Saltby Airfield, England 1943-45.

[Avro_1]

A big Hello to every one, I am doing some research for the Heritage & Gliding Club located at Saltby Airfield, Nr GRANTHAM, England. A brief synopsis of the information I have is as follows:
Saltby airfield started out life serving as a satellite for RAF Cottesmore for the 14th O.T.U. of No.7 Group Bomber Command. Bomber Command passed control of the airfield to the U.S. 9th Troop Carrier Command, by Dec 1943, which later took part in transporting troops of the U.S. 508th P.I.R. Regiment (82nd Airborne Division) to Normandy on D-Day 6th June 1944. Saltby also took men of the British 1st Airborne Division to Normandy .along with the 1st Polish Independent Brigade.
314 Troop Carrier Group. Commander: Colonel Clayton Styles. Based at 'Saltby', Consisted of 32nd (S2), 50th (2R), 61st (Q9), and 62nd (E5) Troop Carrier Squadrons. Flew 198 C-47 and C-53 sorties carrying 2,330 British and 604 Polish parachute troops on the First and Second Lifts, and the Third Lift to Driel.

Aircraft Lost: 4 Men Killed: 15 Captured: 1 Evacuated 4

If there are any men or women who know anything about the above I would love to hear from you, especially those who were stationed there to get first hand personal experiences of 'Life' at the Airfield. Any photographs or letters would also be very much appreciated, and would be returned immediately after scanning. (Or copies would be most welcome, reimbursement costs covered)
The time line is around 1943 - 44 when the 32nd arrived at Saltby Nr GRANTHAM.
I have taken a lot of my research materials from where ever I can find them and also got some very useful material from Donald van Reken's book “C - 47 Squadron Pilots paratroopers & Gliders 1942 1945.”
Aircraft used were C-47’s. C-53’s & any available Tug aircraft of which there were many, plus the British Airspeed Horsa & the American Waco CG -4A ‘Hadrian’ Assault Glider

The Importance of preserving this Information is vital or it will be lost, as those brave few who are left take there last flight.
My email address is alasdaircrockett@hotmail.com anyone who can shed any light whatsoever on this please contact me.
Thank you for taking the time to read this message,
Kindest regards,
Avro_1

[colinhotham]

Keep up the good work Alasdair. I'm at present doing a similar research exercise on RAF Blakehill Farm near Cricklade in Wiltshire for a Canadian website. The coincidence is that it was also a C47 base 1944-46.

Colin.

[Avro_1]

Hard work Colin, but worth the effort. And it's amazing what you find along the way.
The research road can be long and hard, but it is always worth the effort.
Keep chipping away at it mate.
I estimate so far that I have done about 700 hours on the PC and that’s not counting visits to council’s record offices and parish churches!
Don't lose faith you will always be rewarded by some gold nugget for all your digging,
Kindest regards.
Avro_1 aka Alasdair.

[Kiwiwriter]

Welcome aboard, Alasdair, and good luck with your work!

[Avro_1]

I just had a quick look at the http://www.usswashington.com/dl_index.htm

and the http://davidhlippman.wildbillguarnere.com sites.

I am definitely going back when I have more time. My first appraisal is that they are extremely well written and come from a man who uses his gut, his heart and his head.I think I will spend a lot of my down time reading on these sites. Thank you for sharing. Anybody else reading this post should make it a favourite or bookmark as it is immediately obvious that this is written with love and some serious conviction.
Regards,
Avro_1 ala Alasdair.

[Kiwiwriter]

(Avro_1 @ Nov 18 2005, 11:43 AM) [post=41771]I just had a quick look at the http://www.usswashington.com/dl_index.htm

and the http://davidhlippman.wildbillguarnere.com sites.

I am definitely going back when I have more time. My first appraisal is that they are extremely well written and come from a man who uses his gut, his heart and his head.I think I will spend a lot of my down time reading on these sites. Thank you for sharing. Anybody else reading this post should make it a favourite or bookmark as it is immediately obvious that this is written with love and some serious conviction.
Regards,
Avro_1 ala Alasdair.
[/b]

Thank you for the endorsement...they're good to get. Send me a note at my private e-mail address (dhlippman@juno.com) and I'll put you on the alert list for future installments of WW2. And you can register at the Guarnere site for the column.