RAF Grove
Encyclopedia
RAF Station Grove is a former World War II
airfield in Oxfordshire
, England
. The airfield is located approximately 1 miles (1.6 km) northwest of Wantage
; about 55 miles (88.5 km) west-northwest of London
Opened in 1942, it was used by both the Royal Air Force
and United States Army Air Force. During the war it was used primarily as a reconnaissance airfield. After the war it was closed in 1946.
Today the remains of the airfield are located on private property being used as agricultural fields
, the main feature of which was a set of three converging runways each containing a concrete runway for takeoffs and landings, optimally placed at 60 degree angles to each other in a triangular pattern. The land requisition order signed in May 1941, and construction began. The airfield was a standard 3 concrete runway layout, aligned as 04/22, 16/34 and 09/27 with assorted loop and pan dispersal hardstands connecting to an enclosing perimeter track, of a standard width of 50 feet.
The ground support station was constructed largely of Nissen hut
s of various sizes. The support station was where the group and ground station commanders and squadron headquarters and orderly rooms were located. Also on the ground station were where the mess facilities; chapel; hospital; mission briefing and debriefing; armory ; life support; parachute rigging; supply warehouses; station and airfield security; motor pool and the other ground support functions necessary to support the air operations of the group. These facilities were all connected by a network of single path support roads.
The technical site, connected to the ground station and airfield consisted of six T-2 maintenance hangars and large numbers of component maintenance shops to perform routine depot-level maintenance on aircraft as well as structural repair of severely damaged combat aircraft. The Ammunition dump was located outside of the perimeter track surrounded by large dirt mounds and concrete storage pens.
Various domestic accommodation sites were constructed dispersed away from the airfield, but within a mile or so of the technical support site, also using clusters of Maycrete or Nissen huts. The Huts were either connected, set up end-to-end or built singly and made of prefabricated corrugated iron with a door and two small windows at the front and back. They provided accommodation for 2,000 personnel, including communal and a sick quarters.
91 Group, and was scheduled to be a satellite for the 15 Operational Training Unit at RAF Harwell
As part of the planning for the invasion of Europe, in 1942 Grove comes under control of Brize Norton to train glider pilots. The airfield also being a satellite for RAF Brize Norton
with both Horsa gliders and Whitleys. In May 1943, No. 15 (Pilot) Advanced Flying Unit arrived with Oxfords.
to build up at Grove as part of the cross-channel invasion of Europe. Grove was known as USAAF Station AAF-519 for security reasons by the USAAF during the war, and by which it was referred to instead of location.
Beginning in August 1943, Grove was used by the 3rd Tactical Air Depot of IX Air Force Service Command, repairing A-20 Havocs and P-61 Black Widow
s. Starting in October, the Air Transport Command
31st Transport Group used the airfield with C-47 Skytrain
s until moving to France
in September 1944. The group returned in December and remained until the end of the war.
The 13th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron (7th Reconnaissance Group) used the airfield between 13 October-23 November 1945 before returning to the United States. In addition, the 36th Bombardment Squadron
from RAF Alconbury
in Huntingdonshire
used the airfield after the closure of Alconbury in October 1945. The squadron flew occasional transport missions until they returned to the United States
in December 1945, ending American use of the station.
Grove was returned to the RAF in 1946. Spare accommodation was used to house German POW's who were used to demolish redundant buildings, as well as assist at local farms.
In December 1955 the western part of the airfield was transferred to the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
(UKAEA) as a satellite to the Atomic Energy Research Establishment
at the former RAF Harwell
. The secrecy of the activities at Grove required that the runways were removed - especially as a USAF jet had landed accidentally, being lost and low on fuel. Airspace above the site was marked as restricted. The UKAEA stayed at Grove until the late 1960s, when the project came to a conclusion. The site was then sold off to private organizations.
Today the entire area has been taken over by agriculture or is a grass pasture. In aerial photography the airfield runways still are quite evident, even after their removal over 50 years ago. The wartime perimeter track is gone, however the UKEA buildings are still in use and well maintained.
The village of Grove has developed the northeast part of the former airfield, building a large housing estate on the property.
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 Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
, 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 airfield is located approximately 1 miles (1.6 km) northwest of Wantage
Wantage
Wantage is a market town and civil parish in the Vale of the White Horse, Oxfordshire, England. The town is on Letcombe Brook, about south-west of Abingdon and a similar distance west of Didcot....
; about 55 miles (88.5 km) west-northwest of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
Opened in 1942, it was used by both 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...
and United States Army Air Force. During the war it was used primarily as a reconnaissance airfield. After the war it was closed in 1946.
Today the remains of the airfield are located on private property being used as agricultural fields
Overview
RAF Grove was built in 1942 as a Class A airfieldClass A airfield
Class A airfields were military installations originally built for the Royal Air Force in the Second World War. Several were transferred to the U.S...
, the main feature of which was a set of three converging runways each containing a concrete runway for takeoffs and landings, optimally placed at 60 degree angles to each other in a triangular pattern. The land requisition order signed in May 1941, and construction began. The airfield was a standard 3 concrete runway layout, aligned as 04/22, 16/34 and 09/27 with assorted loop and pan dispersal hardstands connecting to an enclosing perimeter track, of a standard width of 50 feet.
