RAF North Witham

Royal Air Force North Witham or more simply RAF North Witham is a former Royal Air Force station located in Twyford Wood, off the A1 between Stamford and Grantham, Lincolnshire, England about 104 miles (167 km) north-northwest of London.

RAF North Witham
USAAF Station AAF-479
North Witham, Lincolnshire, in England
North Witham airfield, 19 March 1944. Note the cluster of hangars in the technical site, to the northwest of the airfield, and the dispersed T-2 hangar, on the southeast side of the airfield.
Shown within Lincolnshire
Coordinates52°47′35″N 000°35′53″W
TypeMilitary airfield
CodeNW
Site information
OperatorRoyal Air Force
United States Army Air Forces
Controlled byNinth Air Force
RAF Maintenance Command
Site history
Built1942
In use1943-1956
Battles/warsEuropean Theatre of World War II
Air Offensive, Europe July 1942 - May 1945
Garrison information
Occupants1st Tactical Air Depot
IX Troop Carrier Pathfinder Group (Provisional)

The site opened in 1943 during the Second World War and used both the Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Forces, initially as transport airfield then for misc uses. before closing in 1956. Today the remains of the airfield are mostly woodland maintained by the Forestry Commission with the old concrete runways still accessible.

History

USAAF use

North Witham was known as USAAF Station AAF-479 for security reasons by the USAAF during the war, and by which it was referred to instead of location. Its USAAF Station Code was "NW".

1st Tactical Air Depot

North Witham was allocated to the USAAF Troop Carrier Command in August 1943. Its immediate task was to distribute transport aircraft and the means of maintaining them to operational groups of the USAAF. USAAF Douglas C-47 Skytrain maintenance repair activities continued at North Witham until May 1945, albeit on a reducing scale.

RAF Maintenance Command use

On 1 June 1945 the station was handed over to No. 40 Group, RAF Maintenance Command.

Current use

The site was originally partially wooded and some of this remained to the northeast of the runways throughout the military period, but after closure the Forestry Commission planted most of the airfield with oak (Quercus robur) and conifers. Part of it is now a reserve for butterflies and the concrete is slowly being broken up and removed. Ghostly outlines of large numbers of loop dispersal hardstands can be seen in aerial photography, with the perimeter track being reduced to a single lane road. The runway pattern can clearly be seen, some still remaining at full width, other parts being now at half width or less. All of the remaining runway sections are in a very deteriorated condition.

However, the southern end of the airfield is something of an industrial estate with large numbers of grain silos, belonging to Openfield Agriculture Ltd, and highway trailers being parked. In addition, there appears to be a very large graveyard of ex Ministry of Defence (MoD) equipment (now operated by Witham Specialist Vehicles Limited who dispose of surplus UK MoD equipment), where C-47s and Waco CG-4 Gliders once were parked prior to the invasion of Continental Europe.

The airfield's proximity to a junction of the A1 road means that development is pressing against the wood from the north-west. Nonetheless the derelict control tower remains and on a warm summer's day, on the runway, in the quiet of the trees, it is a very atmospheric place.

See also
(US 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment) also flew from RAF Folkingham.

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.

Citations

    Bibliography
    • Bruce Barrymore Halpenny Actions Stations 2 (1991) ISBN 1-85260-405-0.
    • Forestry Commission website, Twyford Wood wildlife
    • Freeman, Roger A. (1994) UK Airfields of the Ninth: Then and Now 1994. After the Battle ISBN 0-900913-80-0
    • Chorlton, Martyn O (2003) Paths in the Wood: A Complete History of RAF North Witham. Old Forge Publishing ISBN 0-9544507-0-1.
    • Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.
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