| RAF Boxted USAAF Station AAF-150  .png)  | |||||||||||
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| Boxted,Essex in England | |||||||||||
 Boxted Airfield - 10 May 1946. As with many wartime airfields, public rights of way were arbitrarily closed or diverted. A year after the war ended, Park Lane was still cut in the north by the fuel dump and the 22 end of the main runway. | |||||||||||
| Site information | |||||||||||
| Type | Royal Air Force station | ||||||||||
| Code | BX | ||||||||||
| Owner | Air Ministry | ||||||||||
| Operator | Royal Air Force United States Army Air Forces | ||||||||||
| Controlled by | Eighth Air Force Ninth Air Force RAF Fighter Command | ||||||||||
| Location | |||||||||||
  RAF Boxted Shown within Essex Show map of Essex RAF Boxted RAF Boxted (the United Kingdom) Show map of the United Kingdom | |||||||||||
| Coordinates | 51°56′16″N000°55′55″E / 51.93778°N 0.93194°E /51.93778; 0.93194 | ||||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||||
| Built | 1943 (1943) | ||||||||||
| In use | 1943 - 1947 (1947) | ||||||||||
| Battles/wars | European theatre of World War II | ||||||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||||||
| Elevation | 12 metres (39 ft)AMSL | ||||||||||
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Royal Air Force Boxted or more simplyRAF Boxted is a formerRoyal Air Force station located 4 miles (6.4 km) north-northeast ofColchester,EssexEngland.
Opened in 1943, it was used by theUnited States Army Air Forces (USAAF). RAF Boxted has the distinction of having been the airfield for the two most successful USAAF fighter groups in air-to-air combat. After the war it was used by theRoyal Air Force for jet aircraft testing. It was closed in 1947.
Today the remains of the airfield are located on private property being used as agricultural fields. It also has a small grass private airstrip and a museum which opened in 2011.
The airfield was used by theUnited States Army Air ForcesEighth Air Force andNinth Air Forces. It was known asUSAAF Station AAF-150 for security reasons by the USAAF during the war, and by which it was referred to instead of location. Its USAAF Station Code was "BX".
USAAF Station Units assigned to RAF Boxted were:[1]
Although Boxted was scheduled to receive the96th Bombardment Group in June 1943, plans were changed and theBoeing B-17 Flying Fortress group went instead toRAF Snetterton Heath inNorfolk. In its place, the386th Bombardment Group (Medium) was moved from Snetterton on 12 June to consolidate theMartin B-26 Marauder groups inEssex for operations. The group was assigned to theVIII Bomber Command3d Bomb Wing and flew both B-26B/C Marauder aircraft. Its operational squadrons were:
The group flew its first mission on 20 July, with operations concentrating on airfields but also attacked marshalling yards and gun positions along the channel coast.
The group was transferred toRAF Great Dunmow on 24 September 1943.
The354th Fighter Group, was under the operational control of theVIII Fighter Command during its stay at Boxted, arriving fromRAF Greenham Common on 13 November 1943 Its combat squadrons were:
The group provided long-range escort for US heavy bombers and received aDistinguished Unit Citation for its activities up to mid-May 1944 during which the 354th was instrumental in the development of the P-51 for use in long-range missions to escort heavy bombers on raids deep into enemy territory.
During that same periodColonel James H Howard won theMedal of Honor for his single-handed efforts to defend a bomber formation that was attacked by a large force of enemy planes while on a mission toOschersleben, Germany on 11 January 1944. Colonel Howard attacked a formation of thirty German aircraft pressing home the attack for more than thirty minutes he destroyed three aircraft and, even when he was low on fuel and his ammunition was exhausted, he continued his aggressive tactics to protect the bombers.
In mid-April 1944, the 354th flew south toRAF Lashenden inKent prior to moving to the Continent after theinvasion of Normandy.
With the departure of the 354th, its place was taken by the56th Fighter Group which was transferred fromRAF Halesworth on 19 April 1944 to enable that base to be converted to a heavy bomber installation. Its operational squadrons were:
Flying theRepublic P-47 Thunderbolt, the 56th Fighter Group was the most successful of the Eighth Air Force groups in air-to-air combat, and the second most successful in the USAAF with 665.5 (the 354th FG had 701 while the Pacific-based 49th FG had 664). It engaged in counter-air and interdictory missions during theinvasion of Normandy in June 1944. Supported Allied forces for the breakthrough atSaint-Lô in July and participated in theBattle of the Bulge, December 1944-January 1945. Helped to defend theRemagen bridgehead against air attacks in March 1945.
While at Boxted, the group received aDistinguished Unit Citation for strikes against antiaircraft positions while supporting theairborne attack on the Netherlands on 18 September 1944, an operation in which 16 P-47s were shot down or crashlanded in Allied territory.
The commander of the 61st FS,Lieutenant ColonelFrancis Gabreski, destroyed his 28th enemy aircraft in air combat, a record unequalled by any American fighter pilot in Europe. On 20 July 1944, Gabreski had to make abelly landing in his P-47 Thunderbolt after his propeller clipped the ground while strafing an airfield nearKoblenz, Germany. Although he avoided capture for five days before being finally arrested and interrogated by the Germans, he was greeted with the words: 'Hello Gabby, we've been waiting for you for a long time!'
The 56th remained at Boxted until October when it returned toCamp Kilmer,New Jersey, being inactivated on 18 October 1945.
Originally designated as Detachment B of the 65th Fighter Wing, the5th Emergency Rescue Squadron was activated at Boxted in May 1944. The squadron's mission was to perform air/sea rescue missions with war wearyRepublic P-47 Thunderbolts transferred from other fighter groups.
The squadron's fuselage code was "5F".
The aircraft were modified to carry dinghies, marker buoys and flares on their bomb racks. The mission of the unit was to locate pilots who had bailed out over theNorth Sea and would drop liferafts and inform sea-based rescue units who would then pick up the pilots.
The unit moved toRAF Halesworth in January 1945.
After the war, Boxted was taken over byRAF Fighter Command and used at first byde Havilland Mosquito night fighters and then, in 1946, by aGloster Meteor jet squadronNo. 234. By the end 1946, the flying units had moved on and work had begun on resurfacing the main runway. It was closed on 9 August 1947.
The following units were also here at some point:[3]
Only the outline of the airfield remains with single lane farm roads as the airfield has almost been completely returned to agriculture. The control tower has been demolished, but a cluster of Nissen Huts remain on the south side of the airfield close to Langham Lodge51°55′52″N000°55′59″E / 51.93111°N 0.93306°E /51.93111; 0.93306. Two further refurbished Nissen Huts are present on the west of original airbase and house the Boxted Airfield Museum. A portion of the original main runway remains in use as a grass airstrip (04/22).
A memorial to the pilots and crews who flew from RAF Boxted is located on the northernmost end of the original runway where it meets Park Lane.
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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