Goxhill
AirfieldIWM, English Heritage Collection
Goxhill opened in June 1941 as an RAF Bomber Command airfield, before being handed over to RAF Fighter Command in December. The Eighth Air Force took ownership in August 1942, and used the airfield, which they quickly dubbed 'Goat Hill' for operational training. Several different US Fighter Groups used the base for operational training before moving on to their permanent operational homes. These included the 78th Fighter Group, before it moved to Duxford. The airfield was handed back to the RAF in January 1945. It was officially closed in 1953. Several of the airfield’s structures remain today.
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 20th Fighter Group 496th Fighter Training Group 552nd Fighter Training Squadron 55th Fighter Squadron
- Service Numbers: 20466052 / O-743403
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Fighter pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 20th Fighter Group 496th Fighter Training Group 77th Fighter Squadron
- Service Numbers: 35255724 / O-753604
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Fighter pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 357th Fighter Group 495th Fighter Training Group 496th Fighter Training Group 363rd Fighter Squadron 555th Fighter Training Squadron 83rd Fighter Squadron
- Service Numbers: 16138534 / T-2667
- Highest Rank: Flight Officer
- Role/Job: Fighter pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 496th Fighter Training Group 555th Fighter Training Squadron
- Service Numbers: 17132805 / O-708654
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Fighter Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 353rd Fighter Group 356th Fighter Group 496th Fighter Training Group 351st Fighter Squadron 359th Fighter Squadron 555th Fighter Training Squadron Headquarters (353rd Fighter Group)
- Service Numbers: O-416268
- Highest Rank: Colonel
- Role/Job: Fighter Pilot
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: P-51 Mustang
- Nicknames: Rebel Queen
- Unit: 496th Fighter Training Group 4th Fighter Group 336th Fighter Squadron 555th Fighter Training Squadron
- Aircraft Type: P-51 Mustang
- Nicknames: Brenda
- Unit: 355th Fighter Group 357th Fighter Group 496th Fighter Training Group 4th Fighter Group 336th Fighter Squadron 357th Fighter Squadron 362nd Fighter Squadron 555th Fighter Training Squadron
- Aircraft Type: P-51 Mustang
- Unit: 354th Fighter Group 496th Fighter Training Group 355th Fighter Squadron 555th Fighter Training Squadron
- Aircraft Type: P-51 Mustang
- Nicknames: Peggy (starboard, Gil Talbot's GQ-I), Live Bait (port side, Gross)
- Unit: 354th Fighter Group 479th Fighter Group 496th Fighter Training Group 355th Fighter Squadron 436th Fighter Squadron 554th Fighter Training Squadron
- Aircraft Type: P-51 Mustang
- Nicknames: Bottleneck
- Unit: 479th Fighter Group 496th Fighter Training Group 436th Fighter Squadron 554th Fighter Training Squadron 555th Fighter Training Squadron
Revisions
Barry Anderson, Army Air Forces Stations (Alabama, 1985) / Roger Freeman, Mighty Eighth War Manual (London, 2001)
Roger Freeman, Airfields of the Eighth Then And Now (London, 1978)
Bruce Barrymore Halpenny, Action Stations 2: Military Airfields of Lincolnshire and the East Midlands (Cambridge, 1984)