RAF Nuthampstead
Encyclopedia
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
between the villages of Nuthampstead
Nuthampstead
Nuthampstead is a small village and civil parish in North East Hertfordshire located a few miles south of the town of Royston. In the 2001 census the parish had 139 residents....
and Anstey
Anstey, Hertfordshire
Anstey is a village and civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England, about fifteen miles north-east of Stevenage. According to the 2001 census the population of the parish was 338. There is at least one book on the history of this village titled "Anstey, a...
in Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
and Langley
Langley, Hertfordshire
Langley is a hamlet and civil parish in the North Hertfordshire District, in the county of Hertfordshire. It is located four miles south of Hitchin, on the B656 road near the large town of Stevenage....
and Lower Green 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...
. The eastern part of the airfield including part of the East-West Runway, the Fuel Store and the dispersal areas of 600 and 601 Squadrons were all 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...
. RAF Nuthamstead is located four miles to the east of the A10 Hertford
Hertford
Hertford is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. Forming a civil parish, the 2001 census put the population of Hertford at about 24,180. Recent estimates are that it is now around 28,000...
to Royston
Royston, Hertfordshire
Royston is a town and civil parish in the District of North Hertfordshire and county of Hertfordshire in England.It is situated on the Greenwich Meridian, which brushes the towns western boundary, and at the northernmost apex of the county on the same latitude of towns such as Milton Keynes and...
road.
USAAF use
Construction began in 1942 with the facility being built by the 814th and 630th Engineer Battalions of the US Army for 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....
Eighth Air Force
Eighth 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....
. Nuthampstead was assigned USAAF designation Station 131. Two T-2 hangars were constructed with the technical site consisting largely of Nissen huts were situated to the west of the airfield and dispersed within the small village of Nuthampstead.
During the construction of the airfield, rubble from the blitzed areas of East London and Coventry were used for the foundations and even today, farmers occasionally turn up bricks still bearing fragments of their original wallpaper or paintwork or perhaps the remains of a wall light switch still attached.
55th Fighter Group
Although the airfield was built to accommodate heavy bombers, from September 1943 until April 1944 the 55th Fighter Group used the airfield, arriving from McChord AAF Washington on 14 September 1943. The group was under the command of the 67th Fighter Wing of the VIII Fighter CommandVIII Fighter Command
The VIII Fighter Command is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the United States Air Forces in Europe, being stationed at RAF Honington, England. It was inactivated on 20 March 1946....
. Aircraft of the 55th were identified by a green/yellow checkerboard pattern around their cowlings.
The group consisted of the following squadrons:
- 38th Fighter Squadron (CG)
- 338th Fighter Squadron (CL)
- 343d Fighter Squadron (CY)
The 55th FG began operations with Lockheed P-38H Lightnings on 15 October 1943, and was the first to use these aircraft on long-range escort missions from the UK. The P-38H differed from earlier versions in being powered by 1425 hp Allison V-1710-89/91 engines.
The Lightnings' engines were troubled by the addition of alcohol used as an anti-knock compound in their fuel supply; a British war economy solution which caused problems with water condensation on the ground and fuel line icing at altitude. Another British attempt to correct fuel composition caused lead metal deposits to coat cylinders and foul plugs throughout the squadron. The -H series Lightnings did not have adequate cooling for extended high-power usage, as their engine development had outstripped the cooling capacity of the integral intercooler which ran through the wing's leading edge. Pilots were instructed to restrict their periods of highest engine power to defined time limits, but many did not. As a result of these various influences, the Group's Lightnings suffered a high rate of attrition. Nevertheless, 55FG P-38H pilots provided cover for missions against aircraft plants 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...
in February 1944. Lt. Col. Jack Jenkins led the group on 3 March 1944, when they became the first Allied fighters to reach Berlin on an escort mission.
On 16 April 1944 the group moved to RAF Wormingford
RAF Wormingford
RAF Station Wormingford is a former World War II airfield in Essex, England. The airfield is located approximately northwest of Colchester....
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...
to accommodate the arrival of the 398th Bomb Group. The 55FG converted to North American P-51D Mustangs in July 1944, continuing their primary task of escorting B-17 and B-24 bombers that attacked such targets as industries and marshalling yards in Germany, and airfields and V-weapon sites in France.
398th Bombardment Group (Heavy)
From April 1944 until June 1945 the 398th Bombardment Group (Heavy) used the airfield, arriving from Rapid City AAFRapid City, South Dakota
Rapid City is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of South Dakota, and the county seat of Pennington County. Named after Rapid Creek on which the city is established, it is set against the eastern slope of the Black Hills mountain range. The population was 67,956 as of the 2010 Census. Rapid...
