RAF Cottesmore
Encyclopedia
RAF Cottesmore was a Royal Air Force station
in Rutland
, England
, situated between Cottesmore
and Market Overton
. The station housed all the operational Harrier GR9
squadrons in the Royal Air Force, and No 122 Expeditionary Air Wing. On 15 December 2009 it was announced that the station would close in 2013 as part of defence spending cuts, along with the retirement of the Harrier GR9
and the disbandment of Joint Force Harrier. However the formal closing ceremony took place on 31 March 2011 with the airfield becoming a satellite to RAF Wittering
until March 2012.
In July 2011 Defence Secretary Liam Fox
announced plans for it to be the airfield for one of five of the Army's Multi-Role Brigades.
and a horseshoe
. The description is "in front of a horseshoe a mullet
overall a hunting horn in bend
". The hunting horn symbolises the location in foxhunting country and the link with the Cottesmore Hunt
; the American Star recalls the time the Station was United States Army Air Force base; the inverted horseshoe is a traditional emblem of Oakham
and the County of Rutland.
The motto "We rise to our obstacles" is both a reference to the Cottesmore Hunt and was intended to convey the spirit with which the Royal Air Force confronts difficulties. The badge was granted in 1948.
became interested in building an RAF Air Station in this largely pastoral area of England. The threat of Nazi Germany
had spurred the British government to take some steps towards re-armament and to expand the Royal Air Force
. More aerodromes were required. A site was earmarked south of Thistleton
, to the east of Market Overton
and north of Cottesmore
village, where 200 acre (0.809372 km²) sloped gently east towards the A1 highway. Work commenced the following year on removing hedges and building a permanent camp.
As with most military airfields of the period, the flying area was required to be a grassy, circular field with a diameter of 3300 ft (1,005.8 m) Four C-type hangars were erected on the Cottesmore edge of the circle and behind them lay the technical site and administrative buildings, backed still further by barracks. The layout was typical of the new military airfields of the expansion years.
aircraft, but soon converted to Fairey Battle
s. Later RAF Bomber Command
took over the airfield, again as a training station, flying Handley Page Hampden
s.
These units remained in residence until a few days before the outbreak of war in 1939 when they were sent to RAF Cranfield to serve as a pool providing replacements for combat losses. Their place at Cottesmore was taken by Nos. 106 and 185 Squadrons, moving in from RAF Thornaby
with Hampdens.
However, with the outbreak of war, the aircraft and crews were sent to locations in the north and west, as enemy air attacks were expected over the southern half of England. As these never materialised, the Hampdens returned in the spring of 1940 and No. 185 Squadron became the Hampden operational training unit, No. 14 OTU.
Cottesmore's Hampdens' first trespass into hostile airspace was a leaflet dropping operation over northern France
. In October 1940, No 106 Squadron moved to RAF Finningley while No 14 OTU remained training crews for Bomber Command, its Hampdens and HP.53 Herefords being replaced by Vickers Wellington
s in 1942. Training continued for three years and three months until August 1943 when No. 14 OTU moved to RAF Market Harborough.
took the facilities over, under the designation USAAF Station 489, flying troop transport aircraft. In anticipation of the station's future use by airborne forces
, 32 Horsa gliders were delivered for storage in July 1943.
The station was officially closed on 10 August and runway construction commenced shortly thereafter to bring the landing area up to Class A standard. The site was enlarged and three concrete runways laid, the main 6000 ft (1,828.8 m) aligned 04-22 and the two auxiliaries 4800 ft (1,463 m) aligned 09-27 and 4500 ft (1,371.6 m) at 01-19. Additional aircraft standings, also in concrete, raised the total to 52 of which 17 were the earlier tarmac structures. The access tracks to several of these crossed former public roads. A fifth hangar, a T-2, was built for the gliders. Additional accommodation, mostly in the form of Nissen huts, was erected by Constable. Hart & Company on the Cottesmore village side of the airfield so that 2,338 personnel could be housed.
, with a mission to support the ground forces, was about to be re-deployed to the UK and IX Troop Carrier Command
was established immediately at Cottesmore after this became effective on 16 October 1943. The IX Troop Carrier Command was basically a re-designation of the existing headquarters at the station until facilities at Grantham
were ready.
