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Gransden Lodge Airfield is a former wartime airfield located 10.1 mi (16.3 km) west of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England.
Gransden Lodge Airfield | |
|---|---|
 Memorial | |
| Summary | |
| Airport type | Private |
| Operator | Private |
| Location | Great Gransden, Cambridgeshire |
| Built | 1941 |
| In use | 1942-1955 |
| Elevation AMSL | 230 ft / 70 m |
| Coordinates | 52°10′54″N 000°06′49″W / 52.18167°N 0.11361°W |
| Map | |
  Gransden Lodge Airfield Location in Cambridgeshire | |
 | |
The Cambridge University Gliding Club (now Cambridge Gliding Centre) moved to Gransden Lodge in October 1991, having previously shared Duxford Airfield with the Imperial War Museum Duxford.
History
editGransden Lodge opened in April 1942 as an operational RAF Bomber Command station called RAF Gransden Lodge with three concrete runways. At the end of 1945 the airfield was transferred to Transport Command but the last operational squadron was disbanded in February 1946. The RAF station closed in 1955 and it was also used for some motor races, including the first major postwar motor race in the UK on 15 June 1946.
Operational units
edit| Squadron | Aircraft | Variants | From | To | To | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 53 Squadron | Consolidated Liberator | VI/VIII | 1 December 1945 | 28 February 1946 | Disbanded | [1] |
| No. 97 Squadron | Avro Lancaster | I/III | 18 April 1943 | 18 April 1944 | RAF Coningsby | Detachment from RAF Bourn.[2] |
| No. 142 Squadron | de Havilland Mosquito | XXV | 25 October 1944 | 28 September 1945 | Disbanded | Reformed here.[3] |
| No. 169 Squadron | North American Mustang | I | 5 March 1943 | 10 March 1943 | RAF Bottisham | [4] |
| No. 192 Squadron | Vickers Wellington de Havilland Mosquito Handley Page Halifax |
IC, III, X IV II |
4 January 1943 | 5 April 1943 | RAF Feltwell | [5] |
| No. 405 Squadron | Handley Page Halifax Avro Lancaster |
II I, III |
19 April 1943 | 26 May 1945 | RAF Linton-on-Ouse | [6] |
| No. 421 Squadron | Supermarine Spitfire | VB | 5 March 1943 | 10 March 1943 | RAF Fowlmere | [7] |
| No. 692 Squadron | de Havilland Mosquito | XVI | 4 June 1945 | 20 September 1945 | Disbanded | [8] |
Units
editThe following units were also here at some point:[9]
Current use
editThe Cambridge Gliding Centre now uses the airfield.
References
editCitations
edit- ^ Jefford 1988, p. 42.
- ^ Jefford 1988, p. 53.
- ^ Jefford 1988, p. 61.
- ^ Jefford 1988, p. 64.
- ^ Jefford 1988, p. 66.
- ^ Jefford 1988, p. 89.
- ^ Jefford 1988, p. 91.
- ^ Jefford 1988, p. 105.
- ^ "Gransden Lodge". Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
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.
External links
edit