RAF Bovingdon

RAF Bovingdon lay in Hertfordshire, near Hemel Hempstead, and opened in June 1942. Although built with RAF Bomber Command in mind, it was handed almost immediately to the United States Army Air Forces, becoming Station 112 of the Eighth Air Force. The 92nd Bombardment Group, flying B-17 Flying Fortresses, was the first American tenant, and the field went on to host combat-crew replacement and training work alongside communications and service units operating types including the B-24 Liberator.

Bovingdon’s wartime character was unusual. Beyond its training role, it served the Eighth Air Force as a headquarters and transport hub, kept General Eisenhower’s personal B-17, and became a stopping point for visiting dignitaries and entertainers such as Bob Hope and Glenn Miller. In February 1943 it was used to prepare American war correspondents for accompanying bombing missions; among those associated with the station were Walter Cronkite and Andy Rooney, while the journalist Robert Post was lost on a raid against Wilhelmshaven that month.

After the Americans departed in 1946 the station returned to RAF hands, passing through Flying Training and later Transport Command, and supporting civil operators before flying ceased around 1969. The site was later used for farming, industry and leisure, with much of the former airfield given over to The Mount prison, opened in 1987, and television studios established on part of the land.