| Royal Air Force Station Matching Royal Air Force Station Matching Green USAAF Station AAF-166
 | |
|---|---|
| Located Near Harlow, Essex, England | |
 Matching airfield photographed on 1 August 1943 while still under construction. | |
| Coordinates | 51°47′03″N 000°14′34″E / 51.78417°N 0.24278°E |
| Type | Military airfield |
| Code | MT |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by |
United States Army Air Forces Royal Air Force |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1943 |
| In use | 1944-1946 |
| Battles/wars |
European Theatre of World War II   RAF Matching, shown within Essex
|
| Garrison information | |
| Garrison |
Ninth Air Force RAF Bomber Command |
| Occupants |
391st Bombardment Group No 38 Group |
Martin B-26C-45-MO Marauder Serial 42-107837 of the 575th Bomb Squadron.
Martin B-26B-50-MA Marauder Serial 42-95835 of the 391st Bomb Group.
RAF Matching (also known as Matching Green) is a former World War II airfield in Essex, England. The airfield is located approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) east of Harlow; about 22 miles (35 km) northeast of London
Opened in 1944, it was used by both the Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Forces. During the war it was used primarily as a bomber airfield. After the war it was closed in 1946.
Today the remains of the airfield are located on private property being used as agricultural fields.
USAAF use[]
Matching was known as USAAF Station AAF-166 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 "MT".
391st Bombardment Group[]
The first combat organisation, the 391st Bombardment Group, arrived at Matching on 26 January 1944 from Goodman AAF, Kentucky flying Martin B-26 Marauders. Operational squadrons of the group were:
- 572d Bombardment Squadron (P2)
- 573d Bombardment Squadron (T6)
- 574th Bombardment Squadron (4L)
- 575th Bombardment Squadron (O8)
The group marking was a yellow triangle painted on the tail fin of their B-26s.
The first mission was flown on 15 February and 150 more were completed before the group moved into France in late September 1944. The group moved onto the continent, transferring to Roye/Amy, France (ALG A-73) on 19 September 1944. The group then switched to Douglas A-26 Invaders and flew its last mission on 3 May 1945 from Asche, Belgium (ALG Y-29).
The 391st Bomb Group returned to the United States in October and was inactivated at Camp Shanks, New York on 25 October 1945.
With the move of the 391st to France, this was the end of Matching airfield's association with the Ninth Air Force as a combat airfield.
RAF use[]
Douglas C-47 Skytrains of IX Troop Carrier Command were detached to Matching later in 1944 for exercises with British paratroops. In 1946 the airfield was closed and sold to private owners.
Civil use[]
With the facility released from military control, it was rapidly returned to agricultural use and the concrete was soon removed for road hardcore but the hangar on the technical site survived for farm use. However, in the late 1980s the T-2 Hanagar was dismantled and re-erected at North Weald for Aces High where it was used for TV productions, including 'The Crystal Maze' set.
The control tower still stands a half century after it was built and for some years has been used for radar experiments by Cossor Electronics. Many remaining Nissen Huts and corregated roof buildings in the former technical site are now used for small industrial units, farming and storage along with the water tower.
Part of the main runway (03/21) that remains is now used as a public road and another surviving portion was used for heavy goods vehicle instruction. Many single-width sections of the perimeter track are used for agricultural vehicles. However very little of the runways, perimeter track or dispersal hardstands of the former airfield survive. Even in aerial photography, there is very little evidence of the airfield's existence.
A memorial plaque to the men of the 391st Bomb Group is housed in Matching Church.
See also[]
References[]
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.
- 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.
- USAAS-USAAC-USAAF-USAF Aircraft Serial Numbers--1908 to present
External links[]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to RAF Matching. |
The original article can be found at RAF Matching and the edit history here.