RAF Snailwell

RAF Snailwell USAAF Station 361
Near Snailwell, Cambridgeshire in England
Aerial photograph of Snailwell airfield, 26 July 1942
Site information
Type	Royal Air Force station
Code	SW
Owner	Air Ministry
Operator	Royal Air Force United States Army Air Forces
Controlled by	RAF Army Cooperation Command 1941-43 RAF Fighter Command 1943-44 * No. 12 Group RAF RAF Technical Training Command 1944- * No. 28 Group RAF
Location
RAF Snailwell Shown within Cambridgeshire Show map of Cambridgeshire RAF Snailwell RAF Snailwell (the United Kingdom) Show map of the United Kingdom
Coordinates	52°16′28″N 000°25′11″E / 52.27444°N 0.41972°E / 52.27444; 0.41972
Site history
Built	1940 (1940)/41
In use	March 1941 – 1946 (1946)
Battles/wars	European theatre of World War II
Airfield information
Elevation	70 feet (21 m) AMSL
Runways Direction Length and surface 00/00  Grass 00/00  Grass 00/00  Grass

Royal Air Force Snailwell or more simply RAF Snailwell is a former Royal Air Force station located near to the village of Snailwell, Cambridgeshire, located 3 miles (5 km) north of Newmarket, Suffolk, England.

History

• USAAF 347th Fighter Squadron — Bell P-39 Airacobra

Operational Royal Air Force units and aircraft

• No. 56 Squadron RAF (1942) – Hawker Typhoon IA and IB.
• No. 137 Squadron RAF (1942) – Westland Whirlwind I.
• No. 152 (Hyderabad) Squadron RAF (1941) – Supermarine Spitfire IIA.
• No. 168 Squadron RAF (1942) – Curtiss Tomahawk II.
• No. 170 Squadron RAF (1943) – North American Mustang I.
• No. 181 Squadron RAF (1943) – Hawker Typhoon IB.
• No. 182 Squadron RAF (1943) – Hawker Typhoon IB.
• No. 183 (Gold Coast) Squadron RAF (1943) – Hawker Typhoon IB.
• No. 184 Squadron RAF (1943) – Hawker Hurricane IV.
• No. 247 (China-British) Squadron RAF (1943) – Hawker Typhoon IB.
• No. 268 Squadron RAF (1941) – Westland Lysander, Curtiss Tomahawk IIA.
• No. 268 Squadron RAF (1942) – North American Mustang I.
• No. 309 Polish Fighter-Reconnaissance Squadron (1943) – North American Mustang I.
• No. 527 Squadron RAF (1944) – Bristol Blenheim IV, Hawker Hurricane IIB.
• No. 613 (City of Manchester) Squadron RAuxAF (1943) – North American Mustang I.

Units

Current use

The site has now returned to agriculture and paddocks.

References

Bibliography

• Falconer, Jonathan (2012). RAF Airfields of World War 2. UK: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85780-349-5.
• Jefford, C G (1988). RAF Squadrons. A comprehensive record of the movement and equipment of all RAF squadrons and their antecedents since 1912. Shrewsbury: Airlife. ISBN 1-85310-053-6.

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