Royal Air Force Andrews Field or more simply RAF Andrews Field (also known as RAF Andrewsfield and RAF Great Saling) is a former

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

located east-northeast of

Great Dunmow Great Dunmow is a historic market town and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England. It lies to the north of the A120 road, approximately midway between Bishop's Stortford and Braintree, Essex, Braintree, east of London Stanste ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, England. Originally designated as Great Saling when designed and under construction, the base was renamed "Andrews Field" in honour of

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

(USAAF) General

Frank M. Andrews Frank Maxwell Andrews (February 3, 1884 – May 3, 1943) was a senior officer of the United States Army and one of the founders of the United States Army Air Forces, which was later to become the United States Air Force. In leadership posit ...

, who was killed in an aircraft crash in Iceland in May 1943. Andrews Field was primarily the home of the USAAF

Ninth Air Force The Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It is the Air Force Service Component of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), a joint D ...

322d Bombardment Group 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cultural significance in many societies ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, which flew the

Martin B-26 Marauder The Martin B-26 Marauder is an American twin-engined medium bomber that saw extensive service during World War II. The B-26 was built at two locations: Baltimore, Maryland, and Omaha, Nebraska, by the Glenn L. Martin Company. First used in ...

medium bomber. After being transferred to the Air Ministry in late 1944, it was used briefly by

RAF Fighter Command RAF Fighter Command was one of the commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It operated throughout the Second World War, winning fame during the Battle of Britain in 1940. The ...

for

Gloster Meteor The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies' only jet aircraft to engage in combat operations during the Second World War. The Meteor's development was heavily reliant on its ground-breaking turbojet engines, pioneere ...

jet fighter testing before being finally closed in late 1945. Today the remains of the airfield are located on private property, which is used for agricultural, with a small portion used by the Andrewsfield Flying Club.

History

Andrews Field was the first of fourteen " Type A" airfields built by the United States Army Air Forces in the United Kingdom during the Second World War. Originally designated as "Great Saling", the facility was built by the United States Army 819th Engineer Battalion (Aviation), which began work on the field during July 1942.pp: 22-25, the Essex Bomber Airfields, Freeman, Roger A. (1994) UK Airfields of the Ninth: Then and Now (After the Battle), Andrews Field had three runways, a main of 1,830m aligned 09/27 and two crosswind secondary runways of 1,280m aligned 02/20 and 15/33. It had an enclosing perimeter track that had three separate dispersal areas totaling 50 loop type hardstands and one "frying pan" type. Barracks facilities for about 3,000 personnel were constructed along with a technical site that had two T-2 type hangars for aircraft maintenance. Main construction was supposed to be completed in early January 1943, and it continued until March.

United States Army Air Forces use

On 21 May 1943 the official name was changed to Andrews Field in honour of Lieutenant General Frank M Andrews. Andrews Field was known as USAAF Station AAF-485 for security reasons by the USAAF during the war, by which name it was referred to instead of location. Its USAAF Station Code was "GZ". Although the name Andrews Field (or Andrewsfield) appears on RAF air maps and was widely used by that service, some USAAF agencies still referred to the airfield by the name Great Saling. USAAF Station Units assigned to RAF Andrews Field were: * 42d Service Group (VIII Air Force Composite Command) : 356th, 361st Service Squadron, HHS, 42d Service Group * 18th Station Complement Squadron * 21st Weather Squadron * 28th Mobile Reclamation and Repair Squadron Regular Army Station Units included: * 1020th Signal Company * 1136th Quartermaster Company * 1175th Military Police Company * 1642nd Ordnance Supply & Maintenance Company * 2253rd Quartermaster Truck Company * 819th Chemical Company (Air Operations) * 878th Signal Depot Company * 2044th Engineer Fire Fighting Platoon * 111th Army Postal Unit * 201st Medical Dispensary * Weather Detachment BB, 21st Weather Squadron

96th Bombardment Group (Heavy)

When opened in January 1943, Andrews Field was assigned to the

VIII Bomber Command 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. Etymology English ''eight'', from Old English '', æhta'', Proto-Germanic ''*ahto'' is a direct continuation of Proto-Indo-European '' *oḱtṓ(w)-'', and as such cognate wi ...

Eighth Air Force The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Forces S ...

, however it didn't receive its first combat group until May, when the 4th Bombardment Wing 96th Bombardment Group (Heavy) flying

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engined heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). A fast and high-flying bomber, the B-17 dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during ...

es arrived from

RAF Grafton Underwood Royal Air Force Grafton Underwood or more simply RAF Grafton Underwood is a former Royal Air Force station located northeast of Kettering, Northamptonshire, England. Royal Air Force use The airfield at Grafton Underwood was opened in 1941 a ...

