On 2 October 1944, the 386th Bomb Group moved to Beaumont-sur-Oise (A-60) Airfield, in Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
France. On the continent, the 386th BG used the following Advanced Landing Grounds:
- A-60 Beaumont-sur-Oise France 2 October 1944
- A-92 St Trond Belgium 9 April-July 1945
After V-E Day the group returned to the United States, deactivating at Seymour Johnson AFB 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 7 August 1945.
RAF Bomber Command use
In October 1944, Great Dunmow was transferred to the RAF as a base for No. 38 Group RAFNo. 38 Group RAF
No 38 Group RAF was formed on 6 November 1943 from nine squadrons as part of Fighter Command. It was finally disbanded on 1 April 2000.-History:...
. Two Stirling squadrons, Nos. 190
No. 190 Squadron RAF
No 190 Squadron was a Royal Air Force squadron with a relative short existence, but a very broad career. It served as a trainer squadron during the first World War and as convoy escort, airborne support and transport squadron during World War II....
and 620
No. 620 Squadron RAF
No 620 Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Air Force during World War II. During its existence it served as bomber, airborne forces and transport squadron.-History:...
, arrived on the 14th of the month both squadrons converting to Halifax aircraft in 1945. These squadrons took part in Operation Varsity
Operation Varsity
Operation Varsity was a successful joint American–British airborne operation that took place toward the end of World War II...
, the British airborne assault across the Rhine. After V-E Day, No. 190 squadron was disbanded on December 28, 1945 and No. 620 posted to Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
.
During 1946, the Army moved in to use the airfield for storing hundreds of surplus military vehicles which were disposed of at auctions during the following year. The airfield was abandoned in 1948.
Civil use
With the end of military control in 1950 the grassed areas were cut for a grass meal company through the 1950s which supplied it to various farms in the region. Starting in 1960, farming operations commenced and the concrete areas were removed for aggregate in 1965/66 for use as part of the new A12 road.Today, there is very little left except some single track agricultural roads remaining from the perimeter track and a blister hangar with a few nissen huts near Easton Lodge. The runway layout and the airfield perimeter track are easily identified in aerial photography, but no substantial amount of concrete remains. The 22 end of the secondary northeast runway does however, have a short full width of runway intact, being used for manure storage. The current owners, Land Securities hope to redevelop the site and surrounding area, including the construction of around 9,000 homes.
There is a small museum in Great Dunmow which holds some exhibits of the airfield and the 386th Bomb Group, along with a stained glass window memorial in Little Easton church.
Directions
From Great DunmowGreat Dunmow
Great Dunmow is an ancient market town in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England in which the great Shannon Gray, also known as Hazzah Potter, lives...
, north 1.4 miles on the B 184 to Butcher's Pasture. Then left on Duck Street, then left on Park Road for about 1 mile. The airfield is on private land on the left (south side) at a private road across from Easton Lodge.