Airfields Used By NZ Squadrons During WW 2, RAF Mepal

in #rnzaf5 years ago

RAF Mepal

Image Source

52^23’44” N, 00^ 07’2” W

RAF Mepal was a RAF Bomber Command Airfield 0.7 miles [1.1km] South of Mepal, and 5.9 miles West of Ely, Cambridgshire.

Construction commenced in July 1942 and the Airfield was opened in June 1943

Image Source

The first aircraft to land on the Airfield was a De Havilland Tiger Moth, flown by Squadron Leader G A Watt.

The first unit to use Mepal was 1665 Heavy Conversion Unit, flying 24 Short Stirlings, they were moved from RAF Great Ashfield, stayed for one week, then moved onto RAF Waterbeach.

The first Squadron to call Mepal home was No 75 [NZ] Squadron, initially flying Short Stirlings and later Avro Lancasters.

Image Source

A 75 [NZ] Squadron Short Stirling

Their first operation was on 3/4th July 1943, with Cologne as the target when 13 aircraft from the Squadron completed the mission without loss.

The next few months were busy for the Squadron with operations being flown on Hamburg, Essen, Nuremberg, Turin, Munch-en-Gladbach and Berlin.

Image Source

75 [NZ] Squadron, 21 July 1943

Due to the loss rate being suffered by all the Stirling Squadrons, Air Chief Marshall Harris, in November 1943, ordered that Stirlings would no longer operate over German targets.

The Squadron continued to fly the Stirlings for the next 4 months on other mission like mine laying, attacking rocket sites and carrying out special missions.

On the night of 19th April 1944, an enemy intruder attacked Mepal, dropping anti-personnel mines, but no injuries were reported.

The last Stirling left Meal on 29th April 1944, this left No 75 [NZ] Squadron with 26 Lancasters, and 123 Officers, 284 Senior Non Commissioned Officers and 853 other ranks stationed on the Airfield.

Image Source

This particular Lancaster has completed over 100 operations, as marked under the cockpit.

The next few months were very busy for the Squadron and included missions supporting the D-Day invasion, also many missions with the new 8,000 and 12,000 lb bombs.

Image Source

75 [NZ] Squadron lined up ready for a mission.

On 29th September the Station was again under attack, this time by a V1, aka Doodlebug. Which missed the airfield and exploded at Sutton Gault.

In January 1945, Wing Commander C H Baigent DSO, DFC & Bar, took over command of the Squadron, he had been a Flight Commander in 1942, and had completed his second tour of operations prior to his arrival.

All this before he turned 22 years old.

The last bombing mission, which was the 739th mission with Lancasters, was when 20 aircraft from the Squadron attacked Bad Oldersloe.

From the 29th April to 8th May 1945, “Operation Manna” was launched from Mepal, which included 126 sorties to drop supplies to the Dutch in Western Holland.

A truce had been made with the German Area Commander to allow the missioin to take place safely.

After VE-Day, as part of “Tiger Force” no 7, 44, and 49 Squadrons moved into Mepal, to train for the war in the Pacific, these were stood down after the Japanese surrendered on 15th August 1945.

At the end of the war, 75 [NZ] Squadron was involved in repatriation of Prisoners of War.

They also flew “Sightseeing Flights” over Germany for the ground crew and “Baedecker” sorties to assess the effective of the bombing offensive.

Belgium refugees were also taken home.

By the end of May 1945, 2,339 POW’s had been repatriated by 75 [NZ] Squadron Lancasters.

75 [NZ] Squadron flew 8,017 sorties, the highest total for the whole RAF Bomber Command, on 739 operations, losing a total of 193 aircraft [the second highest loss rate]

After the Squadron was de-mobilised and the last Lancaster had left Mepal, it was earmarked to become a Transport Command Station, but this never came to fruition,
And it was put under “Care and Maintenance”.

The last ever aircraft movement was in 1949, when a Gloster Meteor F4 from Duxford made an emergence landing, the pilot had failed to switch fuel tanks, and as a result, both engines flamed out, followed by a wheels up landing.

The airfield remained closed until July 1959, when it became an important Station at the heart of the cold war.

The Station was armed with Thor missiles.

with thanks to son-of-satire for the banner

Sort:  

You just got a Team NZ upvote!

This is a curation bot for TeamNZ. Please join our AUS/NZ community on Discord.

Why join discord room? Here are 10 reasons why.<

Enjoying the bump? Please consider supporting your fellow Kiwis with a delegation. How? Read here.

For any inquiries/issues about the bot please contact @cryptonik.

Coin Marketplace

STEEM 0.35
TRX 0.12
JST 0.040
BTC 70601.11
ETH 3576.21
USDT 1.00
SBD 4.78