RAF Molesworth
RAF Molesworth is a
Royal Air Force military base at
Molesworth,
Cambridgeshire,
United Kingdom with a history dating back to
1917. It is one of three bases in Cambridgeshire currently occupied by the
United States Air Force; RAF Molesworth,
RAF Alconbury, and
RAF Upwood are considered the Tri-Base Area.
The
Royal Flying Corps selected a site for an airfield near the village of
Old Weston in Cambridgeshire during
World War I. The first flying unit to arrive at the base was
75 Squadron. It remained at this airfield until the end of the war. After the war, the airfield was abandoned. Some of the buildings were taken over by the surrounding farms with many of them still in use today.
RAF Use
At the start of
World War II the
Air Ministry selected the area as the site for what would become RAF Molesworth. The base was built in
1940 and
1941. The first unit,
460 Squadron, formed at the base on
15 November 1941 with
Vickers Wellington IVs. 460 Squadron departed the field on
4 January 1942.
159 Squadron moved in shortly afterwards, however this unit did not remain long, moving to the
Middle East on
12 January.
USAAF Use
Molesworth was one of the early
Eighth Air Force stations assinged to the
United States Army Air Force, and during 1942 the facility had all its runways extended to American specifications for heavy 4-engined bombers, with the main being 2,000 yards long and increasing the number of hardstands to fifty. It was given USAAF designation as
Station 107.
15th Bombardment Squadron
The first USAAF tennant on Molesworth was the
15th Bombardment Squadron, arriving on
9 June 1942, flying the British
Boston III light bomber. The 15th was originally part of the
27th Bombardment Group (Light), based in the
Philippine Islands, however the group's planes (A-24's), did not arrive by
7 December 1941. Due to the deteriorating situation in the Philippines after the Japanese attack, they were diverted to
Australia.
The group's commander and 20 pilots who were flown from
Luzon to Australia to get the aircraft but did not return because their airfield was overrun. The men were first transferred back to the United States, then to Molesworth where they received their Bostons from the RAF No. 226 Squadron
On Independence Day,
July 4, 1942, six American crews joined six RAF crews from RAF Swanton Morley for a low-level attack on
Luftwaffe airfields in the
Netherlands. The 15th flew most of its missions from Molesworth in its Bostons, and did not receive USAAF aircraft until
5 September. The squadron was transferred to
RAF Podington until
15 September where it flew a few missions before being transferred to
Twelfth Air Force for support of Allied landings in North Africa on
15 October 1942.
303d Bombardment Group
|
Boeing B-17G-75-BO Fortress 43-38050 359th BS. |
With the departure of the 15th Bomb Squadron, Molesworth was occupied by the
B-17 Flying Fortresses of the 358th Bombardment Squadron, the first of four squadrons that would comprise the
303d Bombardment Group. The 303d would remain at Molesworth until shortly after
V-E Day in late
May 1945.
The 303d Bombardment Group consisted of the following squadrons:
* 358th Bombardment (Code VK)
* 359th Bombardment (Code BN)
* 360th Bombardment (Code PU)
* 427th Bombardment (Code GN)
The 358th flew the first mission for the group on
17 November 1942. The group would become one of the legendary units of the Eighth Air Force. Initally missions were conducted against targets such as airdromes, railroads, and submarine pens in France until 1943, then flying missions into
Germany itself. The 303d Took part in the first penetration into Germany by heavy bombers of Eighth AF by striking the U-boat yard at
Wilhelmshaven on
27 January 1943 then attacked other targets such as the ball-bearing plants at
Schweinfurt, shipbuilding yards at
Bremen, a synthetic rubber plant at Huls, an aircraft engine factory at
Hamburg, industrial areas of
Frankfurt, an airdrome at Villacoublay, and a marshalling yard at
Le Mans.
