RAF Oakington

England — County: Cambridgeshire

52.2700, 0.0675 — view on OpenStreetMap ↗

About

RAF Oakington opened in Cambridgeshire in 1940 and became a Bomber Command station, later part of the Pathfinder effort. It was the long-term home of No. 7 Squadron, one of the first units to fly the Short Stirling, which it later exchanged for the Avro Lancaster on the offensive against Germany; a photographic-reconnaissance unit also flew Spitfires from the field early in the war. After the war it became a flying-training school and then an Army barracks. The airfield has since been cleared, its site now being built over by the new town of Northstowe.

Sources: This page was compiled from publicly available historical sources, including Oakington — Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust and RAF Oakington — Wikipedia. The text is original and has been written from factual source material; no source text has been copied unless specifically quoted and attributed.

Photographs

Royal Air Force 1939-1945- Bomber Command Squadron Leader The Reverend E T Killick (second from right), Station Chaplain at RAF Oakington, hands out 'winter warmers' from the RAF Comforts Fund to ground crew on a crisp autumnal morning, 24 October 1942. Two No. 7 Squadron Stirlings are in the background.
ⓘ licence & creditBaker L H (P/O), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_1939-1945-_Bomber_Command_CH8741.jpgView source & full licence →
IWM caption : RAF personnel being served tea and refreshments in the NAAFI canteen at Oakington, Cambridgeshire.
ⓘ licence & creditDaventry B J H (Mr), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NAAFI_canteen_RAF_Oakington_Feb_1941_IWM_CH_2144.jpgView source & full licence →
Mushroom Pillbox at the former RAF Oakington Viewed from the route of the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway. This type of pill box was specifically designed for airfield defence, with all round visibilty and field of fire. More info at http://www.pillbox-study-group.org.uk/mushroompage.htm. There are a number of this design along the perimeter of the this former WWII airfield. The whole site is currently designated to have the new eco-town of Northstowe built upon it. Will these relics survive?
ⓘ licence & creditRob Noble / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mushroom_Pillbox_at_the_former_RAF_Oakington_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1802257.jpgView source & full licence →
Aircraft of the Royal Air Force 1939-1945- Short S.29 Stirling. Stirling Mark I, N3641 ‘MG-D’, of No. 7 Squadron RAF, running up its engines on the ground at Oakington, Cambridgeshire.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aircraft_of_the_Royal_Air_Force_1939-1945-_Short_S.29_Stirling._CH3138.jpgView source & full licence →
Aircrew and Nose art on "S-Sugar", a Short Stirling of No. 7 Squadron RAF, in a dispersal at RAF Oakington, Cambridgeshire.
ⓘ licence & creditMinistry of Information Photo Division Photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:7_Squadron_Stirling_at_RAF_Oakington_WWII_IWM_D_4752.jpgView source & full licence →
IWM caption : Short Stirling Mark I, N3641 ‘MG-D’, of No. 7 Squadron RAF taking off at Oakington, Cambridgeshire. 7 Squadron was the first unit to be equipped with the type, which it received in August 1940. N3641 was the seventh production aircraft.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:7_Squadron_RAF_Stirling_taking_off_from_Oakington_IWM_CH_3145.jpgView source & full licence →

Home to

People connected to this base

14 persons cross-referenced to this airfield — through a posting here, a squadron based here, or aircrew who flew from it.

NameRankConnectionDates
Brockway, George William Pilot Officer Aircrew (squadron based here) —
Dickinson, Albert Flight Lieutenant Aircrew (squadron based here) —
Evans, Stanley Flight Lieutenant Aircrew (squadron based here) —
Ferrier, James Stewart Flying Officer Aircrew (squadron based here) —
Francis, Kenneth Geoffrey Sergeant Aircrew (squadron based here) —
Fuller, Frank Tilden Sergeant Aircrew (squadron based here) —
Greenfield, Rex Edward Flight Sergeant Aircrew (squadron based here) —
Heys, Daniel Sutcliffe Pilot Officer Aircrew (squadron based here) —
Hirst, Thomas Johnson Flight Sergeant Aircrew (squadron based here) —
Jenkins, Wycliffe Sergeant Aircrew (squadron based here) —
Liddle, Thomas Burgess Sergeant Aircrew (squadron based here) —
Matheson, Kenneth Duncan Pilot Officer Aircrew (squadron based here) —
Stevens, Joseph Sergeant Aircrew (squadron based here) —
Wilson, Colin Howard Squadron Leader Aircrew (squadron based here) —