| RAF Little Walden USAAF Station 165  | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saffron Walden, Essex in England | |||||||||||
| Site information | |||||||||||
| Type | Royal Air Force station | ||||||||||
| Code | LL | ||||||||||
| Owner | Air Ministry | ||||||||||
| Operator | Royal Air Force United States Army Air Forces | ||||||||||
| Controlled by | Eighth Air Force Ninth Air Force | ||||||||||
| Location | |||||||||||
  RAF Little Walden Shown within Essex | |||||||||||
| Coordinates | 52°04′06″N000°16′00″E / 52.06833°N 0.26667°E | ||||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||||
| Built | 1944 | ||||||||||
| In use | March 1944 - September 1946 | ||||||||||
| Battles/wars | European theatre of World War II | ||||||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Royal Air Force Little Walden, or more simply RAF Little Walden, is a former Second World War-era Royal Air Force station, located north of Saffron Walden, Essex, England.
Construction began in 1942, with the site initially assigned to the Eighth Air Force of the United States Army Air Forces. By the time of opening in March 1944, however, the airfield had been transferred to the Ninth Air Force, who used the site through ti September, when it was returned to the Eighth. [1]
The following units were based at Little Walden at some point: [2]
- 56th Fighter Group (Republic P-47 Thunderbolt)
- 97th Combat Bombardment Wing (Light)
- 97th Combat Bombardment Wing (Medium)
- 361st Fighter Group (P-47/North American P-51 Mustang)
- 409th Bombardment Group (Ninth Air Force) (Douglas A-20 Havoc)
- 493rd Bombardment Group (Heavy) (Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress)
Following the war, the airfield was deemed surplus to requirements, and sold. The area returned to agricultural use, and there are few traces of the airfields still visible today. [1]