Early in February 1944, the USAAF began movement of the 52nd Troop Carrier Wing and its groups from Sicily
to the Grantham area, the wing headquarters reaching Cottesmore on the 17th. This HQ soon transferred to nearby Exton Hall
, a mansion surrounded by parkland.
aids to guide the main airborne body to the drop zone
s. The pathfinder teams dropped approximately thirty minutes before the main body in order to locate designated drop zones and provide radio
and visual guides for the main force in order to improve the accuracy of the jump. Once the main body jumped, the pathfinders then joined their original units and fought as standard airborne infantry.
The nucleus of a Douglas C-47-equipped
Pathfinder training unit was born at Cottesmore on 28 February 1944, with the unit moving to the newly-built RAF North Witham
in March due to facility overcrowding.
began to arrive at Cottesmore on 15 February 1944 when 52 C-47 and C-53 transports began flying in from Borizzo Afld., Sicily
. Operational squadrons and fuselage codes of the group were:
The 316th TCG was part of the 52d Troop Carrier Wing
.
The 316th, was a unit of Ninth Air Force
in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations
(MTO) and had participated in airborne operations during the invasion of Sicily as well as transported cargo in the North African Campaign
. The ground echelon of the group, having had to travel by sea, did not arrive until a month later.
The mission of the 316th TCG at Cottesmore was to prepare for the invasion of France
. Intensive training began from the newly-completed runways. Squadron strength was increased to 16 aircraft per squadron and eventually to 20. Waco CG-4A gliders began to arrive to supplement the Airspeed Horsa
s which had been in storage for some months.
By now, men of the US 82nd Airborne Division were gathering in the Leicester
area and a number of practice jumps were undertaken. On one exercise, when the 316th was engaged in a training drop called Operation 'Eagle' during the evening of 11 May, two leading aircraft of the group collided while manoeuvring over the rally point. Both crews perished, including the Group CO, Lieutenant Colonel Burton R. Fleet, who had been flying as an observer in one of the aircraft.
Two days later Colonel Harvey Berger took command and he remained with the 316th until he was killed on 3 April 1945 when his C-47 crashed south-west of Cologne
.
where they were to secure road junctions and bridges. Some flak was encountered over Normandy and 12 of the C-47s returned with damage, one with a dead crew member aboard.
On 7 June the group flew a re-supply mission to the same area but suffered a serious collision between two aircraft while preparing for takeoff. One pilot was killed.
The next day, when the group towed 82 CG-4A gliders, heavy Anti-Aircraft Artillery fire was met and four C-47s were lost. On the 23rd, the 316th towed 89 gliders to Overasselt
, losing one plane, and on the 26th, 72 planes flew troops and supplies to the airstrip at Kecnt, near Grave.
During the winter months, the group returned to hauling supplies to the Continent.
in Essex
, a forward base for Operation Varsity
, the airborne crossing of the Rhine. Its mission was to carry paratroops of the British 6th Airborne Division, who were dropped near Wesel
on the 24th. Two C-47s were shot down and four others so badly damaged they made emergency landings at Eindhoven. Half the aircraft that returned directly to Cottesmore had flak damage.
, with the exception of the 316th which was scheduled to return to the United States
in April. However, the group remained at Cottesmore until the cessation of hostilities, although it did not stay long thereafter as the major movement of personnel back to the USA began on 11 May when the unit returned to Pope Army Airfield, North Carolina
.
The 316th TCG has special claims to fame. It was the only combat group assigned to the original Ninth Air Force organisation in the Middle East in 1942 to transfer to the UK, as well as being the only Ninth Air Force combat group still based in England at the end of the war albeit that IX TCC had been a component of the First Allied Airborne Army
since September 1944.
A plaque was presented by the USAAF Troop Carrier units commemorating the IX Troop Carrier Command's stay at Cottesmore and it can still be seen outside the Station HQ.
s were moved in, the first time front-line combat aircraft had been based there, but all had left by the end of 1955.
In 1957 it was announced that Cottesmore would became a base for the V-bomber force, carriers of Britain's nuclear deterrent. The squadrons carried out Quick Reaction Alert duties using Handley Page Victor
and later Avro Vulcan
bombers, until 1969. When they left the base was used by 90 Signals Group. Flight Checking, Trials and Evaluation Flight (FCTEF) used 98 Squadron (Canberras) and 115 Squadron (Varsity and Argosy) to provide ILS and radar trials and checking services to RAF airfields around the world.
