RAF Woodhall Spa
Encyclopedia
History
Constructed on farmland 1 km south of Woodhall SpaWoodhall Spa
Woodhall Spa is a civil parish and village in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England within a wooded area on the Southern edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds, about south-west of Horncastle and about east-south-east of Lincoln...
, the station opened in February 1942 as a satellite station to RAF Coningsby
RAF Coningsby
RAF Coningsby , is a Royal Air Force station in Lincolnshire, England. It has been commanded by Group Captain Martin Sampson since 10 December 2010.-Operational units:...
. In August 1943 it became No 54 Base Substation. After victory in Europe the airfield was used as an assembly and kitting out point for Tiger Force
Tiger Force (air)
Tiger Force, also known as the Very Long Range Bomber Force, was the name given to a World War II British Commonwealth long-range heavy bomber force, formed in 1945, from squadrons serving with RAF Bomber Command in Europe, for proposed use against targets in Japan...
(a proposed heavy bomber force for the far east). After the end of the Second World War and with the move of 617 Squadron to RAF Waddington
RAF Waddington
RAF Waddington is a Royal Air Force station in Lincolnshire, England.-Formation:Waddington opened as a Royal Flying Corps flying training station in 1916 until 1920, when the station went into care and maintenance....
the airfield was close and the site used by 92 MSU for the storage of bombs. From the late 1950s it was used as a base for Bloodhound
Bloodhound SAM
The Bristol Bloodhound is a British surface-to-air missile developed during the 1950s as the UK's main air defence weapon, and was in large-scale service with the Royal Air Force and the forces of four other countries. The Bloodhound Mk. I entered service in December 1958 and the last Mk...
Missiles until 1964 when most of the site was sold off for agriculture or mineral extraction. The former missile site remained under the control of RAF Coningsby
RAF Coningsby
RAF Coningsby , is a Royal Air Force station in Lincolnshire, England. It has been commanded by Group Captain Martin Sampson since 10 December 2010.-Operational units:...
and used for the servicing of Tornado
Panavia Tornado
The Panavia Tornado is a family of twin-engine, variable-sweep wing combat aircraft, which was jointly developed and manufactured by the United Kingdom, West Germany and Italy...
aircraft engines until finally being mothballed in 2003.
Squadrons
97 Squadron transferred to Woodhall Spa on the 1st of March 1942. As one of the earliest squadrons to be equipped they were heavily involved with the early operations with this aircraft, including the low level mission to bomb the MAN diesel engine factory in Augsburg on 17 April 1942. 97 Squadron moved to RAF Bourn in 1943 leaving behind 3 crews that formed a nucleus for...619 Squadron were formed here on the 18th April 1943. They moved to RAF Coningsby
RAF Coningsby
RAF Coningsby , is a Royal Air Force station in Lincolnshire, England. It has been commanded by Group Captain Martin Sampson since 10 December 2010.-Operational units:...
on the 1st January 1944 and were replaced by...
617 Squadron who arrived with 34 Lancasters
Avro Lancaster
The Avro Lancaster is a British four-engined Second World War heavy bomber made initially by Avro for the Royal Air Force . It first saw active service in 1942, and together with the Handley Page Halifax it was one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, the RCAF, and squadrons from other...
and 2 Mosquitoes, the later being used for low level target marking. 617 Squadron remained here until the end of hostilities and pioneered the use of the Tallboy and Grand Slam
Grand Slam bomb
The Grand Slam was a 22,000 lb earthquake bomb used by RAF Bomber Command against strategic targets during the Second World War.Known officially as the Bomb, Medium Capacity, 22,000 lb, it was a scaled up version of the Tallboy bomb and closer to the original size that the bombs' inventor,...
bombs from the airfield
627 Squadron The low level target marking that had been developed by 617 Squadron was so successful that 627 Squadron, a Mosquito unit in No 8 (PFF) Group, was "loaned" to 5 Group to operate in this role. The squadron arrivied at Woodhall Spa on 14 April 1944 and stayed until the end of the war.
Interesting facts
Aircraft from this RAF Station:- dropped the first 12,000 lb TallboyTallboy bombThe Tallboy or Bomb, Medium Capacity, 12,000 lb, was an earthquake bomb developed by the British aeronautical engineer Barnes Wallis and deployed by the RAF in 1944...
bombs and blocked the Saumur Tunnel through which all direct rail communications from the south of FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
to the NormandyNormandyNormandy 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:...
front had to pass. - attacked the U-boatU-boatU-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
bases at La Pallice, LorientLorientLorient, or L'Orient, is a commune and a seaport in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France.-History:At the beginning of the 17th century, merchants who were trading with India had established warehouses in Port-Louis...
and BrestBrest, FranceBrest 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...
. At Brest the uncompleted hull of the battleshipBattleshipA battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
Clemenceau and the cruiserCruiserA cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
Gueydon were sunk. - carried out two daring low-level mining operations against the ship canals at Stetting and KönigsbergKönigsbergKönigsberg was the capital of East Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945 as well as the northernmost and easternmost German city with 286,666 inhabitants . Due to the multicultural society in and around the city, there are several local names for it...
; all SwedishSwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
shipping was withdrawn from the BalticBaltic countriesThe term Baltic states refers to the Baltic territories which gained independence from the Russian Empire in the wake of World War I: primarily the contiguous trio of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania ; Finland also fell within the scope of the term after initially gaining independence in the 1920s.The...
trade. The TirpitzGerman battleship TirpitzTirpitz was the second of two s built for the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. Named after Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, the architect of the Imperial Navy, the ship was laid down at the Kriegsmarinewerft in Wilhelmshaven in November 1936 and launched two and a half years later in April...
was sunk in TromsøTromsøTromsø is a city and municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tromsø.Tromsø city is the ninth largest urban area in Norway by population, and the seventh largest city in Norway by population...
fjordFjordGeologically, a fjord is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created in a valley carved by glacial activity.-Formation:A fjord is formed when a glacier cuts a U-shaped valley by abrasion of the surrounding bedrock. Glacial melting is accompanied by rebound of Earth's crust as the ice...
on 12 November by aircraft from Woodhall Spa and BardneyRAF BardneyRAF Bardney was a RAF station situated near Bardney, in Lincolnshire, England. It was built as a satellite to RAF Waddington in 1943.-Time line:* Opened on 13 April 1943 as home to No. 9 Squadron...
Present Day
Whilst little evidence remains of the extent of the activities at RAF Woodhall Spa part of one of the accommodation blocks is now occupied by the Thorpe Camp Visitors Centre and commemorates the sacrifice made by those who fought in World War 2 and has an extensive array of exhibits that portray both RAF Woodhall Spa and many aspects of life both within the forces and civilian live during the Second World War.Reference Sources
- Bruce Barrymore HalpennyBruce Barrymore HalpennyBruce Barrymore Halpenny is a widely respected English military historian and author, specialising in airfields and aircraft, as well as ghost stories and mysteries. He is also a broadcaster and games inventor.-Parents:...
Action Stations: Wartime Military Airfields of Lincolnshire and the East Midlands v. 2 (ISBN 978-0850594843)