RAF Glatton
Encyclopedia
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
airfield in 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...
. The field is located 10 miles N of Huntingdon
Huntingdon
Huntingdon is a market town in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was chartered by King John in 1205. It is the traditional county town of Huntingdonshire, and is currently the seat of the Huntingdonshire district council. It is known as the birthplace in 1599 of Oliver Cromwell.-History:Huntingdon...
in Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
.
USAAF use
Glatton was constructed in 1943 and was assigned to the United States Army Air Force Eighth Air ForceEighth Air Force
The Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana....
as a heavy bomber airfield. Its layout was unique in that the three runways surrounded Rose Court Farm which continued to operate in the centre of the airfield. Glatton was assigned USAAF designation Station 130.
457th Bombardment Group (Heavy)
The airfield was first used by the 457th Bombardment Group (Heavy), arriving from Wendover AAFWendover Air Force Base
Wendover Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base in Utah now known as Wendover Airport. During World War II it was a training base for B-17 and B-24 bomber crews. It was the training site of the 509th Composite Group, the B-29 unit which dropped the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombs...
, Utah on 21 January 1944. The 457th was assigned to the 94th Combat Bombardment Wing of the 1st Bombardment Division. Its tail code
Tail Code
Tail codes are the markings usually on the vertical stabilizer of U.S. military aircraft that help to identify the aircraft's unit and/or base assignment and occasionally other information that is not unique. This is not the same as the serial number, bureau number, or aircraft registration which...
was Triangle U.
The 457th Bomb Group consisted of the following operational squadrons flying B-17s :
- 748th Bombardment Squadron748th Bombardment SquadronThe 748th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Army Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 457th Bombardment Group, stationed at Sioux Falls Army Air Field, South Dakota. It was inactivated on 28 August 1945.-History:...
- 749th Bombardment Squadron749th Bombardment SquadronThe 749th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last was assigned to the 457th Bombardment Group, stationed at Sioux Falls Army Air Field, South Dakota. It was inactivated on 28 August 1945-History:...
- 750th Bombardment Squadron750th Bombardment SquadronThe 750th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 457th Bombardment Group, stationed at Sioux Falls Army Air Field, South Dakota. It was inactivated on 28 August 1945-History:...
- 751st Bombardment Squadron751st Bombardment SquadronThe 751st Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its was last assigned to the 457th Bombardment Group, stationed at Sioux Falls Army Air Field, South Dakota. It was inactivated on 28 August 1945.-History:...
The 457th Bomb Group flew its first mission on 21 February 1944 during Big Week
Big Week
Between February 20–25, 1944, as part of the European strategic bombing campaign, the United States Strategic Air Forces launched Operation Argument, a series of missions against the Third Reich that became known as Big Week. The planners intended to lure the Luftwaffe into a decisive battle by...
, taking part in the concentrated attacks of heavy bombers on the German aircraft industry. Until June 1944, the Group engaged primarily in bombardment of strategic targets, such as ball-bearing plants, aircraft factories, and oil refineries in Germany.
The Group bombed targets in France during the first week of June 1944 in preparation for the Normandy invasion
D-Day
D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
, and attacked coastal defenses along the Cherbourg peninsula
Cotentin Peninsula
The Cotentin Peninsula, also known as the Cherbourg Peninsula, is a peninsula in Normandy, forming part of the north-western coast of France. It juts out north-westwards into the English Channel, towards Great Britain...
on D-Day. It struck airfields, railroads, fuel depots, and other interdictory targets behind the invasion beaches throughout the remainder of the month.
Beginning in July 1944, the 457th resumed bombardment of strategic objectives and engaged chiefly in such operations until April 1945. Sometimes flew support and interdictory missions, aiding the advance of ground forces during the Saint-Lô
Saint-Lô
Saint-Lô is a commune in north-western France, the capital of the Manche department in Normandy.-History:Originally called Briovère , the town is built on and around ramparts. Originally it was a Gaul fortified settlement...
breakthrough in July 1944 and the landing of British 1st Airborne Division during the airborne attack on Holland in September 1944; and participating in the Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...
, December 1944 - January 1945, and the assault across the Rhine in March 1945.
The Group flew its last combat mission on 20 April 1945. The unit had carried out 237 missions. Total number of sorties was 7,086 with nearly 17,000 tons of bombs and 142 tons of leaflets being dropped.
After V-E Day, the 457th transported prisoners of war from Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
to France, and returned to Sioux Falls AAF, South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
during June 1945 and was inactivated on 18 August 1945.
RAF Bomber Command use
After the war, RAF Glatton was used by the RAF's No 3 Group under the control of Bomber Command with Lancasters and Liberators flying to the Middle East. It was closed and sold in 1948.Civil use
With the end of military control, Glatton airfield was largely returned to agriculture however parts of two runways have been retained and Glatton now operates as Conington Airport. The 457th Bomb Group has a memorial dedicated to the men who lost their lives flying from Glatton in All Saints ChurchAll Saints Church, Conington
All Saints Church, Conington, is a redundant Anglican church in the village of Conington in the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust...
Conington
Conington, Huntingdonshire
Conington is a small village in the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire. It lies within earshot of Ermine Street, now called the Great North Road, about south of Peterborough and north of Sawtry....
churchyard.
See also
External links
- RAF Glatton Control Tower
- The 457th Bomb Group Association Website
- 457th Bomb Group Association (older version)
- Diary Of A B-17 Ball Turret Gunner
- NATS - Modern airfield plan and details
- Mighty 8th Cross-Reference (Fred Preller): RAF Glatton
- USAAS-USAAC-USAAF-USAF Aircraft Serial Numbers--1908 to present