The 303d received a Distinguished Unit Citation for an operation on
11 January 1944 when, in spite of continuous attacks by enemy fighters in weather that prevented effective fighter cover from reaching the group, it successfully struck an aircraft assembly plant at Oschersleben.
The group attacked gun emplacements and bridges in the
Pas de Calais area during the invasion of
Normandy in
June 1944; bombed enemy troops to support the breakthrough at
St Lo in
July 1944. It struck airfields, oil depots, and other targets during the
Battle of the Bulge, and bombed military installations in the
Wesel area to aid the Allied assault across the Rhine in
March 1945The last mission for the 303d was flown on
25 April 1945. when it attacked an armament works in
Pilsen. During its combat tour the group flew 364 missions comprising 10,271
sorties, dropped 26,346 tons of
bombs and shot down 378 enemy aircraft with another 104 probables. The group also saw 817 of its men killed in action with another 754 becoming prisoners of war.
On
31 May 1945, the 303d Bomb Group left Molesworth, moving to
Casablanca,
French Morocco during June. It was deactivated in Morocco on
23 July 1945.
On
1 July 1945 the Americans turned back over to the RAF who quickly chose it to be a training base for their new jet aircraft. The first jet unit,
1335 Conversion Unit, arrived on
27 July, flying
Gloster Meteor IIIs. It would be joined over the next year by several transient aircraft detachments and units.
On
10 October 1946, 1335 Conversion Unit moved from RAF Molesworth. The base was then inactivated and placed in a 'care and maintenance' status.
As the
Cold War increased in intensity, the
US Air Force began looking to expand in
Western Europe. RAF Molesworth was chosen in
1951 to become home to the
582d Air Resupply Group. The station was enlarged with main runway extensions and modern facilities. After much runway work by the 801st Engineer Battalion, the group moved from
Great Falls,
Montana to the base in
February 1954.
|
HU-16 Albatross of the 582d Air Resupply Group - 25 Oct 1955 |
Although the unit was identified as an Air Resupply Group, equipped with twelve
B-29s, four Grumman
HU-16 Albatross, Amphibians, three
C-119 Flying Boxcars (able to use RATO gear) and a
C-47. The unit's name was deliberatley misleading, as the mission of the 582d was search and rescue of reconnaissance aircraft forced down over
Soviet occupied territory.
During 1956 the 86th Bomb Squadron from RAF Alconbury deployed to Molesworth with
B-45 Tornadoes while the runway at Alconbury was being repaired and resurfaced. Also
WB-50 weather recon aircraft from the 53rd Weather Reconnasance Squadron arrived from
RAF Burtonwood.
On
25 October 1956 the 582d was redesignated the
42d Troop Carrier Squadron. which was directly controlled by
Third Air Force. The 42d flew HU-16s,
C-47s,
C-119s and
C-54 Douglas Skymaster cargo transport aircraft from Molesworth until
3 May 1957 when it moved 13 miles up the road to
RAF Alconbury. However the squadron had a short life at Alconbury and was deactivated on
8 December 1957. The C-54's and C-47's were sent to
Rhein-Main Air Base West Germany, and the C-119s were sent to the 322nd Air Division at
Evreux-Fauville Air Base France.
With the departure of the 42d TCS, the WB-50s of the 53d Weather Recon Squadron was the sole operational tennant at Molesworth, until departing for Alconbury on
26 April 1959. After the 53d left, Molesworth was put into a standby status, with the occasional aircraft using the base. In
1973 the airfield was officially closed.
Little work was done on the base until
1980, with the buildings and hangars being used only by USAF ground units for military storage and as a site for the auction of surplus stores. Molesworth did serve as an American education center, with an elementary and junior high/high school offering grades 1 thru 6 and 7 thru 10 respectfully, for dependents of servicmen and women from nearby bases including
RAF Chicksands,
RAF Chelveston and RAF Alconbury.
