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Report - - Rivenhall Airfield | Military Sites | 28DaysLater.co.uk

Report - Rivenhall Airfield

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W

Will

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Guest
Well, after much walking and searching, it was found. And sucessfully half explored, I do plan to return adn do the rest. The gravel extraction IS destroying the runway quite effectivley, sadly, and the Chav twats have been there and fucked alot of stuff. But it is still quite intersting and worth a poke round.

So, pictures can be found here (I took alot, so be warned) :

Wash your hands:
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With this:
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Genuine WW2 era (1942) Thingumy!
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They still can't spell. Not even "Satan".
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Inside one of the huts:
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Radar:
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A good site I'd say.
 
F

Fusion

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Guest
Re: Rivenhall Airfield - Report!

The airfield is situated about two miles to the north of Rivenhall and is situated closer to the village of silver End. The construction of the airfield started in the early months of 1943. The work was under taken by two contractors, W & C French who laid the runways, perimeter roads and Hard standings. While Bovis Ltd erected all the buildings which were situated on the South East side of the airfield. Due to the war situation at the time of winter 1943/44 the American personnel moved into the airfield before it was finished. The units which were assigned the base were the 363rd and 382nd of the Ninth Fighter Group. The first mission was flown on 23rd February 1944 with 24 sleek P51 Mustangs which had been in very short supply as had trained crews up till this time. For most of its time at Rivenhall the 363rd would operate escort missions under the control of the Eight Fighter Command. By the 5th April 1944 the group had changed its role to one of Fighter/bombers and had been practicing low level flying and dive bombing. On the 5th April the group went out on a ground straffing mission of enemy airfields in Northern France. The groups last mission from Rivenhall took place on the 13th, another escort mission for the Eighth Fighter Command. On the 15th April 1944 the B26's of the 397th Medium Bomb Group arrived at Rivenhall from Gosfield where they had been waiting for a week. For the Groups first mission 36 crews left to Attack a V1 rocket site at Le Plouy Ferme in the Pas De Calais. Their last mission from Rivenhall took place on the 4th August 1944 when 36 B26's bombed a Rail Bridge at Epernon between Charted and Paris, after this the airfield laid quiet for the next two months.
The airfield had been handed back to the Royal Airforce and came under the control of the No 38 Group, during the first week of October the airfield came alive once again to the sound of Short Stirling IV's of No 295 and 570 Squadrons. These arrived with their Horsa gliders from RAF Harwell. By the end of the week there were almost 60 Stirlings and Gliders at Rivenhall. The first mission from Rivenhall took place on the night of the 2nd/3rd November when eight Stirlings from 295 were engaged in a drop over Norway.
Like several other Essex Aircrews, the Rivenhall Squadrons were actively involved in Operation Varsity. A total of 60 Strilings along with their gliders took off from the Airfield early on the Morning of 24th March. The last mission to be flown from Rivenhall was on the 26th/27th March 1945, the two Squadrons stayed at Rivenhall until the beginning of 1946 when they moved to RAF Wethersfield. The airfield passed through a number of uses until 1956 when it was leased to the Marconi Company who took over the lease and used the airfield for Radar Development work.:) :) :)

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