Cambridgeshire
Aviation Heritage Trail

Heritage Timeline

1909

   
  The first aircraft to be built in the county was the so-called ‘Oakington Monoplane’. It had been built with the intention of winning a Daily Mail prize of £1,000 for the first all-British plane piloted by a Briton to fly a circular mile. In the event, the tiny wood and fabric monoplane never got into the air.

 

1910

April  
  James Radley demonstrated a Blériot aircraft to spectators at Portholme Meadow. The Earl of Sandwich then decided to make the site into a combined landing ground and racecourse. During the early war years, aircraft were produced here and the RFC moved in during 1917. The site was eventually closed in 1922, but it is thought to have been used by Sir Alan Cobham’s Circus during the 1930s.

 

1914

August  
 4th Britain declared war on Germany. The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) had approximately 150 aircraft at the outbreak of war. By the time the war ended in 1918, the RFC had become the RAF and it possessed 22,000 aircraft. It was the largest air force in the world.

 

1915

January  
 19th / 20th Two Zeppelin airships bombed Great Yarmouth, Sheringham and King’s Lynn. Four people were killed and 16 injured. This was the first aerial attack on the British mainland. Further and more successful attacks followed, conducted by Zeppelins and, subsequently Gotha bombers. Increasing public outcry at the country’s apparent defencelessness caused aerial defence policy to be re-appraised and resulted in a number of RFC landing grounds being established across the county and elsewhere.

 

1916

April  
  A Royal Flying Corps (RFC) landing ground opened at Cottenham for use by 75 (Home Defence) Squadron. The site eventually closed in April 1919.
  A 55-acre site opened at Horseheath. A number of RFC units were based there until the site closed in April 1919.
  A landing ground was established at Wyton for use by training squadron and others in transit. By 1919, in common with many other such sites, it was closed. In 1935, the site was earmarked for use as a bomber airfield.
August  
  Fowlmere opened as an RFC landing ground and was allocated to 75 (HD) Squadron. The site eventually closed at the end of 1920; before being re-opened in 1940. Closed again in 1946, the site is currently used by private light aircraft.
October  
  A landing ground was opened at Old Weston (Thrapston) for use by RFC Home Defence squadrons. The site was closed in July 1917.
  A small RFC landing ground was established at Yelling (St Neots) and it is thought to have remained active for only one year before being closed down.
December  
  A landing ground was opened at Orton for use by RFC. It appears to be have been used by at least 3 squadrons at different times before closing in June 1919.

 

1918

March  
  Duxford was opened as a Training Squadron Station. The airfield remained in near-continuous use by the RAF until 1968. Many of the World War One-era buildings still survive.
April  
 1st Formation of the Royal Air Force (RAF) by amalgamating the RFC and the Royal Naval Aerial Service (RNAS).
November  
 11th Armistice signed, signifying the end of the war in Europe.

 

1935

   
  Construction of an upgraded airfield at Wyton began.

 

1937

April  
  The national Air Raid Warden Service was created. Half a million people volunteered to join the service in 1938.

 

1938

August  
4th 19 Squadron equipped with Spitfires.
October  
 8th Official opening of Cambridge airport. The Spitfire made its first public appearance, with aircraft from 19 Squadron on display. It was to be on 1 January 1946 when a ban on civil aviation at the airport was finally lifted.

 

1939

September  
 3rd Declaration of war by Britain and France on Germany, after German forces had invaded Poland. A 139 Squadron Blenheim, based at RAF Wyton conducted the first Bomber Command sortie of the war.
  Mass evacuation of children from the South East of England took place in the expectation that they would otherwise be exposed to bombing attacks. Cambridgeshire was classified as a ‘reception area’ and 6,700 children were accommodated in Cambridge – although half of these had returned home by the middle of November.

 

1940

June  
  RAF Castle Camps opened. The airfield was mostly used by RAF Fighter Command during the war and closed in January 1946. It was eventually declared surplus to requirements in July 1948.
 5th / 6th The first incendiaries to be dropped by the Luftwaffe on Britain landed near Duxford.
 7th Luftwaffe bombers dropped 14 bombs on RAF Upwood, causing only slight damage. There were to be a further six attacks between June 1940 and August 1942.
 18th / 19th The first major Luftwaffe attack of the war on Britain. 70 aircraft took part and bombs fell on Cambridge, killing 9 people and injuring 10.
July  
 1st RAF Oakington opened. The last official RAF flight was made from the airfield on 7 May 1975 and the Army was subsequently in control of the site. Oakington Barracks finally closed at the end of May 1999.
August  
 16th A record total of 220 Luftwaffe bombs were recorded as falling in the Duxford area.
September.
September  
 16th RAF Alconbury was attacked by Luftwaffe bombers. There would be further attacks in March and June 1941. By the end of August 1941, the airfield had been hit by a total of 46 bombs – none of which caused any casualties.
 19th A Luftwaffe Ju88 bomber engaged in a reconnaissance mission crash-landed at Oakington after being attacked by Hurricanes from 17 Squadron.

