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Summary - not yet available

Monument Type(s):

• MILITARY AIRFIELD (Modern - 1901 AD to 2050 AD)
• MILITARY HEADQUARTERS (Modern - 1901 AD to 2050 AD)
• ARMOURY (Modern - 1901 AD to 2050 AD)
• MILITARY BUILDING (Modern - 1901 AD to 2050 AD)
• FIRING RANGE (Modern - 1901 AD to 2050 AD)
• HANGAR (Modern - 1901 AD to 2050 AD)
• PILLBOX (World War II - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
• AIR RAID SHELTER (World War II - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
• STANTON SHELTER (World War II - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)

Full description

1. WW2 airfield, bomber; Home Office Use. Also Station HQ, Parachute Store & Armoury (all expansion period - TL406664), officers' mess (expansion period [204/35] - TL404666), Small-arms range (perm. Brick - TL404663), stand-by-set house (expansion period -TL410670), hangars (2x 'J' Type, 2x T2s, 1x B1 - TL4065/6). Also pillboxes: 2x 22 (TL404664, 406661), 1x 22, stepped loops (TL418650), 1x 22, turnbull mountings (TL410670), 1x hexagonal, spyholes over loops (TL412674), 1x hexagonal, tunnel entry (TL414672), 3x FC Construction (TL 416661, 416662, 417655), 1x FC Construction, 360 loop bricked up (TL415668), 1x FC Construction, sunken (TL402667), 1x FC Construction, dog-leg entry tunnel (TL416660).

Air Raid shelter, of which at least one is a Stanton Shelter : TL 4113 6502, TL 4084 6622, TL 4084 6631, TL 4078 6636,TL 4077 6601, TL 4073 6643, TL 4071 6619, TL 4070 6638,TL 4065 6643, TL 4058 6631.

2. A 'J' type hangar of c.1939. They are quicker and cheaper to build than the 'C' type hangars.

3. RAF base survived largely intact up until 2004. Early demolition on the site included the watch office with met section, battle headquarters and a small number of airfield defensive structures during its active period of occupation by the army. After 1979 two further runways were destroyed for the M11 motorway and by 1999 the majority of the dispersed buildings had also gone. The report provides a detailed description of all surviving buildings in 2004. Over 400 buildings were recorded as part of the survey of structures.

Domestic and Technical buildings on the site included the Officers Mess & Quarters, Officers Garages, squash courts, guard & fire party house, sick quarters, decontamination annexe, Station HQ & Operations block, grocery shop, petrol station, unit ammunition store, barracks blocks including provision for air raid shelters close to each block, sergeants' mess & quarters and WAAF changing room annexe and adjacent air raid shelters, Dining room & institute, ration store, mechanical and electrical plinths, vehicle sheds, articulated trailer shed, compressor house, AMWD Offices, workshops & yard, water towers, disinfector house, central heating station, pilot training room, synthetic navigation classroom, aviation fuel installation, machine gun range, Marston sheds, training theatre, main stores, lubricant & inflammable store, armoury, parachute store, dinghy shed, main workshop, hangers, aicraft sheds, night flying equipment store, aircraft armament stores, Varsity line crew building, airfield lighting controlled centres, squadron dispersal building, new gym and courts, commutated antennae direction finding building, small arms ammunition store, transmitter station, exhaust silencer & ventilating column, open store, sleeve streamer mast, airfield identification letters, aircraft servicing platforms and emergency arrester net.

Bombs stores included practice bomb store & gas chamber, high explosive fuzing point buildings, bomb stores, components storehouse.

Air defence and air raid shelters were also numerous, including nine FW3/22 type pillboxes, ten FC construction pillboxes and 3 watch towers/pillboxes. Air defence comprised eleven blast shelters all now demolished and ten Stanton surface air raid shelters.

Dispersed domestic sites originally comprised six separate sites only one of which still survives in part. Other isolated structures included an instrument landing system, an earlier directional finding building and airmen's married quarters communal buildings.

4 & 5. A 20th century military airfield, opened as RAF Oakington in 1940. During the Second World War it was a bomber base attached to 8 Group Bomber Command, equipped with three concrete runways and Type J, B1 and T2 aircraft hangars. Remaining in operation after the war the airfield later became a British Army base, and later the domestic camp area at the north of the airfield converted to the Oakington Immigration Reception Centre.

6. A World War Two military airfield, opened in 1940. During World War Two it was a bomber base attached to 8 Group Bomber Command, equipped with three concrete runways and Type J, B1 and T2 aircraft hangars. It had temporary accomodation for 1591 male and 349 female personnel. Site use in 1985 was as an Army base

7. The site of a Second World War Battle Headquarters at Oakington Airfield. The site of a Second World War standard 11008/41 Battle Headquarters at Oakington Airfield.

