RAF Earls Colne
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Earls Colne Airfield RAF Earls Colne USAAF Station AAF-358  .png) 
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Postwar RAF aerial photo of Earls Colne Airfield - 9 July 1946 just after its closure.
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Operator | Bulldog Aviation Ltd | ||||||||||
| Serves | Halstead | ||||||||||
| Location | Earls Colne | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 227 ft / 69 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 51°54′52″N 000°40′57″E / 51.91444°N 0.68250°ECoordinates: 51°54′52″N 000°40′57″E / 51.91444°N 0.68250°E | ||||||||||
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 EGSR
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Earls Colne Airfield (ICAO: EGSR) is a former Royal Air Force station in Essex, England. Earls Colne has a CAA Ordinary Use Aerodrome Licence (Number P860), issued to Bulldog Aviation Limited. The airfield is located 3 nautical miles (5.6 km; 3.5 mi) southeast of Halstead, approximately 5 mi (8.0 km) east-northeast of Braintree; about 45 mi (72 km) northeast of London
Opened in 1942, it was used by both the Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Forces. During the war it was used primarily as a combat bomber airfield. After the war it was closed in 1955 after many years of being in a reserve status.
Much of the airfield today is being used as a golf course. A flying club also operates from the old airfield. It is the home of the Essex Air Ambulance.
Earls Colne was opened in August 1942 and for the first year it was operated by No. 3 Group Bomber Command of the Royal Air Force. Flying squadrons included the 296 & 297 squadrons, equipped with Whitley Mk.V medium bomber aircraft.
In May 1943 the airfield was turned over to the United States Army Air Forces. USAAF groups of the Eighth and Ninth Air Forces used the airfield. It was known as USAAF Station AAF-358 for security reasons by the USAAF during the war, and by which it was referred to instead of location. It's USAAF Station Code was "EC".
USAAF Station Units assigned to RAF Earls Coln were:
From 12 June 1943 to 16 October 1943, Earls Colne (along with nearby Marks Hall) served as headquarters for the 3d Combat Bombardment Wing of the 3rd Bomb Division. Marks Hall was also used for the billeting of many of the servicemen assigned to Earls Colne,
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