 

1941

January  
 11th RAF Waterbeach opened. Constructed to a pre-war design involving substantial brick buildings, the airfield was to remain under RAF control until 1966, when it transferred to the Army (Royal Engineers).
 30th A Luftwaffe Dornier Do17 dropped its bombs on Cambridge station.
February  
 15th / 16th A Luftwaffe Ju88 bomber returning from an attack on Liverpool crash-landed at RAF Steeple Morden after engine failure.
April  
  RAF Bourn opened. Originally planned as a satellite airfield for RAF Oakington, it was substantially upgraded over the next year. The airfield closed in 1948.
 9th A lone Luftwaffe night fighter attacked RAF Bourn, strafing buildings and dropping bombs. No injuries were caused.
 24th An RAF Wellington bomber preparing to land at RAF Bassingbourn crashed while preparing to land, after being shot down by a Luftwaffe night fighter. Two of the crew were killed.
May  
 2nd An unknown Luftwaffe aircraft attacked RAF Waterbeach, dropping bombs and explosive incendiaries. Most probably this aircraft also attacked a Short Stirling bomber preparing to land at Oakington, which caught fire and crashed at Dry Drayton.
 5th A Hurricane fighter preparing to land at RAF Duxford was attacked by a Luftwaffe aircraft and eventually crashed near Royston. The pilot was killed.
 6th / 7th Luftwaffe bombers attacked RAF Oakington, dropping five bombs on the airfield.
June  
 15th A Luftwaffe Ju88 bomber attacked RAF Oakington, dropping one bomb and killing an airman.
 16th An RAF Tiger Moth training biplane was attacked by a Luftwaffe aircraft over Caxton Gibbet, losing its entire tail section but still managing to land safely.
July  
 19th A Luftwaffe Messerschmitt Bf109f fighter being tested by the RAF Air Fighting Development Unit crashed at Fowlmere. The Polish pilot was killed, most probably after being made unconscious by carbon monoxide fumes.
 22nd / 23rd RAF Oakington was again attacked, with several bombs falling on the airfield and nearby. One airman subsequently died of his injuries.
August  
 12th A Luftwaffe intruder aircraft shot down a Blenheim bomber which had taken off from Upwood for night flying training. The aircraft crashed near Wilburton. None of the crew survived.
  Luftwaffe bombers dropped an estimated 47 bombs on Huntingdon.
 19th A Wellington bomber was shot down by a Luftwaffe intruder near Barrington.
 20th Another Wellington was shot down as it was preparing to land at RAF Bassingbourn.
October  
 3rd / 4th A Short Stirling bomber from 7 Squadron was shot down by a Luftwaffe intruder, crashing at Kisby’s Hut, near Bourn. The pilot was killed.

 

1942

January  
 9th An RAF B17 ‘Flying Fortress’ bomber on a training flight crashed at Shepreth. None of the crew survived.
May  
 9th A temporary ‘Starfish’ Decoy site was established to protect Cambridge. Records do not indicate how successful it may have been in drawing away Luftwaffe bombers from their intended target. In total, there were 34 separate bombing attacks on the town during the war. 12 people were killed.
July  
 27th A number of bombs were dropped on Cambridge. Significant damage was caused in Round Church Street.
 30th / 31st A Luftwaffe Ju88 was returning from a failed attack on Birmingham when it bombed the airfield at Oakington. The aircraft was shot down by anti-aircraft fire and crashed in a field at Cuckoo Farm. None of the crew survived.
August  
 15th The Bomber Command Pathfinder force was formed – initially composed of squadrons based at Wyton, Oakington, Graveley and Warboys.
22nd A Luftwaffe bomber dropped at least five bombs on Ramsey. Substantial damage was caused. Seven people were killed and several more injured. This was the worst bombing incident to occur in Huntingdonshire during the war.
September  
  The USAAF 93rd Bombardment Group arrived at RAF Alconbury and this month also signals the general deployment of USAAF units throughout the County.
 8th / 9th A Luftwaffe Dornier Do217 bombed University Farm at Girton and RAF Bourn. The aircraft was shot down by a Mosquito night fighter and crashed near the village of Orwell. None of the four crew members survived.
October  
 5th A 156 Squadron Wellington was abandoned by its crew in mid-air. The aircraft went on to crash in Somersham. Ten civilians were killed and several more badly injured. One of these subsequently died in hospital.
December  
 16th The German spy, Eddie Chapman, was clandestinely dropped from a Luftwaffe aircraft by parachute, landing near Littleport. He surrendered almost immediately to the police, not realising that his journey, and arrival, had anyway been known to the British authorities. He became a double agent and, amongst other tasks, was responsible for misreporting to the Germans the accuracy of V-1s.