In the early
1980s, RAF Moleworth was chosen to become a base for the US Air Force's mobile nuclear armed
Ground Launched Cruise Missiles (although the majority of GLCMs were deployed at
RAF Greenham Common). Beginning in
1980 the ARC Eastern Region with the approval of the Ministry of Defense, began a two-year demolition project at Molesworth, raising of many deteriorating buildings and the removal of the wartime and early cold war runways and other unused structures.
On
12 December 1986 the
303d Tactical Missile Wing was activated. However, the missiles and the wing did not stay long. The
United States and the Soviet Union signed the
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in
1987 which led to the removal of all nuclear missiles from the base by
October 1988. The 303d TMW deactivated on
30 January 1989.
Once again, the fate of RAF Molesworth was uncertain. However, on 11 January 1990 the RAF announced new construction would begin later that year to house the
US European Command's new intelligence analysis center. This facility would become known as the
Joint Analysis Center (JAC).
The role of the JAC is to process and analyze military information from a variety of sources for the benefit of the United States and NATO. Responsibility consists of eighty-three countries across Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The JAC reports to the Director of Intelligence (J-2), Headquarters, USEUCOM, in Stuttgart-Valhingen, Germany.
The current host unit for RAF Molesworth is the
423d Air Base Group,headquartered at nearby RAF Alconbury. Molesworth employs over 750 personnel to include US and foreign military as well as US and British civilians. Because of past gaps in operations and demolishing of buildings and infrastructure, RAF Molesworth contains very limited support operations. As such, it relies solely upon the 423d ABG for all non-JAC related support functions like dining facilities, postal services, banking and telecommunications connectivity.
With the end of the Cold War, the JAC found it necessary to redefine itself in a new era. During the
1990s and into the 21st Century the JAC has provided intelligence support for US and
NATO missions in the
Middle East and the
Balkans while also providing global assistance in the
War on Terrorism.
With flight operations at RAF Alconbury ceasing in 1995, the JAC became the only organization supported by the 423d ABG. Should the JAC close or move to another base, the 423d ABG would no longer be needed and RAF Molesworth would most certainly be declared excess along with RAF Alconbury and RAF Upwood. However, with the
NATO announcement in
January 2006 of their plan to open their own intelligence center at the base it is unlikely that it will close anytime in the near future.
Although the nuclear missiles have been gone for almost two decades, the infrastructure (storage bunkers, launch tower, machine guns pits, and such) is still quite intact and offers an unique reminder of the Cold War. Additionally, a monument to the 303d BG resides just inside the main entrance to the base and is accessible to the public.
*
Bob Hope entertained base personnel on
6 July 1943.
*American journalist and news correspondent
Walter Cronkite flew on a 303rd BG mission while reporting the war.
*American servicemen from RAF Molesworth married more English women during World War II than servicemen from any other American base in England.
*Two Type-Two hangars and one J-Type hangar are the only surviving remnants of the World War II era.
*A six-story air traffic control tower was built during the late 1950s but was never used and razed several years later.
*The original name of the Joint Analysis Center was supposed to be Joint Intelligence Center. Then
UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher objected to the name and it was changed.
*
List of RAF stations*
United States Air Forces in Europe*
United States Air Force in the United Kingdom* Ravenstein, Charles A., Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947-1977, Office of Air Force History, 1984
* Endicott, Judy G., USAF Active Flying, Space, and Missile Squadrons as of 1 October 1995. Office of Air Force History
* USAAS-USAAC-USAAF-USAF Aircraft Serial Numbers--1908 to Present [
1]
*Airfield Focus 40: Molesworth. Author: John N. Smith. Publisher:
GMS Enterprises*
RAF Molesworth entry at GlobalSecurity.org*
Official Web Site of the Eighth Air Force*
Bomb Groups of the Eighth Air Force*
UPI article on NATO opening intel center at RAF Molesworth*
Molesworth at Controltowers.co.uk*
303d Bomb Group Website*
M&C article on NATO opening intel center at RAF Molesworth*
Aerial Photo From Multimap.Com
