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RAF Woolfox Lodge | |||||||||||
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Pickworth, Rutland in England | |||||||||||
Coordinates | 52°42′34″N000°34′33″W / 52.70944°N 0.57583°W | ||||||||||
Type | Royal Air Force station | ||||||||||
Code | WL [1] | ||||||||||
Site information | |||||||||||
Owner | Ministry of Defence | ||||||||||
Operator | Royal Air Force United States Army Air Forces | ||||||||||
Controlled by | RAF Bomber Command * No. 3 Group RAF * No. 5 Group RAF * No. 7 (T) Group RAF | ||||||||||
Site history | |||||||||||
Built | 1939 | /40||||||||||
Built by | John Mowlem Ltd [1] | ||||||||||
In use | December 1940 - January 1966 | ||||||||||
Battles/wars | European theatre of World War II | ||||||||||
Airfield information | |||||||||||
Elevation | 105 metres (344 ft) [1] AMSL | ||||||||||
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Royal Air Force Woolfox Lodge, or more simply RAF Woolfox Lodge, is a former Royal Air Force station next to the A1 road in Rutland, UK. The airfield is split between the parishes of Empingham and Greetham. It was open from 1940 until 1966.
Woolfox opened as a reserve landing ground for RAF Cottesmore then became a satellite to RAF North Luffenham in October 1941. Full station status was granted from June 1943. The wartime airfield comprised three tarmac runways and one Type B1 and four T2 aircraft hangars. There was temporary accommodation for 1,149 male and 252 female personnel.
RAF Woolfox Lodge was used in later years as a relief landing ground but the runways deteriorated to such a degree that the airfield had to be closed to flying by spring 1954. In 1960 a Bristol Bloodhound surface-to-air missile site under No. 62 Squadron RAF was positioned in a secure area adjacent to the A1 road near the former technical site.
Unit | Dates | Aircraft | Variant | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
No. 61 Squadron RAF | September 1941 - May 1942 | Avro Manchester Avro Lancaster | I I & III | Lancaster from April 1942 [2] |
No. 62 Squadron RAF | February 1960 - September 1964 | Bristol Bloodhound | I | [2] |
No. 218 Squadron RAF | March - August 1944 | Short Stirling | III | [3] |
The following units were here at some point: [4]
The site is now used for agriculture and employment purposes. [4]
The landowner in 2019 has proposed it as a site for a possible garden village. [13] [14]
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