RAF Goxhill

Origins

During the First World War a Royal Flying Corps landing ground existed near the Lincolnshire village of Goxhill. In 1940 the Air Ministry returned to survey the land once again for its suitability as an airfield.

Royal Air Force use

Goxhill was originally used as a barrage balloon site to protect the port of Hull and the River Humber. In 1940, Goxhill was transferred to RAF Bomber Command and was planned and rebuilt as a bomber airfield. The base was equipped with three intersecting runways, the main runway at 1600 yards and two secondary runways of 1100 yards. Three hangars were built - two T-2's, one J-Type and four blisters and fifty aircraft hardstands. Temporary accommodation was provided for 1700+ personnel.

Its location, however, was too close to the air defences of Hull to be used for that purpose. Its first occupant was No. 1 Group that took up residence on 26 June 1941. The mission of No. 1 Group was towing practice targets with Westland Lysanders, its first operation beginning on 25 October.

In December 1941, RAF Fighter Command replaced the Bomber Command training unit with No. 12 Group, flying Supermarine Spitfires from No. 616 Squadron at RAF Kirton in Lindsey. Fighter Command operated the base until May 1942.

United States Army Air Forces use

The airfield was relegated to satellite field use by RAF Kirmington until August 1942, when it was taken over by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF). The transfer ceremony was attended by General Dwight D. Eisenhower. During the Second World War it was known as USAAF Station 345.

The facilities at Goxhill, however, had a lot to be desired. Three wooden barracks were supplemented by a number of metal fabricated buildings (aka: tin cans) for living quarters. Typical of the temporary RAF station of that period, living quarters and mess facilities were 1 – 2 miles from the hangars and flight operations area because of safety.

The station was unofficially known by the USAAF units based here as "GoatHill". The USAAF used Goxhill as a training airfield though the balance of the war, with several squadrons using it after their initial deployment to the UK, then moving on to a permanent facility for their operational missions.

USAAF Station Units assigned to RAF Goxhill were:

Both the USAAF 8th and 9th Air Force utilized Goxhill. Units which trained here were:

The 496th Fighter Group was a Combat Crew Replacement Center for 8th and 9th USAAF units. It consisted of the 554th Fighter Squadron with P-38s and the 555th Fighter Squadron with North American P-51 Mustangs. The group trained over 2,400 fighter pilots during its existence. The 78th Fighter Group came to England equipped with P-38's but had all of its aircraft and most of its pilots sent to the Twelfth Air Force in February 1943, after which it flew P-47 Thunderbolts.

Post-war military use

On 20 January 1945, the USAAF returned Goxhill to RAF control, and it was assigned as a satellite to RAF Kirton In Lindsey. On 27 May 1945 it was assigned to RAF Maintenance Command for storage of excess munitions. RAF Goxhill remained a storage depot until it was deactivated on 14 December 1953.

Goxhill airfield was leased to farmers for agricultural use until 29 January 1962, when it was finally sold by the Ministry of Defence (MoD). The technical site and the hangars, however, were retained by the MoD for storage uses. In July 1977, the MoD sold off the remaining parts of Goxhill to private owners for agricultural use.

Agricultural use

Since the end of its military use, Goxhill airfield has remained remarkably intact with a 'Mary Celeste' feel about it. All the buildings on the technical site, with the sad exception of the control tower which was partly demolished (despite the owner's objection) in 2002, are still standing. The three hangars—two T.2s and a J type—are also there, albeit in a state of disrepair. The perimeter track is almost complete, and a large part of the main runway is still in place. In the northwest corner of the site is a memorial incorporating a propeller blade from a crashed P-38. Fortunately, the remains of the control tower were acquired by the Military Aviation Museum in Pungo, Virginia, USA, and after careful dis-assembly and cataloging, the components were shipped to America where the tower awaits reconstruction for use as an aircraft control tower once again.

Perhaps because of its relative inaccessibility, Goxhill still looks very much like it did during the war years.