Cottesmore became home to the Tri-national Tornado Training Establishment
(TTTE). Established in July 1980 and officially opened on 29 January 1981, the centre undertook training of new Panavia Tornado
pilots from the RAF, Luftwaffe
, German Navy
and Italian Air Force
.
The TTTE closed in 1999, and after a period of refurbishment was replaced by the Harriers of Nos 3 and 4 squadrons; these were later joined by 800 and 801 Naval Air Squadron
s to form Joint Force Harrier
.
With the introduction of the Eurofighter Typhoon into RAF service, No.3 Sqn moved to RAF Coningsby
and No 1 Sqn moved from RAF Wittering
.
.
In 2010, No 4 Squadron RAF disbanded, with No 20 Squadron RAF re-badging as No 4 (Reserve) Squadron.
The station became a satellite to RAF Wittering on 31 March 2011 with a civic parade and flypast. RAF Cottesmore will formally close on 1 March 2012 but in July 2011 it was announced that Cottesmore would house the Army's East of England Multi-Role Brigade.
RAF station
A Royal Air Force station is a permanent Royal Air Force operations location. Many RAF stations are aerodromes, or airbases, being the home to one or more flying squadrons. Other RAF stations are training units, administrative units, headquarters , or carry out ground-based operational tasks...
in Rutland
Rutland
Rutland is a landlocked county in central England, bounded on the west and north by Leicestershire, northeast by Lincolnshire and southeast by Peterborough and Northamptonshire....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, situated between Cottesmore
Cottesmore, Rutland
Cottesmore is a village in the north of the county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England. In terms of population it is the largest village in Rutland, and the third-largest settlement after Oakham and Uppingham. This is due in part to the presence of RAF Cottesmore.The Cottesmore Hunt takes...
and Market Overton
Market Overton
Market Overton is a village on the northern edge of the county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England.-Geography:Most of the civil parish lies to the north and the east, including part of RAF Cottesmore, but not the main runway. The boundary crosses Teigh Road at Netherfields where it borders...
. The station housed all the operational Harrier GR9
RAF Harrier II
The British Aerospace/McDonnell Douglas Harrier II is a second-generation vertical/short takeoff and landing jet aircraft used previously by the Royal Air Force and, between 2006–2010, the Royal Navy. Derived from the McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II, which was a development of the Hawker...
squadrons in the Royal Air Force, and No 122 Expeditionary Air Wing. On 15 December 2009 it was announced that the station would close in 2013 as part of defence spending cuts, along with the retirement of the Harrier GR9
RAF Harrier II
The British Aerospace/McDonnell Douglas Harrier II is a second-generation vertical/short takeoff and landing jet aircraft used previously by the Royal Air Force and, between 2006–2010, the Royal Navy. Derived from the McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II, which was a development of the Hawker...
and the disbandment of Joint Force Harrier. However the formal closing ceremony took place on 31 March 2011 with the airfield becoming a satellite to RAF Wittering
RAF Wittering
RAF Wittering is a Royal Air Force station within the unitary authority area of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire. Although Stamford in Lincolnshire is the nearest town, the runways of RAF Wittering cross the boundary between Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire....
until March 2012.
In July 2011 Defence Secretary Liam Fox
Liam Fox
Liam Fox MP is a British Conservative politician, Member of Parliament for North Somerset, and former Secretary of State for Defence....
announced plans for it to be the airfield for one of five of the Army's Multi-Role Brigades.
Station crest
The badge of RAF Cottesmore consisted of a hunting horn, a five-pointed starFive-pointed star
A five-pointed star is a very common ideogram throughout the world. If the colinear edges are joined together a pentagram is produced, which is the simplest of the unicursal star polygons, and a symbol of mystical and magical significance....
and a horseshoe
Horseshoe
A horseshoe, is a fabricated product, normally made of metal, although sometimes made partially or wholly of modern synthetic materials, designed to protect a horse's hoof from wear and tear. Shoes are attached on the palmar surface of the hooves, usually nailed through the insensitive hoof wall...