LOCATION: Alongside railway and road, between Oakington and Westwick, RAF Oakington

Another 20th century pillbox, which was constructed during the Second World War, is visible as a structure on air photographs, centred at TL 4040 6640. It forms part of the perimeter defences to RAF Oakington. The feature appears to have been demolished at some point after 2008, as it is no longer extant on the latest 2013 vertical photography. This demolition is presumably due to the construction of the New Town of Northstowe.

Another pillbox, manufactured during the Second World War and maintained afterwards, is visible a structure surrounded by an earthwork bank on air photographs, centred at TL 4138 6721. Appears to have been demolished at some point between 2008 and 2013 as it is no longer extant on the latest 2013 vertical photography.

Another pillbox, manufactured during the Second World War and maintained afterwards, is visible as a structure on air photographs, centred at TL 4127 6736 and is extant on the latest 2013 vertical photography.

A pillbox, manufactured during the Second World War and maintained afterwards, is visible as a structure surrounded by an earthwork bank on air photographs, centred at TL 4158 6685.

8. features recorded at Oakington airfield include 4 Cantillevered pillboxes (e22132, e22133, e11631, e11632), 2 pillboxes (e22116, e11685), stanton shelters (e36248, e11211-11220, e36250-36256), a firing range (10329), a bunker (e36249) and a command post (e22108).

9. The 20th century pillbox, which was constructed during the Second World War, is visible as a structure on air photographs. A second 20th century pillbox is visible as a structure on air photographs, centred at TL 4088 6462. The pillbox was manufactured during the Second World War as part of the perimeter defence to RAF Oakington. It appears to be no longer extant on the latest 2013 vertical photography.

10. A Second World War pillbox is visible as a structure on air photographs, centred at TL 4055 6687. The feature formed part of the perimeter defence to RAF Oakington and appears to be no longer extant on the latest 2013 vertical photography.

A Second World War constructed pillbox, probably maintained after the war, is visible as a structure on air photographs, centred at TL 4091 6714.

11. A 20th century pillbox, constructed during the Second World War, is visible as a structure on air photographs, centred at TL 4032 6563. The latest evidence for the pillbox is uncertain due to dense tree cover on 2013 vertical photography.

12. Report on the history and development of RAF Oakington. The as built camp layout differed from the original site plans, with a number of structures planned but not built. Street arrangement was fairly standard design for airfields of the time with a single main entrance leading to station headquarters with officers mess and quarters halfway along the main drive. Barrack blocks and other domestic buildings complete the domestic area of the site. The technical area was laid out in a grid pattern with the watch office as the focal point. Between the domestic and technical areas were a sub group of day to day structures necessary to maintain the site including services, building maintenance and clerk of works.

In the immediate post war period a number of structures were added including the airmen's and officers married quarters.

<1> Osborne, M., 2001, 20th Century Defences in Cambridgeshire (Bibliographic reference). SCB18051.

<2> Thompson, S., 2012, List of identified WWII sites (Verbal communication). SCB22276.

<3> Francis, P., 2011, RAF Oakington Gazetteer of Surviving Structures (Unpublished report). SCB52282.

<4> SW Cambridgeshire project 2014 (NHPP), 2016, RAF/540/634 RP 3007 30-NOV-1951 (Unknown reference type). SCB53871.

<5> SW Cambridgeshire project 2014 (NHPP), 2016, Next Perspectives PGA Imagery TL4166 19-JUL-2013 (Unknown reference type). SCB53872.

<6> Willis, S. & Holliss, B., 1990, Military Airfields in the British Isles 1939-1945 (Bibliographic reference). SCB60661.

<7> Defence of Britain Project Archive, 4345; 8090; 4831; 4829; 4838; 4830; 4828; 4832 (Digital archive). SCB19971.

<8> Pillbox Study Group, 2020, Extended defence of Britain community project (Geospatial data). SCB63056.

<9> SW Cambridgeshire project 2014 (NHPP), 2016, RAF/58/5754 F22 0085 04-JUN-1963 (Geospatial data). SCB63381.

<10> SW Cambridgeshire project 2014 (NHPP), 2016, US/7PH/GP/LOC126 V 5001 29-DEC-1943 (Unknown reference type). SCB53873.

<11> SW Cambridgeshire project 2014 (NHPP), 2016, RAF/58/5754 F22 0087 04-JUN-1963 (Unknown reference type). SCB53874.

<12> Airfield Research Group, 2018, RAF Oakington An operational history (Unpublished report). SCB74351.

<13> Ministry of Defence, 1945, RAF Oakington Site Plan (Map). SCB66810.

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