The airfield was tucked away in the top Northwest corner of the county close to the bound with Cambridgeshire. Despite having a relatively short wartime existence, the airfield was used by three famous American wartime aircraft, A20’s P51’s and B17’s. Work started on the site at Hadstock Common in the summer of 1942 with planned completion by the following spring. However, the winter of 1942/43 greatly delayed the construction work and the airfield was not finally ready for occupation until March 1944.

The first aircraft to arrive were A20 Havoc’s of the 409^th Bomb group (light) of the Ninth airforce. 409^th Bomb Group moved on from Little Walden on 18^th September for an airfield at Bretigny, which was about 20 miles South of Paris. Ten days after they left P51’s Mustangs of the 361^st fighter Group arrived. The airfield had now been passed back to the Eighth Air Force. On Christmas day 1944, 361^st left Little Walden, for St Dizier airfield in Belguim. However the airfield did not stay empty for very long and within a few weeks, a group of B17’s of the 493^rd Bomb Group of the Eighth Air Force stated arriving.

This Bomb Group was the most junior of the Eighth and had entered the war on D-Day, however their stay at little Walden was short and they moved back to their original home at Debden in Suffolk in the beginning of April. By the 9^th April 1945 the 361^st had returned to Little Walden. After VE day the group stayed on longer than most other fighter groups. Little Walden had also become headquarters of the Eighth 65^th fighter wing. They had all left by November with 361^st sailing from Southampton on 4^th November on the Queen Mary. The airfield was handed over to the RAF at the end of January 1956 but the airfield did not finally close until May 1958.

United States Airforce Squadrons

409^th Bomb Group Light

Eighth Airforce

http://www.8afmuseum.net/

http://www.barksdale.af.mil/

http://www.8thafhs.org/

http://my.execpc.com/~brouchou/

http://www.mightyeighth.org/

http://www.ourgeorgiahistory.com/chronpop/1000012#

Ninth Airforce

http://www.ninthairforceassoc.org/

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/usaf/9af.htm

http://www.ninth-airforce.co.uk/9thindex.htm

http://www.levelbest.com/design/sites/ninthairforce/

361^st fighter Group

493^rd Bomb Group

65^th Fighter Wing