. The description is "in front of a horseshoe a mullet
Mullet (heraldry)
In heraldry, the term star may refer to any star-shaped charge with any number of rays, which may appear straight or wavy, and may or may not be pierced...
overall a hunting horn in bend
Bend (heraldry)
In heraldry, a bend is a coloured band running from the upper right corner of the shield to the lower left . Writers differ in how much of the field they say it covers, ranging from one-fifth up to one-third...
". The hunting horn symbolises the location in foxhunting country and the link with the Cottesmore Hunt
Cottesmore Hunt
The Cottesmore Hunt, which hunts mostly in Rutland, is one of the oldest fox hunts in Britain. Its name comes from the village of Cottesmore where the hounds were kennelled.-History:...
; the American Star recalls the time the Station was United States Army Air Force base; the inverted horseshoe is a traditional emblem of Oakham
Oakham
-Oakham's horseshoes:Traditionally, members of royalty and peers of the realm who visited or passed through the town had to pay a forfeit in the form of a horseshoe...
and the County of Rutland.
The motto "We rise to our obstacles" is both a reference to the Cottesmore Hunt and was intended to convey the spirit with which the Royal Air Force confronts difficulties. The badge was granted in 1948.
Origins
In 1935 the Air MinistryAir Ministry
The Air Ministry was a department of the British Government with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964...
became interested in building an RAF Air Station in this largely pastoral area of England. The threat of Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
had spurred the British government to take some steps towards re-armament and to expand 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...
. More aerodromes were required. A site was earmarked south of Thistleton
Thistleton
Thistleton is the most northerly village in the county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England.The Thistleton area has shown evidence of Romano-British occupation including a large temple precinct and a possible small market settlement...
, to the east of Market Overton
Market Overton
Market Overton is a village on the northern edge of the county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England.-Geography:Most of the civil parish lies to the north and the east, including part of RAF Cottesmore, but not the main runway. The boundary crosses Teigh Road at Netherfields where it borders...
and north of Cottesmore
Cottesmore, Rutland
Cottesmore is a village in the north of the county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England. In terms of population it is the largest village in Rutland, and the third-largest settlement after Oakham and Uppingham. This is due in part to the presence of RAF Cottesmore.The Cottesmore Hunt takes...
village, where 200 acre (0.809372 km²) sloped gently east towards the A1 highway. Work commenced the following year on removing hedges and building a permanent camp.
As with most military airfields of the period, the flying area was required to be a grassy, circular field with a diameter of 3300 ft (1,005.8 m) Four C-type hangars were erected on the Cottesmore edge of the circle and behind them lay the technical site and administrative buildings, backed still further by barracks. The layout was typical of the new military airfields of the expansion years.
Royal Air Force
RAF Cottesmore opened on 11 March 1938. The station was used mainly for training, and the first squadrons were equipped with Vickers WellesleyVickers Wellesley
The Vickers Wellesley was a British 1930s light bomber built by Vickers-Armstrongs at Brooklands near Weybridge, Surrey, for the Royal Air Force...
aircraft, but soon converted to Fairey Battle
Fairey Battle
The Fairey Battle was a British single-engine light bomber built by the Fairey Aviation Company in the late 1930s for the Royal Air Force. The Battle was powered by the same Rolls-Royce Merlin piston engine that gave contemporary British fighters high performance; however, the Battle was weighed...
s. Later RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command controlled the RAF's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. During World War II the command destroyed a significant proportion of Nazi Germany's industries and many German cities, and in the 1960s stood at the peak of its postwar military power with the V bombers and a supplemental...
took over the airfield, again as a training station, flying Handley Page Hampden
Handley Page Hampden
The Handley Page HP.52 Hampden was a British twin-engine medium bomber of the Royal Air Force serving in the Second World War. With the Whitley and Wellington, the Hampden bore the brunt of the early bombing war over Europe, taking part in the first night raid on Berlin and the first 1,000-plane...
s.
These units remained in residence until a few days before the outbreak of war in 1939 when they were sent to RAF Cranfield to serve as a pool providing replacements for combat losses. Their place at Cottesmore was taken by Nos. 106 and 185 Squadrons, moving in from RAF Thornaby
RAF Thornaby
RAF Thornaby was a former RAF Station located at the Teesside town of Thornaby-on-Tees, North Yorkshire. The station was created in the mid 1920s and came under the control of No. 18 Group, RAF Coastal Command in 1939. Being used mostly for reconnaissance work, anti shipping strikes, and attacks on...
with Hampdens.
