• Source: RAF Castle Camps

Royal Air Force Castle Camps or more simply RAF Castle Camps is a former Royal Air Force satellite station, it 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.
During the Battle of Britain, one of the units operating from Castle Camps was 85 Squadron, whose Hawker Hurricanes were commanded by Peter Townsend.
The airfield was used by numerous squadrons throughout the Second World War. In 1945, it was commanded by Battle of Britain ace Tim Vigors. It closed in January 1946.




Operational Units and Aircraft



The following units were also here at some point:

No. 25 (Base) Defence Wing RAF (March – May 1944)
No. 85 Group Communication Squadron RAF (May – June 1944)
No. 149 Airfield RAF (March – April 1944)
No. 2771 Squadron RAF Regiment
No. 2887 Squadron RAF Regiment




Current use



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

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= Bibliography

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Brazier, Roy (2011) History of RAF Castle Camps: a Unique Airfield, 1940–47. ISBN 0-95365-182-7
Falconer, J (2012). RAF Airfields of World War 2. UK: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85780-349-5.
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.
Sturtivant, R; Hamlin, J; Halley, J (1997). Royal Air Force flying training and support units. UK: Air-Britain (Historians). ISBN 0-85130-252-1.




External links



Castle Camps Village, Airfield 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

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• RAF Castle Camps
• Peter Townsend (RAF officer)
• Castle Camps (village)
• List of former Royal Air Force stations
• Colditz Castle
• No. 157 Squadron RAF
• Omaha Beach
• Hunsdon Airfield
• List of Cyprus military bases
• List of Royal Canadian Air Force stations