| RAF Chipping Ongar RAF Willingale USAAF Station AAF-162   
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|---|---|---|---|
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| Chipping Ongar Airfield - 21 June 1947 in a reserve status. | |||
| IATA: none – ICAO: none | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Military | ||
| Owner | Air Ministry | ||
| Operator | United States Army Air Forces Royal Air Force | ||
| Location | Chipping Ongar, Essex, England | ||
| Built | 1942 | ||
| In use | 1942-1959 | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 253 ft / 77 m | ||
| Coordinates | 51°43′30″N 000°17′19″E / 51.725°N 0.28861°ECoordinates: 51°43′30″N 000°17′19″E / 51.725°N 0.28861°E | ||
| Map | |||
  RAF Chipping Ongar | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 02/20 | 6,00 | 0 | Asphalt |
| 04/22 | 4,200 | 0 | Asphalt |
| 10/28 | 4,200 | 0 | Asphalt |
387th Bomb Group B-26 Marauders parked at RAF Chipping Ongar England, 1944
Martin B-26B-15-MA Marauder Serial 41-31665 of the 558th Bomb Squadron
Martin B-26B-50-MA Marauder Serial 42-95857 of the 556th Bomb Squadron
Royal Air Force Station Chipping Ongar or more simply RAF Chipping Ongar is a former Royal Air Force station in Essex, England. The airfield is located approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) northeast of Chipping Ongar; about 20 miles (32 km) northeast of London
Opened in 1943, it was used by both the Royal Air Force (RAF) and United States Army Air Forces (USAAF). During the war it was used primarily as a bomber airfield. After the war it was closed in 1959 after many years of being a reserve airfield
Today the remains of the airfield are located on private property being used as agricultural fields.
History[]
USAAF use[]
The airfield was opened in the early spring of 1943 and was used by the United States Army Air Forces Eighth and Ninth Air Forces.
Chipping Ongar was known as USAAF Station AAF-162 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 "JC".
387th Bombardment Group (Medium)[]
Parts of the airfield were still under construction when the 387th Bombardment Group (Medium) arrived from Goodman AAF, Kentucky on 25 June 1943. The group was assigned to the 3d Bomb Wing and flew Martin B-26B/C Marauders. Operational squadrons of the 387th were:
- 556th Bombardment Squadron (FW)
- 557th Bombardment Squadron (KS)
- 558th Bombardment Squadron (KX)
- 559th Bombardment Squadron (TQ)
The 387th Bomb Group began combat on 15 August 1943 by joining with three other B-26 groups attacking coastal defences on the French Coast near Boulogne, and was mounted in thick fog. In common with other Marauder units of the 3d Bomb Wing, the 387th was transferred to Ninth Air Force on 16 October 1943.
The 387th Bomb Group moved to RAF Stoney Cross in Hampshire on 21 July 1944 when Ninth Air Force moved the 98th Bomb Wing's four Marauder groups into the New Forest area at the earliest opportunity to place them closer to the French Normandy Invasion beaches.
During September 1944, the airfield was used temporarily by IX Troop Carrier Command as advanced C-47 base during Operation Market-Garden.
61st Troop Carrier Group[]
Troop carrier squadrons of the 61st Troop Carrier Group used the airfield on 24 March 1945, carrying British paratroops as part of Operation Varsity, the airborne crossing of the Rhine River, who dropped near Wesel.
Royal Air Force use[]
With the departure of the Americans, the airfield was never used again for military flying. It was closed on 28 February 1959.
Current use[]
With the end of military control, Chipping Ongar airfield was reverted to agricultural use.
One of the large T-2 Hangars was dismantled and re-erected at North Weald airfield. It is believed to be the one nearest the M11 motorway, and now used as a freight forwarding warehouse.
A section of the perimeter track and some loop dispersal hardstands are is still intact, connected to a small private landing strip converted from a straight section of the wartime perimeter, aligned 04/22, and one small section of a secondary full-width runway (09/27) on the southeast side . On the northeastern side, the Operations block, Norden Bombsight Store, and the base of the pilots' briefing room are grouped together, and are in quite good condition 51°43′53″N 000°18′09″E / 51.73139°N 0.3025°E.
See also[]
References[]
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.
Citations[]
Bibliography[]
- Freeman, Roger A. (1978) Airfields of the Eighth: Then and Now. After the Battle ISBN 0-900913-09-6
- Freeman, Roger A. (1991) The Mighty Eighth The Colour Record. Cassell & Co. ISBN 0-304-35708-1
- 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.
- mighty8thaf.preller.us Chipping Ongar
External links[]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to RAF Chipping Ongar. |
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The original article can be found at RAF Chipping Ongar and the edit history here.