RAF Castle Camps

RAF Castle Camps
IATA: none – ICAO: X3CC
Summary
Airport type		Military
Operator		Royal Air Force
Location		Castle Camps, Cambridgeshire, England
Elevation AMSL		420 ft / 128 m
Coordinates		52°03′05″N 000°22′43″E
Map
RAF Castle Camps Location in Cambridgeshire
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	ft	m
00/00	0	0	Concrete
00/00	0	0	Concrete
00/00	0	0	Concrete

RAF Castle Camps was listed as being in Cambridgeshire as it is close to its namesake Cambridgeshire village. It is very near the Suffolk border and the airfield straddled the Essex and Cambridgeshire county border. Construction of the station was started in September 1939. It opened as a satellite of RAF Debden in June 1940 and became a satellite of RAF North Weald in July 1943.

The airfield was used by numerous squadrons throughout World War II. It closed in January 1946.

Operational Units and Aircraft

Unit	From	To	Aircraft	Version
No. 85 Squadron RAF	23 May 1940 3 Sep 1940	19 Aug 1940 5 Sep 1940	Hawker Hurricane Hawker Hurricane	? ?
No. 73 Squadron RCAF	5 Sep 1940	6 Nov 1940	Hawker Hurricane	?
No. 157 Squadron RAF	18 Dec 1941	15 Mar 1943	De Havilland Mosquito	?
No. 605 Squadron RAF	15 Mar 1943	6 Oct 1943	De Havilland Mosquito	FB. VI
No. 456 Squadron RAAF	29 Mar 1943	17 Aug 1943	De Havilland Mosquito De Havilland Mosquito	Mk. II Mk. VI
No. 527 Squadron RAF	15 Jun 1943	28 Feb 1944	Bristol Blenheim Hawker Hurricane De Havilland Hornet Moth	Mk. IV Mk. I ?
No. 91 Squadron RAF	29 Feb 1944	17 Mar 1944	Supermarine Spitfire	Mk. XIV
No. 486 Squadron RNZAF	6 Mar 1944 29 Mar 1944	21 Mar 1944 29 Apr 1944	Hawker Typhoon Hawker Typhoon	Mk. IB Mk. IB
No. 410 Squadron RCAF	30 December 1943	29 Apr 1944	De Havilland Mosquito	Mk. XIII
No. 68 Squadron RAF	23 Jun 1944	28 Dec 1944	De Havilland Mosquito	Mks. VIII
No. 151 Squadron RAF	8 Oct 1944	19 Nov 1944	De Havilland Mosquito	Mk. XXX
No. 25 Squadron RAF	27 Oct 1944	14 Jul 1945	De Havilland Mosquito	Mk. III
No. 307 Polish Night Fighter Squadron	27 Jan 1945	31 May 1945	De Havilland Mosquito	NF. 30

Present day

The site has reverted to agricultural use. However the outlines of portions of the runways in the fields (when viewed on Google Earth), can still be seen and some of the perimeter roads are even now in use as farm tracks.

Some of the airfield buildings are still present and being used by local farms and industry.

References

Citations

External links

• Castle Camps Village: Webpage
• Hawker Tempest Page: History Hawker Tempest at RAF Castle Camps
• 605 Squadron Website: History of 605 Squadron
• Polish Squadrons Remembered: No. 307 Squadron History