However, with the outbreak of war, the aircraft and crews were sent to locations in the north and west, as enemy air attacks were expected over the southern half of England. As these never materialised, the Hampdens returned in the spring of 1940 and No. 185 Squadron became the Hampden operational training unit, No. 14 OTU.
Cottesmore's Hampdens' first trespass into hostile airspace was a leaflet dropping operation over northern France
France
The 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...
. In October 1940, No 106 Squadron moved to RAF Finningley while No 14 OTU remained training crews for Bomber Command, its Hampdens and HP.53 Herefords being replaced by Vickers Wellington
Vickers Wellington
The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engine, long range medium bomber designed in the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey, by Vickers-Armstrongs' Chief Designer, R. K. Pierson. It was widely used as a night bomber in the early years of the Second World War, before being displaced as a...
s in 1942. Training continued for three years and three months until August 1943 when No. 14 OTU moved to RAF Market Harborough.
United States Army Air Forces
On 8 September 1943 the United States Army Air ForcesUnited 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....
took the facilities over, under the designation USAAF Station 489, flying troop transport aircraft. In anticipation of the station's future use by airborne forces
Airborne forces
Airborne forces are military units, usually light infantry, set up to be moved by aircraft and 'dropped' into battle. Thus they can be placed behind enemy lines, and have an ability to deploy almost anywhere with little warning...
, 32 Horsa gliders were delivered for storage in July 1943.
The station was officially closed on 10 August and runway construction commenced shortly thereafter to bring the landing area up to Class A standard. The site was enlarged and three concrete runways laid, the main 6000 ft (1,828.8 m) aligned 04-22 and the two auxiliaries 4800 ft (1,463 m) aligned 09-27 and 4500 ft (1,371.6 m) at 01-19. Additional aircraft standings, also in concrete, raised the total to 52 of which 17 were the earlier tarmac structures. The access tracks to several of these crossed former public roads. A fifth hangar, a T-2, was built for the gliders. Additional accommodation, mostly in the form of Nissen huts, was erected by Constable. Hart & Company on the Cottesmore village side of the airfield so that 2,338 personnel could be housed.
Headquarters IX Troop Carrier Command
The USAAF Ninth Air ForceNinth 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....
, with a mission to support the ground forces, was about to be re-deployed to the UK and IX Troop Carrier Command
IX Troop Carrier Command
The IX Troop Carrier Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the Ninth Air Force, based at Greenville Army Air Base, South Carolina. It was inactivated on 31 March 1946...
was established immediately at Cottesmore after this became effective on 16 October 1943. The IX Troop Carrier Command was basically a re-designation of the existing headquarters at the station until facilities at Grantham
Grantham
Grantham is a market town within the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It bestrides the East Coast Main Line railway , the historic A1 main north-south road, and the River Witham. Grantham is located approximately south of the city of Lincoln, and approximately east of Nottingham...
were ready.
Early in February 1944, the USAAF began movement of the 52nd Troop Carrier Wing and its groups from Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
to the Grantham area, the wing headquarters reaching Cottesmore on the 17th. This HQ soon transferred to nearby Exton Hall
Exton Hall
Exton Hall is an English country house on the western edge of the village of Exton, Rutland, England.It was the family seat of the family of Sir James Harington and later the Noel family, Earls of Gainsborough for almost four hundred years...
, a mansion surrounded by parkland.
IX Troop Carrier Pathfinder Group (Provisional)
Pathfinders were a group of volunteer parachutists selected within the airborne units who were specially trained to operate navigationNavigation
Navigation is the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another. It is also the term of art used for the specialized knowledge used by navigators to perform navigation tasks...
aids to guide the main airborne body to the drop zone
Drop zone
A drop zone is a place where parachutists or parachuted supplies land. It can be an area targeted for landing by paratroopers, or a base from which recreational parachutists and skydivers take off in aircraft and land under parachutes...
s. The pathfinder teams dropped approximately thirty minutes before the main body in order to locate designated drop zones and provide radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and visual guides for the main force in order to improve the accuracy of the jump. Once the main body jumped, the pathfinders then joined their original units and fought as standard airborne infantry.
