RAF Atcham

RAF Atcham lay about five miles east of Shrewsbury in Shropshire, where it opened in the late summer of 1941 as a fighter station within No. 9 Group of Fighter Command. Its early career was busy but short-lived in RAF hands: a succession of Spitfire squadrons passed through during 1941 and 1942, among them No. 131 Squadron, the Belgian-manned No. 350 Squadron, and the Australian No. 452 Squadron, each staying only weeks or months before moving on.

From the middle of 1942 the airfield’s main role changed when it was handed over to the United States Army Air Forces and designated Station 342. American fighter groups arrived first, including the 31st Fighter Group flying Spitfires and the 14th Fighter Group with twin-boom P-38 Lightnings, before the site settled into its lasting wartime function as a training establishment. The 495th Fighter Training Group operated here from late 1943, preparing replacement pilots on types such as the P-47 Thunderbolt and P-38.

Flying wound down after the war, and the station closed during 1946, briefly returning to RAF training control beforehand. Much of the ground reverted to farmland; the runways were lifted and one alignment became a public road, while several hangars survived as part of an industrial estate.