Royal Air Force Snailwell or more simply RAF Snailwell is a former Royal Air Force station located near to the village of Snailwell, Cambridgeshire, located 3 miles (5 km) north of Newmarket, Suffolk, England.
| RAF Snailwell USAAF Station 361   | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Near Snailwell, Cambridgeshire in England | |||||||||||
 Aerial photograph of Snailwell airfield, 26 July 1942 | |||||||||||
| Site information | |||||||||||
| Type | Royal Air Force station | ||||||||||
| Code | SW | ||||||||||
| Owner | Air Ministry | ||||||||||
| Operator | Royal Air Force United States Army Air Forces | ||||||||||
| Controlled by | RAF Army Cooperation Command 1941-43 RAF Fighter Command 1943-44 * No. 12 Group RAF RAF Technical Training Command 1944- * No. 28 Group RAF | ||||||||||
| Location | |||||||||||
  RAF Snailwell Shown within Cambridgeshire  RAF Snailwell RAF Snailwell (the United Kingdom) | |||||||||||
| Coordinates | 52°16′28″N 000°25′11″E / 52.27444°N 0.41972°E | ||||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||||
| Built | 1940/41 | ||||||||||
| In use | March 1941 – 1946 | ||||||||||
| Battles/wars | European theatre of World War II | ||||||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||||||
| Elevation | 70 feet (21 m)[1] AMSL | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
History
edit- USAAF 347th Fighter Squadron[2] — Bell P-39 Airacobra[3]
Operational Royal Air Force units and aircraft
edit- No. 56 Squadron RAF (1942) – Hawker Typhoon IA and IB.[4]
- No. 137 Squadron RAF (1942) – Westland Whirlwind I.[5]
- No. 152 (Hyderabad) Squadron RAF (1941) – Supermarine Spitfire IIA.[6]
- No. 168 Squadron RAF (1942) – Curtiss Tomahawk II.[7]
- No. 170 Squadron RAF (1943) – North American Mustang I.[8]
- No. 181 Squadron RAF (1943) – Hawker Typhoon IB.[8]
- No. 182 Squadron RAF (1943) – Hawker Typhoon IB.[9]
- No. 183 (Gold Coast) Squadron RAF (1943) – Hawker Typhoon IB.[9]
- No. 184 Squadron RAF (1943) – Hawker Hurricane IV.[9]
- No. 247 (China-British) Squadron RAF (1943) – Hawker Typhoon IB.[10]
- No. 268 Squadron RAF (1941) – Westland Lysander,[3] Curtiss Tomahawk IIA.[11]
- No. 268 Squadron RAF (1942) – North American Mustang I.[11]
- No. 309 Polish Fighter-Reconnaissance Squadron (1943) – North American Mustang I.[12]
- No. 527 Squadron RAF (1944) – Bristol Blenheim IV,[3] Hawker Hurricane IIB.[13]
- No. 613 (City of Manchester) Squadron RAuxAF (1943) – North American Mustang I.[14]
- Units
- No. 2 Heavy Glider Maintenance Unit[2]
- No. 3 Group Communication Flight RAF[2]
- No. 5 (RCAF) Casualty Air Evacuation Unit[2]
- No. 22 Elementary Flying Training School RAF[2]
- No. 417 Repair & Salvage Unit[2]
- No. 2720 Squadron RAF Regiment[2]
- No. 2751 Squadron RAF Regiment[2]
- No. 2759 Squadron RAF Regiment[2]
- No. 2794 Squadron RAF Regiment[2]
- No. 2809 Squadron RAF Regiment[2]
- No. 2876 Squadron RAF Regiment[2]
- No. 3207 Servicing Commando[2]
- RAF (Belgian) Training School[2]
Current use
editThe site has now returned to agriculture and paddocks.
References
editCitations
edit- ↑ Falconer 2012, p. 178.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "Snailwell". Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
- 1 2 3 Bowyer, Michael J F (August 1985). Action Stations: 1. Military Airfields of East Anglia. Wellingborough: Patrick Stephens Ltd. pp. 182–183. ISBN 0-85059-335-2.
- ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 43.
- ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 60.
- ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 62.
- ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 64.
- 1 2 Jefford 1988, p. 65.
- 1 2 3 Jefford 1988, p. 66.
- ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 77.
- 1 2 Jefford 1988, p. 81.
- ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 85.
- ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 96.
- ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 100.
Bibliography
edit- Falconer, Jonathan (2012). RAF Airfields of World War 2. UK: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85780-349-5.
- Jefford, C G (1988). RAF Squadrons. A comprehensive record of the movement and equipment of all RAF squadrons and their antecedents since 1912. Shrewsbury: Airlife. ISBN 1-85310-053-6.
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