RAF Spanhoe

Royal Air Force Station Spanhoe Royal Air Force Station Wakerley USAAF Station AAF-493
Located Near Uppingham, Northamptonshire, United Kingdom
A virtually empty Spanhoe Airfield - 2 March 1944, taken while most of the 315th Troop Carrier Group's C-47s were on operational missions. The runway pattern of the airfield was unusual for a Class-A airfield, with the end of the 26 runway being distant from the secondary runways.
RAF Spanhoe, shown within Northamptonshire
Coordinates	52°33′46″N 000°37′20″W / 52.56278°N 0.62222°W / 52.56278; -0.62222
Type	Military airfield
Code	UY
Site information
Controlled by	United States Army Air Forces Royal Air Force
Site history
Built	1943
In use	1944-1945
Battles/wars	European Theatre of World War II Air Offensive, Europe July 1942 - May 1945
Garrison information
Garrison	Ninth Air Force RAF Maintenance Command
Occupants	315th Troop Carrier Group

C-47s of the 310th TCS on a mission.

82d Airborne parachutists loading onto 43d and 309th TCS aircraft, 1944.

RAF Spanhoe (also known as Harringworth or Wakerley) is a former World War II airfield in Northamptonshire, England. The airfield is located approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) east of Uppingham; about 80 miles (130 km) north-northwest of London

Opened in 1943, it was used by both the Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Forces. During the war it was used primarily as a transport airfield. After the war it was closed in late 1945.

Today, much of the airfield has been returned to agriculture, however one runway remains and the airfield is currently active and houses various privately owned light aircraft.

USAAF use

The base was known as USAAF Station AAF-493 for security reasons by the USAAF during the war, and by which it was referred to instead of location. Its USAAF Station Code was "UV".

315th Troop Carrier Group

Basically complete late in 1943 and opened on New Year's Day 1944, the station had already been earmarked for US troop carrier use and a station complement squadron moved in to ready the base between 4 and 7 January.

On 7 February 1944, the headquarters of the 315th Troop Carrier Group took up residence, a somewhat reduced organisation as most of the air echelon had been sent on detachment to Twelfth Air Force in North Africa during May 1943. The operational squadrons and fuselage codes of the group at Spanhoe were:

34th Troop Carrier Squadron (NM)
43d Troop Carrier Squadron (UA)
309th Troop Carrier Squadron (M6)
310th Troop Carrier Squadron (4A)

The 315th TCG was part of the IX Troop Carrier Command 52nd Troop Carrier Wing.

On 8 July 1944 two C47s of the 315th collided shortly after take-off for an exercise. One crew member managed to parachute safely but eight others and 26 Polish paratroops perished in the crash at Tinwell, near Stamford.^[1]

Between 6/11 6 April 1945, the 315th TCG moved from Spanhoe to their Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) at Amiens/Glisy airfield, France (ALG B-48).

Closure and Valiant crash

In 1946 Spanhoe was closed and returned to the farmers from whom it had been requisitioned.

On 12 August 1960 a Vickers Valiant, BK1 XD864 of No. 7 Squadron, nose wheel failed to retract on takeoff from RAF Wittering. While sorting it out the aircraft stalled and crashed into the ground at Spanhoe airfield. All five of the crew were killed.^[2]^[3]

Civil use

Memorial at entrance to the airfield

Between 1964 and 1967 the airfield was used by Perkins Engines Gliding Club, laterly known as Welland Gliding Club. The gliding club's origins were Perkins Engines Sports Association of Peterborough and moved to Spanhoe from their previous base at Westwood Airfield in Peterborough.

In the 1970s, the north and west areas were excavated for iron ore and today little of the airfield remains. The majority of the main runway was removed along with the perimeter track and dispersal hardstands, although a small portion of the northeast (08) end of the main runway remains along with part of the perimeter road and a few loop hardstands. The 02/20 secondary runway is faintly visible in aerial photography

As of 2007, the airfield is currently active and houses various privately owned light aircraft. It is also the home of Windmill Aviation. The south-western taxiway is now runway 27, and the southeast section of the wartime 14/32 runway was re-opened in 2004. Some of the wartime Nissen huts are in use and a new hangar and maintenance building was erected on the site of what was a large wartime J-type hangar.

