RAF Chelveston

File:Ch-0545.jpg

RAF Chelveston- May 1945

RAF Chelveston was a military air base located on the south side of the A45, 5 miles east of Wellingborough, near the village of Chelveston in Northamptonshire, United Kingdom.

During World War II the base was occupied by both the Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Force. During the Cold War, Chelveston housed some flying units, however its main role was that of a readiness station to recieve USAF units from the United States in case of an emergency.

In the mid-1970s, the majority of the base was sold by the Ministry of Defense to private landholders, with the exception of a military housing area currently occupied by American servicemembers assigned to RAF Alconbury and RAF Molesworth.

Origins

Construction of Chelveston began in 1940 with short grass runways and three hangars grouped together. The airfield opened in August 1941 as a RAF base. It was utilzied initallly for the Central Gunnery School, then the Experimental Airborne Establishment took over with their gliders.

However, the grass landing strips were deemed unsuitable for heavy 4-engine bombers, so concrete runways were constructed along with taxiways and hardstands.

World War II Use

60th Troop Carrier Group

In early 1942, Chelveston was turned over to the American Eighth Air Force. The first USAAF unit to occupy Chelveston was the 60th Troop Carrier Group. The 60th consisted of the 10th, 11th, 12th and 26th squadrons, equipped with 53 C-47 aircraft.

The 60th arrived in early July, but it's stay was brief, moving to RAF Aldermaston at the end of the month. After it's training in the UK, the unit moved on to the 12th Air Force for operations in the Mediterranean theater.

301st Bombardment Group (Heavy)

On 9 August 1942, the B-17F's of the 301st Bombardment Group (Heavy) took up residence on the base. The 301st BG consisted of the 32nd, 352nd, 353rd, 354th and 419th Bomb Squadrons. The unit was the second heavy USAAF bomber group to arrive in England, flying the B-17 "Flying Fortress".

The 301st flew it's first operational mission on 5 September 1942 to the Rouen marshalling yards in northern France. During it's stay at Chelveston, the unit attacked submarine pens, airfields, railroads, bridges, and other targets on the Continent, primarily in France.

The 301st BG was allocated to Operation Torch, and on 26 November 1942 it departed for the 12th Air Force, being moved to Tafaraoui, Algeria.

305th Bombardment Group (Heavy)

The next group to use Chelveston was the 305th Bombardment Group (Heavy), moving in from RAF Grafton Underwood in December 1942. The 305th BG consisted of the 364th, 365th, 366th and 422nd Bomb Squadrons.

The 305th Bomb Group was one of the most decorated USAAF bomb groups in the European Theater.

During the winter of 1942/43, the 305th was commanded by Colonel Curtis LeMay and pioneered many of the techniques of daylight bombing used by the USAAF over Nazi-controlled Europe. Through mid-1943, the 305th attacked such targets as submarine pens, docks, harbors, shipyards, motor works, and marshalling yards in France, Germany, and the Low Countries.

The group bombed the navy yards at Wilhelmshaven on 27 Jan 1943 when heavy bombers of Eighth AF made their first penetration into Germany.

The 305th BG recieved the Distingished Unit Citation for a mission on 4 Apr 1943 when an industrial target in Paris was bombed with precision in spite of pressing enemy fighter attacks and heavy flak.

During the second half of 1943, the unit began deeper penetration into enemy territory to strike heavy industry. Significant objectives included aluminum, magnesium, and nitrate works in Norway, industries in Berlin, oil plants at Merseburg, aircraft factories at Anklam, shipping at Gdynia, and ball-bearing works at Schweinfurt.

A second Distingished Unit Citation was awarded to the 305th for withstanding severe opposition to bomb aircraft factories in central Germany on 11 Jan 1944. The unit participated in the intensive campaign of heavy bombers against the German aircraft industry during Big Week, 20-25 Feb 1944.

1st Lt William R Lawley Jr, and 1st Lt Edward S Michael, pilots, each received the Medal of Honor for similar performances on 20 Feb and 11 Apr 1944, respectively; in each case a B-17 was severely damaged by fighters after it had bombed a target in Germany, crew members were wounded, and the pilot himself was critically injured; recovering in time to pull his aircraft out of a steep dive, and realizing that the wounded men would be unable to bail out, each pilot flew his plane back to England and made a successful crash landing.

The 422nd Bomb Squadron became a specialist unit in the summer of 1943, taking part in experimental night bombing missions with the B-17 and carrying out leaflet dropping sorties in the darkness. In 1944, the squadron extended its activities to pathfinder techniques using the H2X airborne radar.

B-17's of the 305th BG lining up for takeoff - 1944

The 305th moved to St Trond Air Base, Belgium in July, 1945 and Chelveston was returned to the RAF in October 1945. The base became a satellite field for the No. 25 Maintence Unit and placed in care and maintenance status.

Postwar Use

The opening sequence of the 1949 film “Twelve O’Clock High” was filmed at Chelveston. The scene depicts Chelveston as the base where Dean Jagger, playing an American AAF veteran, returns to the airbase where his bomb group were stationed. The airfield is mostly deserted, except for the occasional cow, but the control tower, huts and hangers still remain as ruined yet evocative reminders of what was once his home from home.

With the Korean War and the growing threat of the Soviet Union, the US and UK agreed to an expanded US military presence in the United Kingdom. On 1 December 1952, Chelveston returned to American control.

RAF Chelveston was allocated to the Strategic Air Command (SAC), and a completley new jet runway (11,000') was constructed on the base to accomodate intercontinental bombers. Also, the wartime buildings were in a state of disrepair and replaced with new facilities.

No permanent USAF wing was assigned to Chelveston. The base's main mission was to be a reserve base, kept in a state of high readiness to recieve USAF units from the CONUS in the event of an emergency. The B-47 Stratojet was a familiar sight at Chelveston as wings deployed on 90-day rotations.

From December 1952 until October 1955, the base was used by Third Air Force ground units.

Starting in November 1955 the base was transferred to the Seventh Air Division as a standby facility.

The faclitiy was turned over to USAFE in August 1959. Shortly thereafter, it became the home for RB-66C's of the 42nd Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron from RAF Alconbury's 10th Tactical Reconnasance Wing. In March 1962, the B-66's were transferred to France.

After the B-66s departed the base was returned to a reserve status, with occasional use by RAF and USAF units.

Chelveston Today

In the early 1970's due to budget cutbacks, the MOD decided to close Chelveston. The concrete runways, taxiways and hardstands were broken up and removed in 1977, with large quanites of aggrigate being supplied to various construction projects in the Northamptonshire and Bedforshire markets.

Today most of what was RAF Chelveston is now in the hands of private agricultural interests, with the exception of some housing units retained by the USAF. However, a USAF communications center was retained on the former airfield site, with a large array of antennas erected.

Almost nothing of the former airbase remains.

External Links

• Photographs Of Postwar Chelveston

• Satellite Image of RAF Chelveston From Google Earth

• Aerial Photo of RAF Chelveston From Multimap.Com