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...
. The group was under the command of the 1st Combat Bombardment Wing of the 1st Air Division. Equipped with Boeing B-17G Flying Fortresses, its tail code was a "Triangle-W".
The group consisted of the following squadrons:
- 600th Bombardment Squadron600th Bombardment SquadronThe 600th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last was assigned to the 398th Bombardment Group, stationed at Drew Field, Florida. It was inactivated on 1 September 1945-History:...
(N8) - 601st Bombardment Squadron601st Bombardment SquadronThe 601st Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last was assigned to the 398th Bombardment Group, stationed at Drew Field, Florida. It was inactivated on 1 September 1945-History:...
(3O) - 602d Bombardment Squadron602d Bombardment SquadronThe 602d Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last was assigned to the 398th Bombardment Group, stationed at Drew Field, Florida. It was inactivated on 1 September 1945-History:...
(K8) - 603d Bombardment Squadron603d Bombardment SquadronThe 603d Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 398th Bombardment Group, stationed at Drew Field, Florida. It was inactivated on 1 September 1945.-History:...
(N7)
The 398th BG entered combat in May 1944, and until V-E Day operated primarily against strategic objectives in Germany, attacking targets such as factories in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, warehouses in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, marshalling yards in Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken is the capital of the state of Saarland in Germany. The city is situated at the heart of a metropolitan area that borders on the west on Dillingen and to the north-east on Neunkirchen, where most of the people of the Saarland live....
, shipping facilities in Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
, oil refineries in Merseburg
Merseburg
Merseburg is a town in the south of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt on the river Saale, approx. 14 km south of Halle . It is the capital of the Saalekreis district. It had a diocese founded by Archbishop Adalbert of Magdeburg....
, and aircraft plants in Münster
Münster
Münster is an independent city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also capital of the local government region Münsterland...
.
The group temporarily suspended strategic missions to attack coastal defenses and enemy troops on 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...
during the Invasion of Normandy in June 1944. The group struck gun positions near Eindhoven in support of the air attack on Holland in September 1944, and raided power stations, railroads, and bridges during 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. A formation of 38 aircraft from this group were responsible for the mistaken Bombing of Prague on February 14th 1945. The group flew missions attacking airfields to aid the Allied assault across the Rhine
Operation Varsity
Operation Varsity was a successful joint American–British airborne operation that took place toward the end of World War II...
in March 1945.
The 398th flew its last combat mission, attacking an airfield in Pilsen, Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
, on 25 April 1945. After V-E Day the group transported liberated prisoners from Germany to France.
From Nuthampstead, the 398th Bomb Group flew 195 combat missions losing 58 B17C Flying Fortesses. The unit returned to Drew AAF Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
and was inactivated on 1 September 1945.
RAF Maintenance Command use
With the departure of the 398th, Nuthampstead was transferred from the USAAF to RAF Maintenance CommandRAF Maintenance Command
RAF Maintenance Command was the Royal Air Force command which was responsible for controlling maintenance for all the United Kingdom-based units from formation on 1 April 1938 until being renamed RAF Support Command on 31 August 1973.- History :...
on 10 July 1945. The airfield was used as an ordnance store until being placed in inactive status on 30 October 1954. Nuthampstead was finally closed on 1 March 1959.
Civil use
With the end of military control, the concrete hardstands and most of the perimeter track were removed for hardcore to construct Britain's first motorway, the London to Leeds M1 motorwayM1 motorway
The M1 is a north–south motorway in England primarily connecting London to Leeds, where it joins the A1 near Aberford. While the M1 is considered to be the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the United Kingdom, the first road to be built to motorway standard in the country was the...
, with single-lane farm access roads being retained for agricultural use. Most of the runways were also removed for aggregate, however a small end of the west secondary runway was converted for go-kart
Go-kart
thumb|A [[Kart racing|racing kart]] at the [[Commission Internationale de Karting|CIK-FIA]] European Championship 2008A go-kart is a small four-wheeled vehicle...
racing and the northeast end of the main runway was converted to a grass landing strip for small crop-spraying aircraft. Many of the former airfield technical site buildings are in use by private companies.
The Forestry Commission
Forestry Commission
The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for forestry in Great Britain. Its mission is to protect and expand Britain's forests and woodlands and increase their value to society and the environment....
planted a large area of conifers to the southeast of the airfield, on the location of the former bomb storage site. During the program, a large number of abandoned ordnance was found and the site was declared unsafe. For several months, RAF bomb disposal teams recovered the wartime ordnance before the forestation program was completed.
In the late 1960s, Nuthampstead was one of the sites considered for London's third airport, but it was ultimately rejected.