RAF Kimbolton
| RAF Kimbolton USAAF Station 117  .png)
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| Located Near Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, England | |
Aerial Photo of Kimbolton Airfield - 10 August 1945
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 RAF Kimbolton
Map showing the location of RAF Kimbolton within Cambridgeshire.
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| Coordinates | 52°18′53″N 0°22′59″W / 52.31472°N 0.38306°WCoordinates: 52°18′53″N 0°22′59″W / 52.31472°N 0.38306°W |
| Type | Royal Air Force station |
| Code | KI |
| Site information | |
| Owner | Air Ministry |
| Controlled by | United States Army Air Forces |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1941 |
| In use | 1942-1946 |
| Battles/wars |
European Theatre of World War II Air Offensive, Europe July 1942 - May 1945 |
| Garrison information | |
| Garrison | Eighth Air Force |
| Occupants | 379th Bombardment Group |
RAF Kimbolton is a former Royal Air Force station located 8 miles (13 km) west of Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, England.
The airfield was originally built in 1941 for RAF Bomber Command, then expanded to Class A airfield standards for use by American heavy bombers during 1942. Kimbolton was assigned to the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Eighth Air Force. It was given the designation USAAF Station 117.
The airfield was opened in 1942 and was first used by the USAAF Eighth Air Force 91st Bombardment Group (Heavy), arriving from Walla Walla AAF, Washington during September.
The 91st was assigned to the 1st Combat Bombardment Wing of the 1st Bombardment Division. Its tail code was Triangle-A. Its operational Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress squadrons were:
The 91st stayed at Kimbolton only a few weeks, because the runways at Kimbolton were not strong or long enough for the safe operation of Fortresses. The group transferred to RAF Bassingbourn on 14 October.
The next USAAF unit to use Kimbolton was the 17th Bombardment Group (Medium), arriving in October from Barksdale AAF Louisiana. The 17th was originally intended to use RAF Bassingbourn. However, with the move of the 91st, the unit utilized Kimbolton as its shorter runways could accommodate their smaller, twin-engined medium bombers.
The 17th consisted of the following squadrons:
The 17th flew the Martin B-26 Marauder medium bomber, and used Kimbolton as a transitory airfield on its way to the North African campaign. The Group departed in November for Telergma, Algeria, with its last elements leaving in early December. With the departure of the B-26s, extensions were made to the NW-SE runway to facilitate the operation of fully loaded B-17s.
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Wikipedia