 

1943

May  
 27th A USAAF B-17 ‘Flying Fortress’ being loaded with bombs suddenly exploded at Alconbury. The aircraft was completely destroyed, as were three others nearby. 18 men were killed and a further 21 injured, one of these subsequently dying in hospital.
June  
  RAF Mepal opened. No. 75 (New Zealand) Squadron moved there from 26 June 1943 and remained until July 1945. The site was largely inactive until 1958, when it became the county’s only Thor IRBM nuclear missile base. The facility was eventually closed on 10 July 1963.
July  
 13th / 14th Ten Luftwaffe Messerschmitt Me 410s carried out a surprise low-level attack, bombing the airfields at Mildenhall, Cambridge and Waterbeach.
November  
 6th Two Wellington bombers conducting a night training exercise collided over Huntingdon. Only the pilots of both aircraft survived.
 26th At Wyton, an RAF Mosquito about to take off for an attack on Berlin suddenly exploded. Five service personnel were killed, as well as one civilian who happened to be cycling nearby. Another civilian subsequently died of his injuries.
  115 Squadron moved to RAF Witchford and remained there for the rest of the war. This squadron holds the melancholy distinction of losing more aircraft than any other in the RAF during WW2.
December  
  USAAF units arrived at RAF Bottisham and took over control of the airfield.
 16th / 17th Bomber Command’s ‘Black Thursday’ – when aircraft returning from an attack on Berlin encountered exceptionally poor visibility on return to their various bases. Of 21 aircraft which originally took off from Bourn, five crashed, two were abandoned by their crews in mid-air and one had already been shot down over Berlin.

 

1944

January  
 23rd A USAAF B-24 ‘Liberator’ bomber conducting a radar test crashed at Gate Farm, Shingay. The cause of the crash was never established and all six of the crew died.
February  
 22nd / 23rd A Dornier Do217 bomber was hit by flak and abandoned by its crew over London. The aircraft flew on, sinking steadily lower, until eventually it crash-landed by itself in allotments at Milton Road. Despite being loaded with bombs, the aircraft wreckage remained largely intact.
March  
 6th USAAF Lieutenant General James Doolittle – responsible for the famous ‘Doolittle Raid’ on Tokyo in April 1942 – was nearly killed when visiting Kimbolton. After landing, a B17 ‘Flying Fortress’ slewed across the airfield, very narrowly missing the control tower and all those, Doolittle included, inside it.
April  
  RAF Fowlmere was occupied by the 339th Fighter Group, flying Mustang fighters, and placed under USAAF control.
 18th / 19th Two RAF 115 Squadron Lancasters were shot down by Luftwaffe intruders while preparing to land at Witchford after an attack on Rouen. Neither of the crews survived and four of the 14 men are buried in Cambridge City Cemetery.
 30th A 460 Squadron Lancaster from RAF Binbrook in Lincolnshire was conducting a night training exercise when its dinghy broke loose and fouled the rear tail unit. The pilot lost all control of the aircraft and it crashed near Wilburton. None of the crew survived.
June  
 6th D-Day landings in Normandy, France. Aircraft from squadrons situated across the county joined a Bomber Command ‘maximum effort’ to disrupt and destroy defensive fortifications and associated road and rail links.
 28th The first V-1 ‘Doodle-Bug’ flying bomb to land in Cambridgeshire exploded at Fowlmere. There were to be a further nine V-1s landing in Cambridgeshire and the Isle of Ely up to March 1945.
November  
 10th The 165th V-2 long-range rocket to land on British soil exploded in a field at Valley Farm, Fulbourn. This was the only occasion a V-2 landed in the county.

 

1945

May  
 8th ‘Victory in Europe’ (VE) Day declared. A huge bonfire was lit on Midsummer Common in Cambridge and home-made fireworks were let off.
August  
 16th ‘Victory over Japan’ (VJ) Day declared. There was a Grand Patriotic Concert in the Cambridge Guildhall.
December  
 1st Control of Duxford was handed back by the USAAF to the RAF.

 

1946

March  
  RAF Witchford closed. The airfield had been in operation only since June 1943 and would never be used as an operational airfield again.
April  
  RAF Bottisham was formally closed

 

1951

February  
 15th “We must never forget that by creating the American atomic base in East Anglia, we have made ourselves the target, and perhaps the bull’s eye of a Soviet attack”. Winston Churchill

 

1953

January  
  RAF Wyton became the main centre for operational RAF photographic reconnaissance squadrons.

 

1961

August  
 1st A Gloster Meteor took off from Duxford and became the last operational RAF aircraft to do so.

 

1968

June  
 21st / 22nd Controversial explosive demolition of a Belfast Truss hangar at Duxford for the film ‘Battle of Britain’. Filming of the airfield scenes, as well as the ‘French chateau airfield’ and the ‘South Downs Flying Club’ scenes, all took place at Duxford over the summer.

 

1993

November  
 1st The final operational RAF squadron left RAF Wyton.

 

2013

April  
 1st Waterbeach Barracks was completely closed by this date. Thereafter, plans were developed for new housing and other amenities on the airfield site.