RAF Great Sampford

RAF Great Sampford
USAAF Station 359
RAF Great Sampford; USAAF Station 359
Great Sampford, Essex in England
	RAF Great Sampford on a target dossier of the German Luftwaffe, 1940
	RAF Great Sampford Shown within Essex
Coordinates	51°59′26″N 000°21′24″E / 51.99056°N 0.35667°E
Type	Satellite Station
Code	GS
Site information
Owner	Air Ministry
Operator	Royal Air Force; United States Army Air Forces
Controlled by	RAF Fighter Command 1942-
Site history
Built	1941/42
In use	April 1942 – August 1944
Battles/wars	European theatre of World War II
Airfield information
Elevation	104 metres (341 ft) AMSL
Runways
00/00	Sommerfeld Tracking
00/00	Sommerfeld Tracking

Royal Air Force Great Sampford or more simply RAF Great Sampford is a former Royal Air Force satellite station located 1.7 miles (2.7 km) west of Great Sampford, Essex, England and 5.3 miles (8.5 km) south east of Saffron Walden, Essex.

History[edit]

No. 65 Squadron RAF used the airfield starting on 14 March 1942 flying Supermarine Spitfire V's before leaving to RAF Martlesham Heath on 9 June 1942 before returning again on 15 June 1942 for fifteen days. The squadron left again and returned on 7 July 1942 staying until 29 July 1942 when the squadron moved RAF Gravesend.^[2]

The following units were here at some point:^[3]

4th Fighter Group
No. 133 Squadron RAF (1942)^[4]
No. 616 Squadron RAF (1942)^[5]
No. 50 'B' Balloon Flight
No. 53 'B' Balloon Flight
No. 945/947 (Balloon) Squadron
No. 951 (Balloon) Squadron
No. 976 (Balloon) Squadron
No. 991 (Balloon) Squadron
No. 992 (Balloon) Squadron
No. 996 (Balloon) Squadron
No. 997 (Balloon) Squadron
No. 999 (Balloon) Squadron
No. 2713 Squadron RAF Regiment
No. 2719 Squadron RAF Regiment
No. 2724 Squadron RAF Regiment
No. 2739 Squadron RAF Regiment
No. 2757 Squadron RAF Regiment
No. 2777 Squadron RAF Regiment
No. 2778 Squadron RAF Regiment
No. 2781 Squadron RAF Regiment
No. 2798 Squadron RAF Regiment
No. 2806 Squadron RAF Regiment
No. 2811 Squadron RAF Regiment

References[edit]

Citations[edit]

^ Falconer 1998, p. 41.
^ "No. 65 (East India) Squadron". The Wartime Memories Project – The Second War. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
^ "Great Sampford". Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
^ Jefford 1988, p. 59.
^ Jefford 1988, p. 100.

Bibliography[edit]

Falconer, J (1998). RAF Fighter Airfields of World War 2. UK: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 0-7110-2175-9.
Jefford, C.G. (1988). RAF Squadrons. A comprehensive record of the movement and equipment of all RAF squadrons and their antecedents since 1912. Shrewsbury: Airlife. ISBN 1-85310-053-6.

[FOOTNOTEFalconer199841-1] Falconer 1998, p. 41.

[WM-2] "No. 65 (East India) Squadron". The Wartime Memories Project – The Second War. Retrieved 9 May 2012.

[ABCT-3] "Great Sampford". Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust. Retrieved 19 April 2022.

[FOOTNOTEJefford198859-4] Jefford 1988, p. 59.

[FOOTNOTEJefford1988100-5] Jefford 1988, p. 100.

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