RAF Thurleigh

RAF Thurleigh USAAF Station 111
Thurleigh, Bedford, Bedfordshire
RAF Thurleigh 12 March 1943
RAF Thurleigh USAAF Station 111
Coordinates	52°13′47″N 000°28′29″W / 52.22972°N 0.47472°W / 52.22972; -0.47472Coordinates: 52°13′47″N 000°28′29″W / 52.22972°N 0.47472°W / 52.22972; -0.47472
Type	Royal Air Force station
Site information
Owner	Air Ministry
Controlled by	Royal Air Force  United States Army Air Forces
Site history
Built	1940 (1940)
Built by	W & C French Ltd.
In use	1941-1946 (1946)
Battles/wars	Second World War
Garrison information
Past commanders	Squadron Leader D. A. Batwell RAF 1942-September 1942 Colonel C. B. Overacker USAAF September 1942-1945
Garrison	RAF Bomber Command Eighth Air Force
Occupants	306th Bombardment Group (Heavy)

Royal Air Force Thurleigh or more simply RAF Thurleigh is former Royal Air Force station located 5 miles (8.0 km) north of Bedford, Bedfordshire, England. Thurleigh was transferred to the United States Army Air Forces Eighth Air Force on 9 December 1942 and designated Station 111, and used for heavy bomber operations against Nazi Germany.

Thurleigh (pronounced "thur-lye") was built for RAF Bomber Command in 1940 by W & C French Ltd. 1 mile (1.6 km) north of the village of Thurleigh on farmland between the farms of Buryfields, Bletsoe Park, Manor, and Whitwickgreen. It was eventually modified to Air Ministry Class A airfield specifications, with three converging runways, extended in 1942 to lengths of 6,000 feet (runway 06-24) and 4,200 feet (runways 18-36 and 12-30). Thurleigh was unique among bomber bases in having four T2 type metal hangars where most bases had only two.

Its first use was by No. 160 Squadron RAF, forming on 16 January 1942 as a ground echelon then deployed to the China-Burma-India Theater at Drigh Road on 4 June 1942.

The airfield was also used by No. 18 Operational Training Unit RAF.

Thurleigh was one of 28 fields listed for use by the U.S. Eighth Air Force on 4 June 1942, tentatively designated station B-4, and was allocated on 10 August 1942. The RAF had found that the initial construction of Thurleigh was inadequate for the combat weight of B-24 bombers. After the departure of the RAF, Thurleigh's runways were lengthened, increased in thickness, and additional hardstands constructed to Class A standards so it could accommodate a USAAF heavy bomber group.

From 16 September 1943 though 25 June 1945, Thurleigh served as headquarters for the 40th Combat Bombardment Wing of the 1st Bomb Division.