RAF Melton Mowbray

RAF Melton Mowbray
RAF Buildings on the old technical site.
IATA: none – ICAO: none
Summary
Airport type	Military
Owner	Air Ministry
Operator	Royal Air Force
Location	Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire
Built	1941 (1941)
In use	1942-1964 (1964)
Elevation AMSL	374 ft / 114 m
Coordinates	52°44′01″N 000°53′47″W / 52.73361°N 0.89639°W / 52.73361; -0.89639Coordinates: 52°44′01″N 000°53′47″W / 52.73361°N 0.89639°W / 52.73361; -0.89639
Map
RAF Melton Mowbray Location in Leicestershire
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 00/00 0 0 Asphalt 00/00 0 0 Asphalt 00/00 0 0 Asphalt

Royal Air Force Station Melton Mowbray or more simply RAF Melton Mowbray is a former Royal Air Force station located 2.3 miles (3.7 km) south of the centre of Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire and 13.6 miles (21.9 km) south east of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England.

History

The Class A airfield was originally intended for aircraft maintenance but was taken over by RAF Transport Command. Many types of aircraft were flown from the airfield, including Supermarine Spitfire, de Havilland Mosquito, Vought F4U Corsair, Vultee A-31 Vengeance, Grumman F6F Hellcat, Douglas C-47 Dakota and Handley Page Halifax aircraft, plus Airspeed Horsa and Waco Hadrian gliders.

Units

• No. 4 Aircraft Preparation Unit between 5 July 1944 and 9 October 1944.^[1]
• Mk X AI Conversion Flt between 29 August 1944 and 8 September 1944.^[1]
• No. 306 Ferry Training Unit between 13 October 1943 and 15 January 1944.^[1]
• No. 307 Ferry Training Unit between 14 October 1943 and 15 January 1944.^[1]
• No. 304 Ferry Training Unit between 3 January 1944 and 9 October 1944.^[1]
• No. 1 Ferry Pilot Pool between 14 January 1944 and 16 March 1944.^[1]
• No. 1341 Special Duties Flt during 1944.^[1]
• 'J' Flt between 28 September 1945 and 5 October 1945.^[1]
• No. 12 Ferry Unit between 9 October 1944 and 7 November 1945.^[1]

Post war

Between 1946 and 1958 the site was used as a Polish Resettlement Corps camp housing Polish Air Force personnel and their relations.^[2]

Melton Mowbray served as a Thor Strategic missile site between 1959 and 1963, when 254(SM) Squadron^[3] operated a flight of three missiles from the base.^[4]

Current use

One of the runways is now used for parking HGV vehicles and the storage of soil and rubble.

The airfield now houses a small industrial estate and little of the original infrastructure has survived. The airfield regularly hosts large "bank holiday" markets.

See also

• List of former Royal Air Force stations

References

Citations

Bibliography

• Jefford, C.G, MBE,BA ,RAF (Retd). RAF Squadrons, a Comprehensive Record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing, 1988. ISBN 1-84037-141-2.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to RAF Melton Mowbray.

• BBC - WW2 People's War - The End of the War
• Airfield Information Exchange - Melton Mowbray

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