RAF Snailwell

52.2712, 0.4210 — view on OpenStreetMap ↗

About

RAF Snailwell opened in Cambridgeshire near Newmarket in 1941 and served in army-cooperation, fighter and training roles. A wide variety of squadrons flew from it — Westland Lysanders, Curtiss Tomahawks and North American Mustangs on reconnaissance, and Hawker Typhoons and Supermarine Spitfires on fighter work, including the Polish No. 309 Squadron. Flying ended in 1946, and the site has returned to farmland and racehorse paddocks.

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

Photographs

Belgian Air Training School in Britain- Training at Snailwell, Cambridgeshire, England, UK, 1945 D25509 — Belgian Air Training School in Britain- Training at Snailwell, Cambridgeshire, England, UK, 1945 Belgian trainees at work repairing and maintaining a Bristol Beaufighter at the Belgian Air Training School at Snailwell.

ⓘ licence & credit
Ministry of Information Photo Division Photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Belgian_Air_Training_School_in_Britain-_Training_at_Snailwell,_Cambridgeshire,_England,_UK,_1945_D25509.jpgView source & full licence →

Belgian Air Training School in Britain- Training at Snailwell, Cambridgeshire, England, UK, 1945 D25507 — Belgian Air Training School in Britain- Training at Snailwell, Cambridgeshire, England, UK, 1945 Belgian trainees at work on a Hercules engine at the Belgian Air Training School at Snailwell.

ⓘ licence & credit
Ministry of Information Photo Division Photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Belgian_Air_Training_School_in_Britain-_Training_at_Snailwell,_Cambridgeshire,_England,_UK,_1945_D25507.jpgView source & full licence →

Belgian Air Training School in Britain- Training at Snailwell, Cambridgeshire, England, UK, 1945 D25504 — Belgian Air Training School in Britain- Training at Snailwell, Cambridgeshire, England, UK, 1945 A pupil and instructor sit in a dual-control Tiger Moth aircraft at the Belgian Air Training School at Snailwell, near Newmarket. A large number 10 is painted on the side of the aircraft, near the nose.

ⓘ licence & credit
Ministry of Information Photo Division Photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Belgian_Air_Training_School_in_Britain-_Training_at_Snailwell,_Cambridgeshire,_England,_UK,_1945_D25504.jpgView source & full licence →

Belgian Air Training School in Britain- Training at Snailwell, Cambridgeshire, England, UK, 1945 D25503 — Belgian Air Training School in Britain- Training at Snailwell, Cambridgeshire, England, UK, 1945 A general view of Belgian airmen reading in one of the classrooms at the flying school at Snailwell, near Newmarket. A number of aircraft identification posters, a map and several other posters can be seen on the walls.

ⓘ licence & credit
Ministry of Information Photo Division Photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Belgian_Air_Training_School_in_Britain-_Training_at_Snailwell,_Cambridgeshire,_England,_UK,_1945_D25503.jpgView source & full licence →

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