Welcome to the RAF Warboys History Website
By Sean Edwards
My other websites are
www.rafupwood.co.uk (History of Raf Upwood)
www.rafwyton.co.uk (History of Raf wyton "under construction")
Any information, memories, pictures, would be of great help
email me at: rafupwood@hotmail.com

Warboys Pathfinder Reunion Website.
http://www.warboyspathfinderreunion.net

RAF Warboys site plan

R.A.F. WARBOYS HISTORY

The construction of R.A.F. Warboys began in 1940, the airfield, that would be situated to the south side of Warboys was in the county of Huntingdonshire. They built the airfield to relieve the congestion at Upwood and for the use of 17OTU Blenheims. The surface of Upwood was only grass and was having alot of problems in the wet winter time with planes taking off and landing.The airfield was near complection in 1941. Around the 17th of May the complection of barbed wire around strategic area's, and three AA guns positions with one vickers gun was almost finished.
The airfield was ready to use at the end of July 1941 but the first squadron to move was a detachment of Stirling's from 15 squadron, arriving from Wyton. The next squadron to arrive was 'D' Flight 17OTU which was based at Upwood and came to Warboys on the 15th December. 15 squadron left two day before 17OTU arrived. The complection of the domestic sites and the new officers mess and Sergeants mess was in use about this time. The bad weather held up alot of the buildings including the Battle Headquarters.
The first fully-operational squadron to arrive at Warboys was 156 squadron on the 5th August 1942. The squadron came from Alconbury with Wellingtons, and in the new year re-equipped with Lancasters.
Next squadron was 1507, Beam Approach Training for the Bomber Command, but was only at Warboys from 13th March to 17th June 1943 equipped with Oxfords. After 1507 (BAT) left, the Stirlings, Lancasters, Halifaxes and Oxfords of the Pathfinder Force Navigation Training Unit arrived from Gransden Lodge. Tests were made on the defence of the base like on 31st October 1943 when the Home Guard, from non-local Platoons attempted to take the airfield over by rating the defences but was unable to do so. The further strengthening of defences was made on the 1st March 1944 when 2716 squadron RAF Regiment tock over ten Bofors gun sites.
Upwood, which was still having alot of problems with the grass runways decided to convert over to concret runways, three in total. One of it's first squadron on the new announced concret runways was 156 squadron when it left Warboys in March 1944. March the 8th was an event when the A.O.C. of the Pathfinder Force Air Comm. Bennett arrived to inspect the station and the personnel, the day before came 1655 (Mosquito) Training Unit which had just come from Marham. The small Warboys site was getting very busy, on the 6th October when nineteen Lancasters of 428 squadron arrived form Middleton St. George after operations over Germany, but by 12th December 1944 1655 (Mosquito) Training Unit left and went to Upper Heyford. The first of January came a smaller unit, 1323 Flight (Automatic Gun Laying Turret) from Bourn.
VE Day, 8th May 1945, big changes at R.A.F. Warboys, the first was Navigation Training Unit that disbanded at the end of June 1945 but was replaced on the 22nd of July by 128 squadron with the re-equipped Mosquitos from Wyton. On the 28th of June arriving from Bourn was 1696 (Bomber) Defence Training Flight. Squadron 571 arrived from Oakington on 20th July equipped with Mosquitos. ON the 23rd of July came the A.O.C. of 8 Group, AVM J.R. Whitley DSO AFC, to inspect the station for the final time, he was very impressed.
Warboys was coming to and end and it started with 571 squadron when it disbanded on the 20th September 1945, not long to follow was 1696 (Bomber) Defence Training Flight on the 28th of September and 1323 (AGLT) Flight was two days after that. 128 Squadron left on the 8th October for service on the continent. With only a few communication aircraft left the airfield was strangely quiet. On the 15th December 1945 Warboys was placed under the care maintenance basis with it's parent station Upwood. With over the following years reverted back to agricultural use. The buildings became derelict and the runways and taxiways were gradually broken up. Bloodhound air-defence missiles of 257 squadron was based at Warboys from the 1st of July 1960 with the return of the Royal Air Force. No accommodation was provided and the operating crews lived at Upwood which there was loads of room. By the end of December 1963 the Bloodhounds had been withdrawn and the Royal Air Force relinquished the airfield for the second time, and the last time.

Sean Edwards...

THE RUNWAY GHOST

Warboys airfield is located just seven miles North-east of Huntingdon, during world war two some strange things happened, and, as often as not, on the night of a full moon.
Warboys opened as a training airfield in 1941. In August 1942 the newly-formed 156 Squadron moved in with Vickers Wellingtons. There they remained until March 1944. They became part of No.8 Group’s Pathfinder Force and remained in this role for the rest of the European war, flying first Wellingtons and then the four-engined Lancasters. Their role was to mark targets with incendiary bombs and flares. The squadron played a major part in Bomber Command’s offensive. During operations the squadron lost 45 Wellingtons and 117 Lancaster Bombers.
The incidents occurred after aircraft were returning from raids. One aircraft was seemed to make a good approach but after a certain distance along the runway it suddenly swerved off with fatal results. Another aircraft did the same thing but fortunately the crew escaped injury. Again the same thing happened a little later on. Each time aircraft made a safe landing only to suddenly swerve off the runway at a certain point. After each incident the aircraft’s undercarriage, braking systems and other checks were made, but in every case there was nothing wrong.
The pilots were questioned, but they would not say what made them swerve. Eventually one pilot was induced to say what happened.
”I had just made a perfect touchdown,” He said, “and was hurtling down the runway when suddenly, what appeared to be a little girl walking across the runway, I had to swerve to avoid her.” Upon this strange explanation they questioned the other pilots again, and at long last they said the same thing---a little girl had crossed the runway in front of them.
There were no dwellings in the vicinity, the nearest village being a mile or two away, and nobody could account for the strange apparition.
However, some time after this some people were walking by the side of the runway when they came upon the skeleton of a little girl partially buried. The remains were never identified but the remains were taken away and buried in a nearby churchyard. From that time on there were no more sighting of the apparition. Strange, but it seems that as soon as she was decently put to rest she did not appear any more……

T2 hangar at Warboys in Feb 1997

DF Station Pictures

RAF Warboys Control-Tower

A Telegram from Don Bennett to Group Captain Hamish Mahaddie at RAF Warboys

Raf Warboys memorials

SQUADRON'S AT R.A.F. WARBOYS

DETACHMENTS TO WARBOYS WERE:
15 Squadron

Motto: "Aim Sure"
Badge: A hind's head affrontée erased at the neck between wings elevated and conjoined in base. The badge was based on a design previously used by the squadron. The squadron was equipped with Hind aircraft in 1936.
Authority: King Edward VIII, May 1936.


17OTU ("D" flight)

1696(B)DT Flight

128 Squadron,

Badge: In front of an ogress a shuttle in hand.
Motto: "Fulminis instar" ("Like a thunderbolt").
Authority: King George VI, March, 1946.
The badge is symbolic of the squadron's activities over enemy territory when, with Mosquito aircraft carrying 4,000 lb. Bombs to Berlin it functioned with the regularity of a shuttle.

156 Squadron

Motto: "We light the way"
Badge: A figure of Mercury holding a torch. The figure of Mercury holding a torch is indicative of the function of the unit as pathfinders.
Authority: HM King George VI, July 1943

571 Squadron,

No Badge Authorised.

1323(AGLT)Flight,

1507(BAT) Flight,

1655(Mos.)TU,

1696(B)DT Flight,

PFF NTU,

PFF NTU(HQ),