The nucleus of a Douglas C-47-equipped
C-47 Skytrain
The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota is a military transport aircraft that was developed from the Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in front line operations through the 1950s with a few remaining in operation to this day.-Design and...
Pathfinder training unit was born at Cottesmore on 28 February 1944, with the unit moving to the newly-built RAF North Witham
RAF North Witham
RAF Station North Witham is a former World War II airfield in Lincolnshire, England. The airfield is located in Twyford Wood, approximately east-southeast of Cotgrave; about north-northwest of London...
in March due to facility overcrowding.
316th Troop Carrier Group
The 316th Troop Carrier Group316th Wing
The 316th Wing is an inactive wing of the United States Air Force. It was the host wing at Joint Base Andrews Naval Air Facility, Maryland...
began to arrive at Cottesmore on 15 February 1944 when 52 C-47 and C-53 transports began flying in from Borizzo Afld., Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
. Operational squadrons and fuselage codes of the group were:
- 36th Troop Carrier Squadron36th Airlift SquadronThe 36th Airlift Squadron is the only forward-based tactical airlift squadron in the Pacific Area of Responsibility. Formerly an Air Mobility Command unit, and a Military Airlift Command and a Tactical Air Command unit before that, the squadron is now part of Pacific Air Forces...
(4C) - 37th Troop Carrier Squadron37th Airlift SquadronThe 37th Airlift Squadron is part of the 86th Airlift Wing at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. It operates C-130J Super Hercules aircraft providing theater airlfit.-History:...
(W7) - 44th Troop Carrier Squadron (6E)
- 45th Troop Carrier Squadron45th Airlift SquadronThe 45th Airlift Squadron is part of the 314th Airlift Wing at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi. It operates C-21 aircraft training pilots for executive airlift.-History:...
(T3)
The 316th TCG was part of the 52d Troop Carrier Wing
52d Troop Carrier Wing (World War II)
The 52d Troop Carrier Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the New York Air National Guard. It was inactivated on 31 October 1950....
.
The 316th, was a unit of 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....
in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations
Mediterranean Theater of Operations
The Mediterranean Theater of Operations, United States Army was originally called North African Theater of Operations and is an American term for the conflict that took place between the Allies and Axis Powers in North Africa and Italy during World War II...
(MTO) and had participated in airborne operations during the invasion of Sicily as well as transported cargo in the North African Campaign
North African campaign
During the Second World War, the North African Campaign took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943. It included campaigns fought in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts and in Morocco and Algeria and Tunisia .The campaign was fought between the Allies and Axis powers, many of whom had...
. The ground echelon of the group, having had to travel by sea, did not arrive until a month later.
The mission of the 316th TCG at Cottesmore was to prepare for the invasion of France
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...
. Intensive training began from the newly-completed runways. Squadron strength was increased to 16 aircraft per squadron and eventually to 20. Waco CG-4A gliders began to arrive to supplement the Airspeed Horsa
Airspeed Horsa
The Airspeed AS.51 Horsa was a British World War II troop-carrying glider built by Airspeed Limited and subcontractors and used for air assault by British and Allied armed forces...
s which had been in storage for some months.
By now, men of the US 82nd Airborne Division were gathering in the Leicester
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
area and a number of practice jumps were undertaken. On one exercise, when the 316th was engaged in a training drop called Operation 'Eagle' during the evening of 11 May, two leading aircraft of the group collided while manoeuvring over the rally point. Both crews perished, including the Group CO, Lieutenant Colonel Burton R. Fleet, who had been flying as an observer in one of the aircraft.
Two days later Colonel Harvey Berger took command and he remained with the 316th until he was killed on 3 April 1945 when his C-47 crashed south-west of Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
.
Normandy invasion
On 5 June the hangars at Cottesmore served as temporary barracks for the men of the 82nd Airborne Division. That night, 1,256 paratroopers were carried in 72 of the 316th's aircraft to be dropped west of Sainte-Mère-ÉgliseSainte-Mère-Église
Sainte-Mère-Église is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France.-History:Founded in the eleventh Century, the earliest records include the name Sancte Marie Ecclesia, Latin for "Church of St. Mary", while a later document written in Norman-French mentions Saincte...
where they were to secure road junctions and bridges. Some flak was encountered over Normandy and 12 of the C-47s returned with damage, one with a dead crew member aboard.