(AAF-106) in Northamptonshire. The group consisted of the following squadrons: *

337th Bombardment Squadron 337th may refer to: *337th Aeronautical Systems Group, inactive United States Air Force unit *337th Air Control Squadron, part of the 33d Fighter Wing, an AETC unit, based at the USAF Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida *337th Airlift Squadron, part of ...

(AX) * 338th Bombardment Squadron (BX) *

339th Bombardment Squadron The 339th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 96th Bombardment Wing at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, where it was inactivated on 15 March 1963. The squadron (aviation), squadron was firs ...

(QJ) *

413th Bombardment Squadron 413th may refer to: * 413th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, inactive United States Air Force unit *413th Flight Test Group, United States Air Force Air Force Reserve Command unit *413th Flight Test Squadron (413 FLTS), part of the 46th Test Wing, bas ...

(MZ)Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982)

969 Year 969 ( CMLXIX) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar, the 969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 1st millennium, the 69th year of the 10th century, and the 10th ...

Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. . LCCN 70605402. OCLC 72556. The 96th appears to have only carried out one mission while posted to Andrews Field. On 29 May 1943 they took part in a raid on Rennes naval storage depot from which one B-17 failed to return. The group was moved to

RAF Snetterton Heath Royal Air Force Snetterton Heath or more simply RAF Snetterton Heath is a former Royal Air Force List of former Royal Air Force stations, station located south east of the A11 road (Great Britain), A11, south west of Attleborough, Norfolk, ...

on 12 June 1943 in a general exchange of airfields with

3d Bombardment Wing groups.

322d Bombardment Group (Medium)

RAF Andrews Field - 322d Bombardment Group - Farmers

Replacing the 96th was the 322d Bombardment Group (Medium) which arrived from RAF Bury St. Edmunds on 12 June. The group was assigned to the 3d Bomb Wing and flew Martin B-26B/C Marauders. Operational squadrons of the 322d were: * 449th Bombardment Squadron (PN) * 450th Bombardment Squadron (ER) *

451st Bombardment Squadron 451st may refer to: *451st Air Expeditionary Wing, a provisional United States Air Force Air Combat Command unit, currently in Afghanistan *451st Expeditionary Sustainment Command (ESC) is a subordinate command of 79th Sustainment Support Command * ...

(SS) * 452d Bombardment Squadron (DR)B-26 Fuselage Codes
/ref> * 1st Pathfinder Squadron (Provisional) (Attached) (1H)
/ref> The 322nd was the first B-26 group to enter combat (in May 1943) from the UK, during which its combat performance helped to prove the effectiveness of the medium bombers flying tactical combat missions. In common with other Marauder units of the 3rd Bomb Wing, the 322d was transferred to

on 16 October 1943. The group attacked enemy airfields in France, Belgium, and the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

attacking the principal targets but the group also attacked secondary targets such as power stations, shipyards, construction works, and marshalling yards. Beginning in March 1944 the 322nd bombed railway and highway bridges, oil tanks, and missile sites in preparation for the

invasion of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 ( D-Day) with the ...

. On 8 May 1944, one of the 322nd aircraft, nicknamed "Mild and Bitter" (serial 41-31819) became the first B-26 flying from England to complete 100 combat missions. Another B-26, "Flak Bait" (41-31773) survived to the end of hostilities with 202 missions to its credit, the only US bomber involved in combat over Europe to pass the 200 mark. On

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

, 6 June 1944 the 322d Bomb Group attacked coastal defences and gun batteries. Afterwards, during the Normandy campaign, the 322nd pounded fuel and ammunition dumps, bridges, and road junctions, supporting the Allied offensive at

Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...

and the breakthrough at

Saint-Lô Saint-Lô (, ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in northwest France, the capital of the Manche department in the region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy. From Andrews Field the 322d received a

Distinguished Unit Citation The Presidential Unit Citation (PUC), originally called the Distinguished Unit Citation, is awarded to units of the uniformed services of the United States, and those of allied countries, for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed e ...

for the period 14 May 1943 – 24 July 1944. The group moved during September 1944, transferring to

Beauvais Beauvais ( , ; ) is a town and Communes of France, commune in northern France, and prefecture of the Oise Departments of France, département, in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, north of Paris. The Communes of France, commune o ...

