RAF Balderton
Former Royal Air Force station in Nottingham, England / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Royal Air Force Balderton or more simply RAF Balderton was a former Royal Air Force station located 2.0 miles (3.2 km) south of Newark-on-Trent, sandwiched between the now extinct Great Northern Railway (GNR) Bottesford-Newark line and the A1 road in Nottinghamshire, England.
RAF Balderton USAAF Station AAF-482 | |||||||||||
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Balderton, Nottinghamshire in England | |||||||||||
Coordinates | 53°02′11″N 000°47′09″W | ||||||||||
Type | Satellite Station 1941-44 RAF Substation 1944- | ||||||||||
Code | BL[1] | ||||||||||
Site information | |||||||||||
Owner | Air Ministry | ||||||||||
Operator | Royal Air Force United States Army Air Forces | ||||||||||
Controlled by | RAF Bomber Command 1941-44 & 1944- * No. 7 (T) Group RAF * No. 5 Group RAF Ninth Air Force 1944 | ||||||||||
Site history | |||||||||||
Built | 1940 (1940)/41 | ||||||||||
Built by | W. & C. French | ||||||||||
In use | June 1941 - 1954 (1954) | ||||||||||
Battles/wars | European theatre of World War II | ||||||||||
Airfield information | |||||||||||
Elevation | 20 metres (66 ft)[1] AMSL | ||||||||||
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Balderton airfield opened in June 1941 with a grass surface over stiff clay, it was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and United States Army Air Forces (USAAF). During the Second World War it was used primarily as a troop carrier transport airfield and after for munitions storage before it finally closed. A notice in The Times for 20 May 1957 lists the airfield as one of those no longer needed by the RAF.
The airfield was built to a dispersed plan. By 1943 the airfield had tarmac landing areas with three intersecting runways and 50 hard standings suitable for Heavy Bombers. In 1944 it was used by Bomber Command's 5 Group. There were two T-2 aircraft hangars, two Glider hangars and one B1 type hangar by 1944. There were 1510 male and 208 female personnel stationed on the base at that time. Part of the accommodation was temporary, and the officers accommodation was at a nearby hospital, Balderton Hall. (Now the Fernwood development)
During the airfields short operational life over two hundred aircrew failed to return and paid the ultimate sacrifice, a little known fact in Nottinghamshire's history.
Today, the remains of the airfield are located on private property being used as agricultural fields and a gypsum quarry.