RAF Bottisham

RAF Bottisham lay some five miles east of Cambridge, in Cambridgeshire, and opened in 1940. Unlike the heavy-bomber fields that dominated the surrounding region, it served chiefly as a fighter, army-cooperation and training station. Early occupants included an elementary flying training unit operating Tiger Moths, while a succession of squadrons passed through flying types such as the Lysander, Tomahawk, Hurricane, Spitfire and the early Allison-engined Mustang Mk I, used largely for reconnaissance and army-support duties.

The airfield’s most prominent chapter came when it was assigned to the United States Army Air Forces as Station 374. From late 1943 it became home to the 361st Fighter Group, with its 374th, 375th and 376th Fighter Squadrons. The group first flew the P-47 Thunderbolt before converting to the P-51 Mustang in 1944, escorting Eighth Air Force bombers deep into Germany and supporting the Allied effort around the Normandy invasion. To handle these operations a temporary pierced-steel-planking runway was laid in early 1944.

The Americans moved on to Little Walden later in 1944, and the station was afterwards used by Belgian airmen before closing in 1946. The land largely returned to agriculture, and a museum was later opened on the site to commemorate its wartime history.