(A-61) Airfield in northern France, and aiding the drive of Third Army across France. On the continent, the 322nd BG used the following Advanced Landing Grounds: * Beauvais/Tille Airfield (A-61), France September 1944 *

Le Culot Airfield Beauvechain Air Base is a Belgian Air Component military airfield in Belgium, located south of Beauvechain in Wallonia (Walloon Brabant Province); east-southeast of Brussels. It is home to the 1st Wing, operating A109BA helicopters, and the ...

(A-89), Belgium March 1945 * Fritzlar Airfield (Y-86), Germany June - November 1945 The 322d flew its last mission on 24 April 1945. After

V-E Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945; it marked the official surrender of all German military operations ...

, the group was assigned to occupation duty in Germany beginning in June 1945, engaging in inventorying and disassembling German Air Force equipment and facilities. Returned to the Camp Kilmer,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

in December 1945, and was inactivated on 15 December. ; 1st Pathfinder Squadron (Provisional) 1st Pathfinder Squadron - Crew Photo

The 1st Pathfinder Squadron (Provisional) was formed at Andrews Field in February 1944 and equipped with B-26s, carrying the

Oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double-reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, ...

radio transponder blind-bombing device. When the unit was formed the squadron consisted of 14 aircraft. The squadron was attached to the 322nd Bombardment Group, but provided bad weather leads for all IX Ninth Bombing Command groups. The first B-26 night mission was flown by the 1st Pathfinder Squadron on the night of 1 June 1944 when three B-26's bombed gun positions at St Marie au Bois, France. This was purely a Pathfinder mission and no other unit participated. On the night of 8 July 1944, using Oboe, the 322d undertook a night mission but nine of its aircraft fell victim to

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

fighters. At the end of hostilities the squadron strength was 36 B-26's.

RAF Fighter Command use

Unlike most of the airfields vacated by the Ninth Air Force in the area, Andrews Field was immediately returned to

control on 7 October - to provide an airfield for

North American Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter aircraft, fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in 1940 by a team headed ...

squadrons escorting

Bomber Command Bomber Command is an organisational military unit, generally subordinate to the air force of a country. The best known were in Britain and the United States. A Bomber Command is generally used for strategic bombing (although at times, e.g. during t ...

daylight operations being used by 11 Group,

Air Defence of Great Britain The Air Defence of Great Britain (ADGB) was a Royal Air Force (RAF) command comprising substantial army and RAF elements responsible for the air defence of the British Isles. It lasted from 1925, following recommendations that the RAF take contr ...

(ADGB). At this time the airfield was also under consideration for extension of runways to house Very Heavy

Boeing B-29 Superfortress The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is a retired American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the Bo ...

bombers. Within a week the HQ of No. 150 (Polish) Wing RAF and an advance party of No. 19 Squadron moved in. By the middle of October 1944, Nos. 19, 65 and

122 122 may refer to: * 122 (number), a natural number * AD 122, a year in the 2nd century AD * 122 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC * ''122'' (film), a 2019 Egyptian psychological horror film *" One Twenty Two", a 2022 single by the American rock band ...

Squadrons ( No. 122 Wing) had joined the Polish Wing consisting of Nos. 129,

306 __NOTOC__ Year 306 ( CCCVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantius and Valerius (or, less frequently, year 1059 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denominatio ...

and

315 __NOTOC__ Year 315 (Roman numerals, CCCXV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known in Rome as the Year of the Consulship of Constantinus and Licinianus (or, less frequently, year 1068 ''Ab urbe c ...

Squadrons. At the end of February 1945 the

III jet fighters of

616 __NOTOC__ Year 616 ( DCXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 616 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe f ...

Squadron arrived, they stayed for a month before being replaced by a detachment of Meteor IIIs from 504 Squadron. In addition to the combat squadrons, the Air Sea Rescue

Supermarine Walrus The Supermarine Walrus is a British single-engine Amphibious aircraft, amphibious biplane designed by Supermarine's R. J. Mitchell. Primarily used as a maritime patrol aircraft, it was the first British Squadron (aviation), squadron-service ai ...

es of 276 Squadron,

RAF Coastal Command RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was founded in 1936, when the RAF was restructured into Fighter, Bomber and Coastal commands and played an important role during the Second World War. Maritime Aviation ...

were resident from early June 1945. They left for Kjevik, Norway on 23 August. With the end of the war, No 303 Squadron departed in December 1945 and the airfield was placed under care and maintenance and became a satellite of RAF Great Sampford in 1946.

