Royal Air Force Little Staughton or more simply RAF Little Staughton is a former Royal Air Force station located 1.7 miles (2.7 km) south of Great Staughton, Cambridgeshire and 4.2 miles (6.8 km) west of St Neots, Cambridgeshire, England.
RAF Little Staughton RAF Staughton Moor USAAF Station 127 Little Staughton Airfield  | |||||||||||
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 Formerly disused WW2 runway | |||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Military(formerly) Private | ||||||||||
| Owner | Air Ministry(Formerly) IAE Ltd | ||||||||||
| Operator | Formerly United States Army Air Forces Royal Air Force United States Air Force Currently IAE Ltd | ||||||||||
| Location | Little Staughton, Bedfordshire | ||||||||||
| Built | 1941 | ||||||||||
| In use | 1942–1947 2021-present | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 207 ft / 63 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 52°14′40″N 000°21′42″W / 52.24444°N 0.36167°W | ||||||||||
| Website | https://www.iae.org.uk/little%20staughton%20airfield.htm | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  RAF Little Staughton/Little Staughton Airfield Location in Cambridgeshire | |||||||||||
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| Runways | |||||||||||
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Station history
edit
The airfield was first handed over to the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) in 1942.[1]
RAF Little Staughton was returned to the Royal Air Force (RAF) on 1 March 1944[1]
- No. 47 Group Communications Flight[2]
- No. 48 Group Communications Flight[2]
- No. 2731 Squadron RAF Regiment[2]
- No. 2746 Squadron RAF Regiment[2]
- Path Finder Force 8 Group - No. 109 Squadron RAF from 2 April 1944 with the de Havilland Mosquito XVI before being disbanded on 30 April 1945.[3]
- Path Finder Force 8 Group - No. 582 Squadron RAF formed at the airfield on 1 April 1944 with the Avro Lancaster Mks I and III before being disbanded on 10 September 1945.[4]
The airfield was placed into care and maintenance in 1945, and during the 1950s the United States Air Force extended the runway for use by jet aircraft in emergency circumstances. However, in the late 1950s they moved out.[1]
At some point the runway was shortened on the south end to the southmost taxiway with the land converted into a field.
See also
Current use
editThe site is mainly for farming with the hangars used for various uses.[2] In January 2020, Little Staughton Airfield and Industrial Park applied for planning permission to develop the site to re-open the airfield.[5] By December 2021 IAE had constructed a new hangar and re-opened half of the runway.[6] There is also a solar farm and an industrial estate reusing the old airfield buildings.
Because of the lack of redevelopment most of the Military Buildings remain including the control tower, the Airfield battle HQ, a T2 hangar and a variety of smaller buildings, some of which are in an area called 'little america' as it was the site of the American accommodation blocks, which is to the south of the airfield[7]
References
editCitations
edit- ^ a b c d e "Little Staughton". Royal Air Force. Archived from the original on 26 October 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2012.
- ^ a b c d e "Little Staughton II (Staughton Moor)". Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust. Retrieved 7 November 2012.
- ^ Jefford 1988, p. 55.
- ^ Jefford 1988, p. 97.
- ^ Makey, Julian (14 January 2020). "World War Two bomber base could resume flying if new plans are given the go-ahead". The Hunts Post. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
- ^ "IAE - About Us". www.iae.org.uk. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
- ^ "Little Staughton". UK Airfields. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
Bibliography
edit- 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.