On 7 June the group flew a re-supply mission to the same area but suffered a serious collision between two aircraft while preparing for takeoff. One pilot was killed.
Operation Market-Garden
The next involvement in airborne operations was Operation "Market Garden". On 17 September the group supplied 87 C-47s and three C-53s to carry 1,453 paratroops and 540 parapacks to the Nijmegen area. One aircraft was forced to ditch after a mid-air collision and minor flak damage was sustained by three.The next day, when the group towed 82 CG-4A gliders, heavy Anti-Aircraft Artillery fire was met and four C-47s were lost. On the 23rd, the 316th towed 89 gliders to Overasselt
Overasselt
Overasselt is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is located in the municipality of Heumen.Overasselt was a separate municipality until 1 July 1980, when it was merged with Heumen. Overasselt has a population of about 2500....
, losing one plane, and on the 26th, 72 planes flew troops and supplies to the airstrip at Kecnt, near Grave.
During the winter months, the group returned to hauling supplies to the Continent.
Operation Varsity
On 21 March 1945 most of the group's aircraft moved to RAF WethersfieldRAF Wethersfield
MDPGA Wethersfield is a Ministry of Defence facility in Essex, England; it is located north of the village of Wethersfield—about north-west of the town of Braintree...
in Essex
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...
, a forward base for 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 airborne crossing of the Rhine. Its mission was to carry paratroops of the British 6th Airborne Division, who were dropped near Wesel
Wesel
Wesel is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the Wesel district.-Division of the town:Suburbs of Wesel include Lackhausen, Obrighoven, Ginderich, Feldmark,Fusternberg, Büderich, Flüren and Blumenkamp.-History:...
on the 24th. Two C-47s were shot down and four others so badly damaged they made emergency landings at Eindhoven. Half the aircraft that returned directly to Cottesmore had flak damage.
Legacy
During the final weeks of the war, the 52nd TCW moved its groups to bases in FranceFrance
The 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...
, with the exception of the 316th which was scheduled to return to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in April. However, the group remained at Cottesmore until the cessation of hostilities, although it did not stay long thereafter as the major movement of personnel back to the USA began on 11 May when the unit returned to Pope Army Airfield, 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...
.
The 316th TCG has special claims to fame. It was the only combat group assigned to the original Ninth Air Force organisation in the Middle East in 1942 to transfer to the UK, as well as being the only Ninth Air Force combat group still based in England at the end of the war albeit that IX TCC had been a component of the First Allied Airborne Army
First Allied Airborne Army
The First Allied Airborne Army was an Allied formation formed on 2 August 1944 by the order of General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force. The formation was part of the Allied Expeditionary Force and controlled all Allied airborne forces in Western...
since September 1944.
A plaque was presented by the USAAF Troop Carrier units commemorating the IX Troop Carrier Command's stay at Cottesmore and it can still be seen outside the Station HQ.
Post-war
Cottesmore was officially handed back to the RAF on 1 July 1945. As a pre-war base with permanent buildings, it was inevitable that it would not remain vacant for long. Cottesmore again became a training station. In 1954 English Electric CanberraEnglish Electric Canberra
The English Electric Canberra is a first-generation jet-powered light bomber manufactured in large numbers through the 1950s. The Canberra could fly at a higher altitude than any other bomber through the 1950s and set a world altitude record of 70,310 ft in 1957...
s were moved in, the first time front-line combat aircraft had been based there, but all had left by the end of 1955.
In 1957 it was announced that Cottesmore would became a base for the V-bomber force, carriers of Britain's nuclear deterrent. The squadrons carried out Quick Reaction Alert duties using Handley Page Victor
Handley Page Victor
The Handley Page Victor was a British jet bomber aircraft produced by the Handley Page Aircraft Company during the Cold War. It was the third and final of the V-bombers that provided Britain's nuclear deterrent. The other two V-bombers were the Avro Vulcan and the Vickers Valiant. Some aircraft...
and later Avro Vulcan
Avro Vulcan
The Avro Vulcan, sometimes referred to as the Hawker Siddeley Vulcan, was a jet-powered delta wing strategic bomber, operated by the Royal Air Force from 1956 until 1984. Aircraft manufacturer A V Roe & Co designed the Vulcan in response to Specification B.35/46. Of the three V bombers produced,...
bombers, until 1969. When they left the base was used by 90 Signals Group. Flight Checking, Trials and Evaluation Flight (FCTEF) used 98 Squadron (Canberras) and 115 Squadron (Varsity and Argosy) to provide ILS and radar trials and checking services to RAF airfields around the world.