Current use

With the end of military control, Andrews Field was virtually abandoned by 1948 and soon took on an air of neglect. In common with other disused airfields, some of the buildings were taken over as temporary housing, even as late as 1953. From there on, virtually all the buildings with the exception of the two T-2 hangars and most of the ground works (runways, etc.) were removed and the land reverted to agriculture. In 1972, aircraft again returned to Andrews Field (renamed

Andrewsfield Aerodrome Andrewsfield Aerodrome is an operational general aviation aerodrome located west northwest of Braintree, Essex, England, formerly RAF Andrews Field. Both the grass runways are wide and at night serve as a single runway. It has one sock whic ...

) when a 915m grass strip along part of the line of the original main runway was constructed. As flying increased, a clubhouse and flying control were erected in 1975 for the Andrewsfield Flying Club. The airfield was licensed by the CAA in 1976. The Rebel Air Museum was housed in a blister hangar near the clubhouse for some time, until it moved to new premises on Earls Colne airfield. Other than the two T2 hangars, the firing-in butts and a few

Nissen hut A Nissen hut is a prefabricated steel structure originally for military use, especially as barracks, made from a 210° portion of a cylindrical skin of corrugated iron. It was designed during the First World War by the Canadian-American-British e ...

s in the dispersed sites, little remains of the once-busy wartime airfield. Only a small amount of single track perimeter remains along the south side of the airfield, although the wartime runways are visible as disturbed earth in aerial photography. There are two memorials, one in the village is positioned in front of the former Sick Quarters Site and commemorates the 819th Aviation Engineer Battalion who built the airfield. The other memorial is along the lane from the A120 to Great Saling and is to the memory of the 322nd Bomb Group (M). A mural depicting a B-26 adorns an interior wall of the Andrewsfield Flying Club clubhouse. Also on display are a number of photographs showing the airfield under construction. Andrewsfield is also a source for BBC Weather readings for the local area quoted on their website.

Units assigned

; Royal Air Force * HQ,

No. 133 Wing RAF No. 133 (Polish) (Fighter) Wing RAF is a former Royal Air Force wing that was operational during the Second World War, mainly staffed by Polish personnel as part of the Polish Air Forces in France and Great Britain. The unit was previously No. 1 ...

(10–24 October 1944) * 129 Squadron (10 October - 12 December 1944) * 306 Squadron (10 October 1944 – 10 August 1945) *

315 Squadron No. 315 (City of Dęblin) Polish Fighter Squadron () was a Polish fighter squadron formed in Great Britain as part of an agreement between the Polish Government in Exile and the United Kingdom in 1941. It was one of 15 squadrons of the Polish ...

(Polish) (10–24 October 1944, 15 January - 8 August 1945) * 19 Squadron (14 October 1944 – 13 February 1945) * 65 Squadron (14 October 1944 – 16 January 1945, 6–15 May 1945) * 122 Squadron (14 October 1944 – 1 May 1945) * HQ, No. 150 Wing RAF (15 October - 23 December 1944) * 316 Squadron (24 October 1944 – 16 May 1945, 10 August - 17 September 1945, 5 October - 28 November 1945) * 309 Squadron (12 December 1944 – 10 August 1945) * 616 Squadron (28 February – 31 March 1945) * 303 Squadron (Polish) (4 April – 16 May 1945, 9 August - 28 November 1945) * 276 Squadron (8 June - 23 August 1945) * 2766 Squadron RAF Regiment * 2769 Squadron RAF Regiment * No. 1 Aircraft Delivery Flight RAF ; United States Army Air Forces * 96th Bombardment Group, (13 May - 11 June 1943) * 332nd Bombardment Group, (12 June 1943 – 25 September 1944)

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * Freeman, Roger A. (1991) ''The Mighty Eighth: The Colour Record''. Cassell & Co. * Freeman, Roger A. (1994) ''UK Airfields of the Ninth: Then and Now'' 1994. After the Battle * Freeman, Roger A. (1996) ''The Ninth Air Force in Colour: UK and the Continent-World War Two''. After the Battle * * * * Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). ''Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947-1977''. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. . * British Automobile Association (AA), (1978), ''Complete Atlas of Britain'',

External links

Current-Day photos of the remnants of RAF Andrews Field

Andrewsfield Aviation

Photographs of RAF Andrews Field from the Geograph British Isles project
{{DEFAULTSORT:Andrews Field Royal Air Force stations in Essex Airfields of the VIII Bomber Command in Essex Airfields of the 9th Bombardment Division in the United Kingdom Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom