RAF Nuthampstead

51.9948, 0.0676 — view on OpenStreetMap ↗

About

RAF Nuthampstead lay in the Hertfordshire countryside near Anstey and opened in 1943 as a United States Army Air Forces base, Station 131. It was used first by the 55th Fighter Group, whose Lockheed P-38 Lightnings were the first Allied fighters to reach Berlin on an escort mission in March 1944, and then by the 398th Bombardment Group, whose Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses flew nearly two hundred missions to the end of the war. The Americans left afterwards and much of the airfield was broken up for aggregate; a grass strip survives for light flying.

Sources: This page was compiled from publicly available historical sources, including Nuthampstead — Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust and RAF Nuthampstead — 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

NUTHAMPSTEAD, England -- Aircraft mechanics with the 398th Bombardment Group change a B-17 Flying Fortress engine here. During the group's stay in England from May 1944 to April 1945, the 398th flew 195 missions and lost 292 men and 70 B-17 aircraft in combat. (Courtesy USAF)
ⓘ licence & creditPublic domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:B-17_040607-F-0000S-005.JPGView source & full licence →
Three U.S. Army Air Forces Lockheed P-38J Lightning of the 38th Fighter Squadron, 55th Fighter Group, in flight, in 1944. P-38J-10-LO 42-67811 (CG-H) is in the foreground.
ⓘ licence & creditU.S. Army Air Forces photo 342-FH-3A16251-50665AC / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:55fg-Nuthampstead.jpgView source & full licence →
B-17Gs of the 398th Bomb Group from Nuthampstead Airfield England over a target.
ⓘ licence & creditassumed USAAF / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:398bg-Nuthampstead.jpgView source & full licence →
Aerial photograph of Nuthampstead Airfield, England.
ⓘ licence & creditBritish Government / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nuthamstead-9jul46.pngView source & full licence →

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