The ground support station was constructed largely of Nissen hut
Nissen hut
A Nissen hut is a prefabricated steel structure made from a half-cylindrical skin of corrugated steel, a variant of which was used extensively during World War II.-Description:...
s of various sizes. The support station was where the group and ground station commanders and squadron headquarters and orderly rooms were located. Also on the ground station were where the mess facilities; chapel; hospital; mission briefing and debriefing; armory ; life support; parachute rigging; supply warehouses; station and airfield security; motor pool and the other ground support functions necessary to support the air operations of the group. These facilities were all connected by a network of single path support roads.
The technical site, connected to the ground station and airfield consisted of six T-2 maintenance hangars and large numbers of component maintenance shops to perform routine depot-level maintenance on aircraft as well as structural repair of severely damaged combat aircraft. The Ammunition dump was located outside of the perimeter track surrounded by large dirt mounds and concrete storage pens.
Various domestic accommodation sites were constructed dispersed away from the airfield, but within a mile or so of the technical support site, also using clusters of Maycrete or Nissen huts. The Huts were either connected, set up end-to-end or built singly and made of prefabricated corrugated iron with a door and two small windows at the front and back. They provided accommodation for 2,000 personnel, including communal and a sick quarters.
RAF use
Grove was originally intended as a training base for RAF Bomber CommandRAF 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...
91 Group, and was scheduled to be a satellite for the 15 Operational Training Unit at RAF Harwell
RAF Harwell
RAF Harwell was a Royal Air Force airfield in former Berkshire, England, near the village of Harwell, later the site of the Atomic Energy Research Establishment and Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. The site is now in Oxfordshire....
As part of the planning for the invasion of Europe, in 1942 Grove comes under control of Brize Norton to train glider pilots. The airfield also being a satellite for RAF Brize Norton
RAF Brize Norton
RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, about west north-west of London, is the largest station of the Royal Air Force. It is close to the settlements of Brize Norton, Carterton and Witney....
with both Horsa gliders and Whitleys. In May 1943, No. 15 (Pilot) Advanced Flying Unit arrived with Oxfords.
USAAF use
The RAF left Grove in September 1943 to allow 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....
to build up at Grove as part of the cross-channel invasion of Europe. Grove was known as USAAF Station AAF-519 for security reasons by the USAAF during the war, and by which it was referred to instead of location.
Beginning in August 1943, Grove was used by the 3rd Tactical Air Depot of IX Air Force Service Command, repairing A-20 Havocs and P-61 Black Widow
P-61 Black Widow
The Northrop P-61 Black Widow was the first operational U.S. military aircraft designed specifically for night interception of aircraft, and was the first aircraft specifically designed to use radar. It was an all-metal, twin-engine, twin-boom design developed during World War II...
s. Starting in October, the Air Transport Command
Air Transport Command
Air Transport Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its mission was to meet the urgent demand for the speedy reinforcement of the United States' military bases worldwide during World War II, using an air supply system to supplement surface transport...
31st Transport Group used the airfield with C-47 Skytrain
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...
s until moving to 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 September 1944. The group returned in December and remained until the end of the war.
The 13th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron (7th Reconnaissance Group) used the airfield between 13 October-23 November 1945 before returning to the United States. In addition, the 36th Bombardment Squadron
36th Bombardment Squadron
The 36th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the United States Air Forces in Europe, based at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey...
from RAF Alconbury
RAF Alconbury
RAF Alconbury is an active Royal Air Force station in Cambridgeshire, England. The airfield is adjacent to the Stukeleys [Great and Little] and located about northwest of Huntingdon; about north of London....
in Huntingdonshire
Huntingdonshire
Huntingdonshire is a local government district of Cambridgeshire, covering the area around Huntingdon. Traditionally it is a county in its own right...
used the airfield after the closure of Alconbury in October 1945. The squadron flew occasional transport missions until they returned to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in December 1945, ending American use of the station.
Grove was returned to the RAF in 1946. Spare accommodation was used to house German POW's who were used to demolish redundant buildings, as well as assist at local farms.
Postwar use
After the war, the airfield was used for surplus aircraft disposal by RAF No. 256 MU. In addition, No 6 MU temporarily used the airfield to service captured German aircraft. In 1946, the airfield was placed on "care and maintenance" status. It appears that some construction work was undertaken at the airfield after it was placed in C&M status, and the 04/22 secondary runway appears to have been lengthened (essentially doubled in length) for use by jet aircraft.In December 1955 the western part of the airfield was transferred to the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority is a UK government research organisation responsible for the development of nuclear fusion power. It is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and was formerly chaired by Lady Barbara Judge CBE...
(UKAEA) as a satellite to the Atomic Energy Research Establishment
Atomic Energy Research Establishment
The Atomic Energy Research Establishment near Harwell, Oxfordshire, was the main centre for atomic energy research and development in the United Kingdom from the 1940s to the 1990s.-Founding:...
at the former RAF Harwell
RAF Harwell
RAF Harwell was a Royal Air Force airfield in former Berkshire, England, near the village of Harwell, later the site of the Atomic Energy Research Establishment and Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. The site is now in Oxfordshire....
. The secrecy of the activities at Grove required that the runways were removed - especially as a USAF jet had landed accidentally, being lost and low on fuel. Airspace above the site was marked as restricted. The UKAEA stayed at Grove until the late 1960s, when the project came to a conclusion. The site was then sold off to private organizations.
Today the entire area has been taken over by agriculture or is a grass pasture. In aerial photography the airfield runways still are quite evident, even after their removal over 50 years ago. The wartime perimeter track is gone, however the UKEA buildings are still in use and well maintained.
The village of Grove has developed the northeast part of the former airfield, building a large housing estate on the property.