Cottesmore became home to the Tri-national Tornado Training Establishment
Tri-National Tornado Training Establishment
The Tri-National Tornado Training Establishment was a multinational air unit based at RAF Cottesmore in Rutland, England from 1981 to 1999.-Function:It performed training on the Panavia Tornado for the Royal Air Force, Luftwaffe and Italian Air Force...
(TTTE). Established in July 1980 and officially opened on 29 January 1981, the centre undertook training of new Panavia 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...
pilots from the RAF, Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
, German Navy
German Navy
The German Navy is the navy of Germany and is part of the unified Bundeswehr .The German Navy traces its roots back to the Imperial Fleet of the revolutionary era of 1848 – 52 and more directly to the Prussian Navy, which later evolved into the Northern German Federal Navy...
and Italian Air Force
Italian Air Force
The Italian Air Force has gone under different names in different periods:*Regia Aeronautica , from 1923 to June 1946*Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana, the air force of Italian Social Republic during World War II...
.
The TTTE closed in 1999, and after a period of refurbishment was replaced by the Harriers of Nos 3 and 4 squadrons; these were later joined by 800 and 801 Naval Air Squadron
801 Naval Air Squadron
801 Naval Air Squadron was a Fleet Air Arm squadron of the Royal Navy formed in 1933 which fought in World War II, the Korean War and the Falklands War.- Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Air Force:...
s to form Joint Force Harrier
Joint Force Harrier
Joint Strike Wing, previously known as Joint Force Harrier, was the British military formation which controlled the STOVL Harrier aircraft of the Royal Air Force and Fleet Air Arm...
.
With the introduction of the Eurofighter Typhoon into RAF service, No.3 Sqn 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:...
and No 1 Sqn moved from RAF Wittering
RAF Wittering
RAF Wittering is a Royal Air Force station within the unitary authority area of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire. Although Stamford in Lincolnshire is the nearest town, the runways of RAF Wittering cross the boundary between Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire....
.
Closure
In early December 2009, it was announced the station would close due to funding cut-backs, in part to help pay for additional helicopters for British operations in AfghanistanAfghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
.
In 2010, No 4 Squadron RAF disbanded, with No 20 Squadron RAF re-badging as No 4 (Reserve) Squadron.
The station became a satellite to RAF Wittering on 31 March 2011 with a civic parade and flypast. RAF Cottesmore will formally close on 1 March 2012 but in July 2011 it was announced that Cottesmore would house the Army's East of England Multi-Role Brigade.
Station commanders
- AVMAir Vice-MarshalAir vice-marshal is a two-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in...
James Johnson CBOrder of the BathThe Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
CBEOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
1957-60 - Air CdreAir CommodoreAir commodore is an air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
Robert Weighill CBE DFCDistinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)The Distinguished Flying Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against...
1961-64 - AVM Kenneth Kingshott CBE DFC 1971
- Air MshlAir MarshalAir marshal is a three-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
Sir Michael Simmons CB 1980-82 - AVM Peter Goddard, CB 1984-86
- Air Chf MshlAir Chief MarshalAir chief marshal is a senior 4-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
Sir Peter Squire DFC 1986-88 - AVM Ronald Elder CBE 1988-90
- AVM Thomas Rimmer CB OBE 1990-92
- Air Marshall Philip SturleyPhilip SturleyAir Marshal Philip Oliver Sturley CB MBE BSc FRAeS RAF was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force. On 30 January 1998 Sturley took up the post of Air Officer Commanding No. 38 Group. From 2000 to 2003, Sturley was Assistant Chief of the Air Staff. In May 2005 he was appointed as President of...
CB MBE 1992-94 - AVM Andrew White CB 1996-99
- Group Captain Ken Mcann 2007-2009
- Group Captain Gary Waterfall 2009– Station closure in 2011
See also
- List of RAF stations
- 82nd Airborne Division