Jessie The Jeep 17 Posted December 22, 2009 Author Share Posted December 22, 2009 (edited) I was away at the weekend in Cambridge and London, but while in Cambridge, popped along to see the memorial at Steeple Morden, to the 355th Fighter Group. Little remains of the airfield except for a few buildings and the memorial. The airfield itself has returned to farmland. Standing in the cold snow covered field, it's hard to imagine the winter of '44, working to try and keep the aircraft flying in those conditions. Edited September 5, 2020 by Jessie The Jeep Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Joris 23 Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 Wow quite a lot still remain though! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tony B 24 Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 great set of pictures. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jack 7 Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 Just thought I would bump this thread for our new members who may have seen it. Great work Steve. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MHillyard 10 Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 nice thread Took these last year of Lavenham Airfield Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RattlesnakeBob 10 Posted October 28, 2011 Share Posted October 28, 2011 brilliant stuff...... .....disused airfields are to my mind probably the most evocative of second world war sites.......what was once an absolute beehive of activity, of aircraft and men... .... now lies silent and deserted...with often nothing more than a bit of overgrown perimeter track, a few mouldering huts , maybe a contol tower with no windows and just a bit of concrete runway left........ ......fantastic and yet profoundly sad places to visit on your own I've found....I love just mooching around them... nice and quiet....just thinking to yourself....... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Big ray 10 Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 I have stood on several old wartime airfields, I can just stand and look down the runway and imagine the bombers lumbering down the concrete runway struggling to lift themselves into the air. There is something about an old airfield that is quite ghostly, I suppose that its the knowledge that lots of young men took off from these fields never to return. I wish that we had made more effort to retain these airfields in their original condition as a memorial to all the young men of all nations that used them in ernest. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
diggerdog36 10 Posted September 14, 2012 Share Posted September 14, 2012 Great thread, I love the history of the WW2 airfields, it's amazing to think how much they've changed in such a short amount of time!!! Im sure I've seen that B-17 flying in Longhorsley!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jessie The Jeep 17 Posted September 14, 2012 Author Share Posted September 14, 2012 .......Im sure I've seen that B-17 flying in Longhorsley!!! That's highly likely, along with the rest of the USAAF Team models. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
brophy 10 Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 hi. do u think the landowner would say yes 2 me just taking photos of the surviving bits of runway & thats it? oh saw u & ur jeep on my last visit bout 2 weeks ago...pretty good!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jessie The Jeep 17 Posted May 23, 2013 Author Share Posted May 23, 2013 My Jeep has only been out once this year, to York in mid April, so it is unlikely it was me. You would need to contact any land owner to get access to their land if there isn't a public road through it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Chappers 10 Posted January 2, 2017 Share Posted January 2, 2017 The War Diary gives specific losses for the 14th as follows:- 1 94BG B-17 MIA manned by 96BG Crew. 1 388BG B-17 crashed on Take Off, crew safe. 1 305BG B-17 Interned in Switzerland. On return 3 badly damaged 384BG B-17's abandoned over England - one crashed Wakerley, one crashed Blaydon, the third at Chetwode. 1 303BG B-17 crashed near Roseley after crew baled out. 1 92BG B-17 crash landed at Aldermaston. 1 385BG B-17 flown by 96 BG crew crash landed near Bovingdon out of fuel. Are any of these locations ( Wakerley, Blaydon, Chetwode ) near your crash site? Steve Following on from my post from years ago ,42-3347 was abandoned over England on14 Oct 1943,Pilot Emery Chesmore crew...If you write down(Hand writing) Rowington and then Bovingdon they could easily have been misspelled as I've found through other items.If it is this Aircraft,One great suprise I've recently discovered is the waist gunner is still alive and recalls bailing out of the aircraft.Hew only flew one mission with the Chesmore crew and it was the only time he bailed out of an aircraft..I'm at present in contact with his son ...Will post more as I get it.. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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