Royal Air Force Castle Camps or more simply RAF Castle Camps is a former Royal Air Force satellite station, it was listed as being in Cambridgeshire as it is close to its namesake Cambridgeshire village. It is very near the Suffolk border and the airfield straddled the Essex and Cambridgeshire county border. Construction of the station was started in September 1939. It opened as a satellite of RAF Debden in June 1940 and became a satellite of RAF North Weald in July 1943.
During the Battle of Britain, one of the units operating from Castle Camps was 85 Squadron, whose Hawker Hurricanes were commanded by Peter Townsend.
The airfield was used by numerous squadrons throughout the Second World War. In 1945, it was commanded by Battle of Britain ace Tim Vigors.Tim Vigors, "Life's Too Short to Cry", p. 235 It closed in January 1946.
Operational Units and Aircraft Unit From To Aircraft Version Notes No. 85 Squadron RAF 23 May 19403 September 1940 19 August 19405 September 1940 Hawker HurricaneHawker Hurricane II As a detachment.Full strength. No. 73 Squadron RAF 5 September 1940 6 November 1940 Hawker Hurricane I No. 157 Squadron RAF 18 December 1941 15 March 1943 de Havilland Mosquito II No. 605 (County of Warwick) Squadron AAF 15 March 1943 6 October 1943 de Havilland Mosquito II/VI No. 456 Squadron RAAF 29 March 1943 June 1943 Bristol Beaufighterde Havilland Mosquito IIFII/VI No. 527 Squadron RAF 15 June 1943 28 February 1944 Bristol BlenheimHawker Hurricanede Havilland Hornet Moth IVI Formed here. No. 91 (Nigeria) Squadron RAF 29 February 1944 17 March 1944 Supermarine Spitfire XII/XIV No. 486 Squadron RNZAF 6 March 194429 March 1944 21 March 194429 April 1944 Hawker Typhoon IB No. 410 Squadron RCAF 30 December 1943 29 April 1944 de Havilland Mosquito XIII No. 68 Squadron RAF 23 June 1944 28 December 1944 de Havilland Mosquito XVII/XIX No. 151 Squadron RAF 8 October 1944 19 November 1944 de Havilland Mosquito XXX No. 25 Squadron RAF 27 October 1944 14 July 1945 de Havilland Mosquito XXX/VI No. 307 Squadron RAF 27 January 1945 31 May 1945 de Havilland Mosquito XXX
The following units were also here at some point: No. 25 (Base) Defence Wing RAF (March – May 1944) No. 85 Group Communication Squadron RAF (May – June 1944) No. 149 Airfield Headquarters RAF (March – April 1944) No. 2771 Squadron RAF Regiment No. 2879 Squadron RAF Regiment No. 2887 Squadron RAF Regiment
Current use
The site has reverted to agricultural use. However the outlines of portions of the runways in the fields (when viewed on Google Earth), can still be seen and some of the perimeter roads are even now in use as farm tracks.
Some of the airfield buildings are still present and being used by local farms and industry.
References Citations
Bibliography Brazier, Roy (2011) History of RAF Castle Camps: a Unique Airfield, 1940–47.
External links
Castle Camps Village, Airfield webpage Hawker Tempest Page: History Hawker Tempest at RAF Castle Camps 605 Squadron Website: History of 605 Squadron Polish Squadrons Remembered: