RAF Spanhoe
| Royal Air Force Station Spanhoe Royal Air Force Station Wakerley USAAF Station AAF-493  
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| Located Near Uppingham, Northamptonshire, United Kingdom | |
A virtually empty Spanhoe Airfield - 2 March 1944, taken while most of the 315th Troop Carrier Group's C-47s were on operational missions. The runway pattern of the airfield was unusual for a Class-A airfield, with the end of the 26 runway being distant from the secondary runways.
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 RAF Spanhoe, shown within Northamptonshire
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| Coordinates | 52°33′46″N 000°37′20″W / 52.56278°N 0.62222°WCoordinates: 52°33′46″N 000°37′20″W / 52.56278°N 0.62222°W |
| Type | Military airfield |
| Code | UY |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by |
United States Army Air Forces Royal Air Force |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1943 |
| In use | 1944-1945 |
| Battles/wars |
European Theatre of World War II Air Offensive, Europe July 1942 - May 1945 |
| Garrison information | |
| Garrison |
Ninth Air Force RAF Maintenance Command |
| Occupants | 315th Troop Carrier Group |
RAF Spanhoe (also known as Harringworth or Wakerley) is a former World War II airfield in Northamptonshire, England. The airfield is located approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) east of Uppingham; about 80 miles (130 km) north-northwest of London
Opened in 1943, it was used by both the Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Forces. During the war it was used primarily as a transport airfield. After the war it was closed in late 1945.
Today, much of the airfield has been returned to agriculture, however one runway remains and the airfield is currently active and houses various privately owned light aircraft.
The airfield was known as USAAF Station AAF-493 for security reasons by the USAAF during the war, and by which it was referred to instead of location. Its USAAF Station Code was "UV".
Basically complete late in 1943 and opened on New Year's Day 1944, the station had already been earmarked for US troop carrier use and a station complement squadron moved in to ready the base between 4 and 7 January.
On 7 February 1944, the headquarters of the 315th Troop Carrier Group took up residence, a somewhat reduced organisation as most of the air echelon had been sent on detachment to Twelfth Air Force in North Africa during May 1943. The operational squadrons and fuselage codes of the group at Spanhoe were:
The 315th TCG was part of the IX Troop Carrier Command 52nd Troop Carrier Wing.
On 8 July 1944 two C47s of the 315th collided shortly after take-off for an exercise. One crew member managed to parachute safely but eight others and 26 Polish paratroops perished in the crash at Tinwell, near Stamford.
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Wikipedia