Earls Colne Airfield

Earls Colne Airfield
Earls Colne Airfield; RAF Earls Colne; USAAF Station AAF-358;
	Postwar RAF aerial photo of Earls Colne Airfield - 9 July 1946 just after its closure.
IATA: none – ICAO: EGSR
Summary
Airport type	Public
Operator	Bulldog Aviation Ltd
Serves	Halstead
Location	Earls Colne
Elevation AMSL	226 ft / 69 m
Coordinates	51°54′52″N 000°40′57″E / 51.91444°N 0.6825°ECoordinates: 51°54′52″N 000°40′57″E / 51.91444°N 0.6825°E
Map
	EGSR Location in Essex
Runways
	Sources: UK AIP at NATS

Earls Colne Airfield (ICAO: EGSR) is a former Royal Air Force station in Essex, England. The airfield is located 3 NM (5.6 km; 3.5 mi) southeast of Halstead, approximately 5 mi (8.0 km) east-northeast of Braintree; about 40 mi (64 km) north-northeast of London

Opened in 1942, it was used by both the Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Forces. During the war it was used primarily as a combat bomber airfield. After the war it was closed in 1955 after many years of being in a reserve status.

Much of the airfield today is being used as a golf course. A flying club also operates from the old airfield.

History[]

Royal Air Force use[]

Earls Colne was opened in August 1942 and for the first year it was operated by No. 3 Group Bomber Command of the Royal Air Force.

USAAF use[]

In May 1943 the airfield was turned over to the United States Army Air Forces. USAAF groups of the Eighth and Ninth Air Forces used the airfield. It was known as USAAF Station AAF-358 for security reasons by the USAAF during the war, and by which it was referred to instead of location. It's USAAF Station Code was "EC".

From 12 June 1943 through 16 October 1943, Earls Colne (along with nearby Marks Hall) served as headquarters for the 3d Combat Bombardment Wing of the 3d Bomb Division.

94th Bombardment Group (Heavy)[]

The first American unit to use Earls Colne was the 94th Bombardment Group (Heavy) moved in with the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, arriving from RAF Bassingbourn on 12 May 1943. The group tail code was a "Square-A". Its operational squadrons were:

Its tenure was brief as the Eighth Air Force moved the B-17s into Suffolk on 12 June as the group was moved to RAF Bury St. Edmunds in a general exchange of bases with B-26 Marauder groups.

323d Bombardment Group (Medium)[]

323d round crew airmen attend to Martin B-26C-15-MO Marauder Serial 41-34969. This aircraft went on to survive the war with over 150 missions to its credit

Replacing the 94th at Earls Colne was the 323d Bombardment Group (Medium) which arrived from RAF Horham on 14 June 1943. The group was assigned to the 3d Bomb Wing and flew Martin B-26B/C Marauders with a Horizontal white tail band for its group marking. Operational squadrons of the 323d were:

The 323rd inaugurated medium-altitude bombing missions on 16 July 1943. In common with other Marauder units of the 3d Bomb Wing, the 323d was transferred to Ninth Air Force on 16 October 1943. Tactical missions were flown against V-weapon sites along the coast of France and attacked airfields at Leeuwarden and Venlo in conjunction with the Allied campaign against the German Air Force and aircraft industry during Big Week, 20–25 February 1944. On 21 July the group was moved south to RAF Beaulieu in Hampshire, a move designed to extend their range over western France.

Back to Royal Air Force use[]

In September 1944 the airfield returned to RAF control, with No. 38 Group RAF bomber station operating the Armstrong Whitworth Albemarles and Handley Page Halifaxes. 38 Group was used as a glider towing unit (Squadrons Nos. 296 and 297).

Both squadrons participated in Operation Varsity, the airborne part of the Rhine Crossing in March 1945.

Current use[]

These squadrons remained at Earls Colne until early in 1946, when the former was disbanded and the other moved out in March. When de-requisitioned in 1955 much of the airfield was returned to agricultural use. Much of the airfield today is being used as a golf course which was built in the early 1990s that consists of two 18-hole courses, a clubhouse, restaurant and leisure facilities. Anglian Flight Centres Now operates using the exstiting runway 06/24, currently based there there is a T SIX Harvard and a Boeing Stearman as well an arangment of other light aircraft and school training aircrafts, all providing a service to show the enjoyment of flight. There are also a large number of businesses and manufacturing companies based on the site.

References[]

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

Citations[]

↑ Earls Colne - EGSR

Bibliography[]

Freeman, Roger A. (1994) UK Airfields of the Ninth: Then and Now 1994. After the Battle ISBN 0-900913-80-0
Freeman, Roger A. (1996) The Ninth Air Force in Colour: UK and the Continent-World War Two. After the Battle ISBN 1-85409-272-3
Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.
www.controltowers.co.uk Earls Colne
mighty8thaf.preller.us Earls Colne
USAAS-USAAC-USAAF-USAF Aircraft Serial Numbers--1908 to present

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Earls Colne Airfield.

[aip-1] Earls Colne - EGSR

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