The lost Cambridgeshire airfield where wartime buildings have been demolished
Cambridgeshire's location in the East of England meant that it became home to many airfields and airmen during both World Wars. After World War II, many of these were decommissioned and saw other uses, either returning to agriculture or being redeveloped to serve a new purpose.
The airfield at Steeple Morden was used as a satellite for nearby RAF Bassingbourn, approximately three miles away. It began its life as a grass airfield between 1940 and 1942, used by the RAF to fly Vickers Wellington bombers.
It was turned over for American use and was designated as USAAF Station 122. At that point, three runways were built, as well as 55 concrete hardstandings, one T2 hangar, and seven blister hangars, according to the American Air Museum in Britain.
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It was first used by a Photographic Reconnaissance Group (PRG) of the USAAF, who stayed for less than two months before being redeployed to Algeria. That group was headed by Lieutenant-Colonel Elliott Roosevelt, son of Franklin D. Roosevelt.
After the PRG left, the airfield was used for bomber squadrons. These were involved in combat missions in Belgium and Germany, targeting industrial areas, bridges, radio stations, and more.
The 355th Fighter Group became known as the 'Steeple Morden Strafers', according to Steeple Morden Parish Council, because of their 'outstanding performance' destroying aircraft on the ground. The group left for Germany in July 1945 as the war wound down with Germany's defeat.
The station was returned to the RAF in 1945 and closed in 1946. The site was mostly sold back to its original owners and the land is now mostly used for agriculture, with the majority of the wartime buildings being demolished.
You can still walk around part of the site on a public footpath along the perimeter track, according to Cambridgeshire Aviation Heritage. There is also a memorial to the men who died while serving at Steeple Morden on Litlington Road.