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RAF Mepal is a former RAF station located 0.7 miles (1.1 km) south of Mepal, Cambridgeshire, England and 5.9 miles (9.5 km) west of Ely. Construction commenced in July 1942 and opened in June 1943.[1][2]

RAF Mepal
IATA: none ICAO: none
Summary
Airport type	Military
Owner	Air Ministry/Ministry of Defence
Operator	Royal Air Force
Location	Mepal, Cambridgeshire
Built	1942
In use	1943-1963
Coordinates	52°23′44″N 000°07′11″E
Map
Mepal Airfield Location in Cambridgeshire
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 08/26 0 0 Concrete 05/23 0 0 Concrete 14/32 0 0 Concrete
Runway information[1]

History

Mepal first hosted No. 75 (NZ) Squadron RAF flying Short Stirlings and later Avro Lancasters.[3]

Tiger Force

It was used towards the end of the Second World War to prepare Avro Lancaster bombers squadrons such as No. 44 (Rhodesia) squadron for use in Tiger Force which was to bomb Japan.[4]

Thor missiles

From 1957 PGM-17 Thor missiles were based at the airfield in the north east corner.[1][5]

Current use

Very little remains of the original site, most of it razed to the ground after the USAF and their Thor missiles left. The site is now the Elean business park and is home to the world's only straw burning power station and a few manufacturing and warehousing operations. A small memorial plaque is in place at the entrance to the site.

See also

• List of former Royal Air Force stations

References

External links

Media related to RAF Mepal at Wikimedia Commons

• Royal Air Force - Bomber Command
• Airfield Archaeology - Memorials

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