A memorial obelisk on the approach road to the airfield commemorates the 315th Troop Carrier Group and a memorial in Tinwell Church commemorates US and Polish victims of the C-47 collision.

References

This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

↑ Tragedy at Tinwell on Polish Wargraves website
↑ Halley 2001, p. 20.
↑ "XD864".

Freeman, Roger A. (1994) UK Airfields of the Ninth: Then and Now. After the Battle ISBN 0-900913-80-0
Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.
Crash of Vickers Valiant XD864, 12 August 1960
Crash of Vickers Valiant XD864, 12 August 1960 An alternative View

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to RAF Spanhoe.

USAAF Ninth Air Force in World War II

Stations

Palestine (Mand)	Lydda Muqueibile Ramat David St Jean

Egypt	Abu Sueir Ismailia El Amiriya Daba Deversoir Fayid Kabrit * Landing Ground 174 Payne Sidi Haneish

Libya	Baheira Belandah Benina Castel Benito Berca Darragh El Adem El Assa Gambut Hamraiet Lete Martuba Tmed El Chel Tobruk Tripoli Sidi Azeiz

Tunisia	Ben Gardane Bou Grara Chekira Hani Hazbub Hergla El Djem El Haouaria Kairouan Medenine Menzel Heurr Sfax Soltane

United Kingdom	Aldermaston Andover Andrews Field Ashford Balderton Barkston Heath Beaulieu Birch Bisterne Boreham Bottesford Boxted Charmy Down Chalgrove Chilbolton Chipping Ongar Christchurch Cottesmore Earls Colne Exeter Folkingham Fulbeck Gosfield Great Dunmow Greenham Common Grove High Halden Headcorn Holmsley South Hurn Ibsley Kingsnorth Langar Lashenden Little Walden Lymington Matching Membury Merryfield Middle Wallop North Witham Ramsbury Raydon Rivenhall Saltby Scorton Staplehurst Spanhoe Stansted Stoney Cross Thruxton Upottery Warmwell Welford Weston Zoyland Wethersfield Winkton Woodchurch Wormingford

Europe	Advanced Landing Grounds (ALGs) in France, Belgium, Netherlands, and Germany too numerous.

Units

Commands

Wings

Bombardment	97th Bombardment 98th Bombardment 99th Bombardment

Fighter	8th Fighter 9th Fighter 70th Fighter 71st Fighter 84th Fighter 100th Fighter 303d Fighter

Troop carrier	50th Troop Carrier 52d Troop Carrier 53d Troop Carrier

Groups

Bombardment	12th Bombardment 98th Bombardment 322d Bombardment 323d Bombardment 340th Bombardment 344th Bombardment 376th Bombardment 386th Bombardment 387th Bombardment 391st Bombardment 394th Bombardment 397th Bombardment 409th Bombardment 410th Bombardment 416th Bombardment

Fighter	36th Fighter 48th Fighter 50th Fighter 57th Fighter 79th Fighter 324th Fighter 354th Fighter 358th Fighter 365th Fighter 362d Fighter 363d Fighter 366th Fighter 367th Fighter 368th Fighter 370th Fighter 371st Fighter 373d Fighter 404th Fighter 405th Fighter 406th Fighter 474th Fighter

Troop carrier	61st Troop Carrier 64th Troop Carrier 313th Troop Carrier 314th Troop Carrier 315th Troop Carrier 316th Troop Carrier 349th Troop Carrier 434th Troop Carrier 435th Troop Carrier 436th Troop Carrier 437th Troop Carrier 438th Troop Carrier 439th Troop Carrier 440th Troop Carrier 441st Troop Carrier 442d Troop Carrier IX Troop Carrier Pathfinder (Provisional)

Reconnaissance	10th Reconnaissance 67th Reconnaissance 69th Reconnaissance

Squadrons

Liaison	14th Liaison 47th Liaison

Night fighter	422d Night Fighter 425th Night Fighter

United States Army Air Forces

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