RAF Fowlmere


Royal Air Force Fowlmere or more simply RAF Fowlmere is a former Royal Air Force station located northeast of Royston, Hertfordshire and southwest of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England.

First World War

Flying at Fowlmere originated in 1918 when the airfield was used by Royal Air Force
Flying cadets of the Air Service, United States Army were trained at Fowlmere by RAF instructors, prior to their deployment to the Western Front in France. After the First World War ended, the hangars were all demolished along with the assorted buildings by 1923.

Second World War

Royal Air Force use

With the eruption of the Second World War, Fowlmere was intended to be a satellite for nearby RAF Duxford and was used by 19 Sqn with Supermarine Spitfires
along with:
When the airfield was turned over to the USAAF, Fowlmere was expanded to meet the requirements of a complete fighter group. The airfield was assigned USAAF designation Station 378 It was allocated to the United States Army Air Forces Eighth Air Force fighter command.
USAAF Station Units assigned to RAF Fowlmere were:
The 339th Fighter Group arrived at Fowlmere from Rice AAF, California on 4 April 1944. The group was under the command of the 66th Fighter Wing of the VIII Fighter Command. Aircraft of the group were identified by a red/white chequerboard pattern.

Postwar Royal Air Force use

With the departure of the Americans, Fowlmere was used briefly by No. 11 Group RAF RAF Fighter Command until January 1946 then closed and placed into care and maintenance status. It was eventually sold back to local farmers in 1957.

Current use

With the end of RAF control, the concreted areas and buildings of Fowlmere airfield were largely ground into aggregate and sold for local construction projects.
The T-2 hangar is still in use by a local farmer and there are a few decaying huts on the west side of Fowlmere village. Other than that, there is little else to indicate previous use of the site as an active fighter airfield. Only fragments of taxi-track remain, and part of a secondary runway is used for light aircraft.

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