Monument Type(s):

• MILITARY AIRFIELD (Second World War - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)

Summary

Structural and possible below ground remains of a World War II airfield.

Related records

Associated Finds: None recorded

Associated Events

• ESA8484 - 2015 Management survey of Second World War structures at RAF Atcham by Paul Francis and Paul Bellamy

Description

Extent of airfield marked on SMR 1:10,560 based maps <0>

Royal Air Force Atcham was built to house two squadrons of RAF Fighter Command with the first to arrive being 131 Squadron on the 27 September 1941 with Supermarine Spitfires. It was planned to open RAF Condover as a satellite station but when it opened in 1942 the RAF had decided to hand over the Atcham for American use. ->

-> United States Army Air Forces Atcham was transferred to the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Eighth Air Force on 15 June 1942. It was designated as Station 342 (AP). Located some distance away from the other Eighth AF bases in East Anglia, at first Atcham was used as an operational fighter base, however beginning late 1942 its primary use became operational training of fighter pilots for both Eighth and Ninth Air Force units. ->

-> The first American use of Atcham was the 31st Fighter Group, consisting of the 307th, 308th and 309th Fighter Squadrons. The ground echelon of the 31st arrived from New Orleans AB, Louisiana on 11 June 1942, with the pilots following later in the month, and was assigned to the Eighth Air Force. The group consisted of the following squadrons:
307th Fighter Squadron[5] (MX)[citation needed]
308th Fighter Squadron[5] (HL)[citation needed]
309th Fighter Squadron[5] (WZ)[citation needed]
Note: The 309th Fighter Squadron was based at RAF High Ercall. ->

-> The group arrived without assigned aircraft as its Bell P-39 Airacobras were found unsuitable for long-distance formation ferry flights. Provided with British Supermarine Spitfires by the Royal Air Force (RAF), the 31st FG entered combat in August and supported a raid made by Canadian, British, American, and French forces at Dieppe on 19 August. The group also escorted bombers and flew patrol and diversionary missions. In August 1942, the 31st moved to RAF Westhampnett in Sussex before moving into Tafaraoui, Algeria on 8 November 1942 as part of Twelfth Air Force. The 14th Fighter Group moved to Atcham on 18 August 1942 from Hamilton Field, California and was assigned to the Eighth Air Force. The group consisted of the following squadrons:
48th Fighter Squadron[8] (ES)
49th Fighter Squadron[8] (QU) ->

-> Equipped with Lockheed P-38 Lightnings, the 14th escorted Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers to targets in France. In addition, fourteen P-38s of the 48th Squadron were sent on detached service to RAF Westhampnett and RAF Ford in southern England, where in coordination with British squadrons, the pilots engaged in a number of practice sweeps across the English Channel. After flying sweep sorties during which there was no contact with the Luftwaffe, in November 1942 the 14th was moved to Tafaraoui, Algeria as part of Twelfth Air Force. From 2 January until 3 March 1943 the 1st Provisional Gunnery Flight used Atcham for target towing using Westland Lysander and Miles Masters. The unit then moved to RAF Llanbedr. ->

-> From November 1942 to October 1943 Atcham was host to 6th Fighter Wing, as a Combat Crew Replacement Centre, flying Spitfires and Bell P-39 Airacobras, these being replaced with Republic P-47 Thunderbolts. In October 1943 6th Fighter Wing was renamed the 2906th Observation Training Group, then renamed again as 495th Fighter Training Group. Operational squadrons of the 495 FTG were:
551st Fighter Training Squadron (VM)
552d Fighter Training Squadron (DQ) ->

-> The 495 FTG stayed until February 1945, moving to RAF Cheddington. From August 1944 the Ninth AF P-38s from the 496 FTG/554 FTS from RAF Goxhill used Atcham as a training field. Atcham was returned to the RAF Flying Training Command on 14 March 1945 becoming a satellite of RAF Ternhill. No. 5 (Pilot) Advanced Flying Unit ((P)AFU) and No. 6 Service Flying Training School (SFTS). No. 577 Squadron RAF target towing with Airspeed Oxfords, Spitfires and Vultee A-31 Vengeances used the airfield until the end of the war. ->

-> Atcham was abandoned on 22 October 1946 and disposed of on 20 January 1958. With the end of military control, Atcham airfield was returned to farmland with the runways being broken up and removed and the control tower demolished. ->

-> Today there is little evidence of Atcham airfield. Some minor agricultural roads which were part of the perimeter track remain as access to farm fields, and the B4394 uses part of the former North-South main runway. The three T-2 hangars of the former technical site remain together in use with all the administration buildings, the whole complex forming the Atcham Industrial Estate northwest of the former airfield area. <2>

A management survey was carried out of Second World War structures on the site of RAF Atcham in January 2015, on behalf of the National Trust. This consisted of rapid survey and field investigation, photographic records and desk-based survey to record the upstanding remains, and their current 'at risk' status. See child records. <5>

The building of the airfield commenced in early March 1941 and was complete by the October of that year. It operated as Group Section HQ for No.9 Fighter Command until August 1942 when it was taken over by the U.S.A.A.F. and designated station No. 342, Eight Air Force, the first American unit to be stationed and operational in Britain. It later used as a training base and was closed down in October 1946. The site was disposed of by the Ministry of Defence in 1958. Although the airfield is within NT land, the majority of the WWII service huts on the site are not, the admin buildings now being a private industrial estate. <6><6a>

Possible features associated with airfield photographed during aerial survey in 2018. <7>

Photograph taken 12th September 2019. <8>

Additional references from NRHE. <9>

A former military airfield, opened in 1941 and closed in 1946. It was equipped with a landing surface of tarmac and rubber chippings, forming three runways with 26 "banjo" shaped hard standings. There were 3 Calender Hamilton, 4 "Over" type blister and 4 "Extra Over" type blister hangars.There were a total of 1652 personell on the base. The airfield was used by 495 Fighter Training Group, a crew replacement and training unit. In 1985 the use of the site was said to be agricultural. <9a>

The training facility was mainly a "finishing school" for the 8th and 9th Air Force, mostly using P-47 aircraft. Personell were mainly housed in temporary accommodation and the flying field lay to the east of this area. In march 1945 the camp was returned to the Royal Air Force to be used by Number 5 (Pilots) Advanced Flying Unit and later by Number 6 Service Flying Training School. The site was abandoned in 1946 and disposed of in 1958. The site was given over to agriculture and by 1978 a part had become an industrial estate and depot, incorporating some of the airfield buildings including 3 hangars and an administration building. The control tower and the runways were destroyed by 1978. <9b>

A plan of the site as it was in 1947 indicates that there was a Battle Headquarters, workshops and a temporary church amongst other features at the site. <9c>

The Defence of Britain Database entry is as follows: RAF Atcham, Atcham Airfield, Shropshire, SJ 572 104, WW2 period, condition unknown. The Defence of Britain recorder was Paul Francis, an authority on military airfield architecture. <9d>

A detached "temporary" brick building from the airfield was said still to be extant in 1996 (presumably this is the administrative building noted in source 2). One of the features of training at Atcham was the use of a "Hunt Range". This was a system of aircraft models set up in a Nissen Hut used to test aircraft recognition. <9e>

Sources

Search results generated by the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd.