Spanhoe

Airfield
A C-47 Skytrain (serial number 43-15308) of the 315th Troop Carrier Group at Spanhoe. Handwritten on front of image: "Spanhoe RAF Base, Northamptonshire, England. May 1944. H.B. Lyon + Roger Chapman by door of plane." media-408778.jpg FRE 3403 A C-47 Skytrain (serial number 43-15308) of the 315th Troop Carrier Group at Spanhoe. Handwritten on front of image: "Spanhoe RAF Base, Northamptonshire, England. May 1944. H.B. Lyon + Roger Chapman by door of plane." Roger Freeman Collection

IWM, Roger Freeman Collection

Object Number - FRE 3403 - A C-47 Skytrain (serial number 43-15308) of the 315th Troop Carrier Group at Spanhoe. Handwritten on front of image: "Spanhoe RAF Base,...

Originally known as Wakerley, Spanhoe was built in 1943 to a standard design: a 6,000 foot runway with two shorter runways, hardstandings and two T2 hangars. Accommodation and support facilities were located in the woods and farmland surrounding the site. The 315th Troop Carrier Group occupied the base in 1944, and on D-Day this unit carried troops of the 82nd Airborne into action. This unit also carried troops during Operation 'Market Garden’. In July 1945 No. 253 Maintenance Unit took over the airfield, preparing for the disposal of thousands of British military vehicles. Nearly 17,500 vehicles of various types were parked at the airfield in 1946, before many of these vehicles were sold at auction. The airfield was retunrd to agriculture, but in 1960 a Vickers Valiant bomber crashed at the site, shortly after take off from nearby RAF Wittering. A memorial on the road approaching Spanhoe commemorates the men of 315th Troop Carrier Group.

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People

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 315th Troop Carrier Group
  • Service Numbers: 790019
  • Highest Rank: Captain
  • Role/Job: Pilot
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 27th Air Transport Group 4th Fighter Group 310th Ferry Squadron 335th Fighter Squadron 336th Fighter Squadron 52nd Fighter Control Squadron Headquarters (65th Fighter Wing) No 133 'Eagle' Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-885180
  • Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Pilot

Revisions

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Barry Anderson, Army Air Forces Stations (Alabama, 1985) / Roger Freeman, Airfields of the Ninth Then and Now (London, 1994)

Spanhoe: Gallery (11 items)