|
|
 |
Chelveston
|
 |
 |
|
1945
(© via Paul Francis)
|
|
RAF
Chelveston airfield
|
|||
|
Airfield Today:
|
Agriculture
|
||
|
Tower Type:
|
1. Watch Office with
Met Section 518/40 (anyone have a better photo?)
2. Post-war skeletal Tower with VCR, 5589/58 |
||
|
Tower:
|
Both
demolished
|
||
|
Other
Buildings:
|
J
Type hangar now demolished, few, if any buildings now remain
|
||
|
History:
|
12/41, RAF Central Gunnery School.05/42 to 07/42, Airborne Forces Experimental Establishment testing gliders. 
06/42 to 08/42, 10th, 11th, 12th and 28th Troop Carrier Squadrons of the
60th Troop Carrier Group with C-47s, moved to Aldermaston.08/42 to
11/42, 32nd, 352nd, 353rd and 419th Bombardment Squadrons of the 301st
Bombardment Group (H) with B-17F, moved to North Africa.12/42 to
07/45, 364th, 365th, 366th and 422nd Bombardment Squadrons of the 305th
Bomb Group 'Can Do', commanded by Colonel Curtiss Le May, moved here from
Grafton Underwood. 09/43 to 10/43, 422nd Bomb Squadron flew the first 8th USAAF night missions. Equipped with B-17s the 305th Bomb Group flew a total of 330 (337 in total) missions from Chelveston, losing 154 aircraft. 20/02/44, 1st Lt W.R. Lawley Jnr and 11/04/44, 1st Lt E.S. Michael both won the Medal of Honor. Moved to Belgium, then Germany and disbanded 1946. 10/45 to /52,
RAF No. 25 Maintenance Unit. /52, Transferred
to USAF and rebuilt with a single runway of 11,000'.12/52 to , /55, used by Third Air Force ground units. 01/11/55 to /67, Transferred to Seventh Air Division, Strategic Air Command as a stand-by base. /58 to 09/59, used by RB-47s of the 'Reflex Force'. 08/59 to 03/62, used by RB-66C's of the 42nd Tactical Reconnaissance Sqn, 10th TR Wing. Then used by RAF and USAF units until final closure. |
||
|
RAF
Chelveston airfield - 301st Bomb Group - 305th Bomb Group -
|
|||
 |
|
The
wartime USAAF control tower 1943
(© via Steve Ward)
|
|
RAF
Chelveston - 301st Bomb Group - 305th Bomb Group -
|
|||
|
Airfield:
|
Operational Bomber
|
||
|
Opened:
|
08/1941
|
||
|
Closed:
|
Final closure date not
known
|
||
|
ID Code:
|
CV
|
||
|
USAAF Station:
|
105
|
||
|
Runways:
|
3x - concrete, tarmac
|
||
|
Hangars:
|
1x - J Type, 2x - T2
|
||
|
County:
|
Northamptonshire
|
||
|
Location:
|
6 miles S of Thrapston
|
||
|
OS Ref:
|
TL006685
|
||
|
Links:
|
|||
|
©:
|
Photographs
©
copyright
as stated
|
||
|
RAF
Chelveston airfield - 301st Bomb Group - 305th Bomb Group -
|
|||
 |
|
SAC
EB-47E, 301st Bomb Wing from Lockbourne AFB, Ohio
1958 (© Gus Letto)
|
 |
 |
|
1958-59
(© Gus Letto)
|
 |
 |
|
RAF
Chelveston airfield - 60th TCG - 301st BG - 305th BG 'Can Do' -
|
 |
 |
|
The
post-war USAF control tower 1974
(© via Paul Francis)
|
 |
|
1973
(© Steve Bond)
|
 |
|
2005
(© Nigel Brooks)
|
|
RAF
Chelveston airfield - 60th TCG - 301st BG - 305th BG 'Can Do' -
|
|
RAF
Chelveston 305 BG airfield + control tower = www.controltowers.co.uk ©
robert truman 2001 - Chelveston -
- 60th Troop Carrier Group - 301st Bombardment Group (H) - 305th Bombardment Group (H) |