© Crown Copyright/MOD 2010

RAF Goxhill

(map edited to show runways)

Airfield  Code: GX

USAF Station 345

Google Earth Co-ordinates: 53° 40'46.6"N 0° 18'58.9"W

Runways: 01/19 & 13/31 = 3300 ft x 150ft; 07/25 = 4800 ft x 150 ft

RAF Goxhill was originally used as a barrage balloon site to protect the port of Hull and the River Humber. In June 1940, Goxhill was transferred to No.1 Group, RAF Bomber Command and was planned and rebuilt as a Class-A bomber airfield. The base was equipped with three intersecting runways, the main runway at 1600 yards and two secondary runways of 1100 yards. Three hangars were built two T2's, one J-Type and four blisters and fifty aircraft hardstands. Temporary accommodation was provided for 1700+ personnel.

Its location, however, was too close to the air defence's of Hull to be used for that purpose. Its first occupant was No.1 Group that took up residence on 26th June 1941. The mission of No.1 Group was towing practice targets with Lysander bombers, its first operation beginning on 25th October. In December 1941, RAF Fighter Command replaced the Bomber Command training unit with No.12 Group, flying Supermarine Spitfires from No.616 Squadron at RAF Kirton in Lindsey. Fighter Command operated the base until May 1942. The base was then relegated to satellite field use by RAF Kirmington until August 1942, when it was taken over by the United States Army Air Force (USAAF). The transfer ceremony was attended by General Dwight D. Eisenhower. During World War II it was known as USAAF Station 345.

78th Fighter Group arrived on 1st December 1942, although American units had already been using Goxhill for theatre indoctrination training since August 1942. Flight operations began after 15th December 1942 on the arrival of the Group's first P-38G Lightning aircraft. After the 78th FG departed to North Africa in support of Operation TORCH in North Africa (Jan 1943) it re-equipped to the P-47 Thunderbolt and moved to RAF Duxford.

The facilities at Goxhill, however, had a lot to be desired. Three wooden barracks were supplemented by a number of metal fabricated buildings (aka: tin cans) for living quarters. Typical of the RAF bases of that period, living quarters and mess facilities were 1-2 miles from the hangars and flight operations area. The station was unofficially known by the USAAF units based here as "Goat Hill". The USAAF used Goxhill as a training base though the balance of the war, with several squadrons using it after their initial deployment to the UK, then moving on to a permanent facility for their operational missions. Both the USAAF 8th and 9th Air Force utilized Goxhill. The 496th Fighter Group was a Combat Crew Replacement Center for 8th and 9th USAAF units. It consisted of the 554th Fighter Squadron with P-38 Lightning's and the 555th Fighter Squadron with P-51 Mustang's. The group trained over 2,400 fighter pilots during its existence. The 78th Fighter Group came to England equipped with P-38 Lightning's but had all of its aircraft and most of its pilots sent to the 12th Air Force in February 1943, after which it flew P-47 Thunderbolts.

On 20th January 1945, the USAAF returned Goxhill to RAF control, and flying ceased in May the same year. Leaving RAF Goxhill being assigned as a satellite to RAF Kirton In Lindsey. On 27th May it was assigned to RAF Maintenance Command for storage of excess munitions. RAF Goxhill remained a storage depot until it was deactivated on 14th December 1953. RAF Goxhill was then leased to local farmers for agricultural use until 29th January 1962, when it was finally sold by the Ministry of Defence. The Technical Site and the aircraft hangars, however, was retained by the MOD for storage uses. Then in July 1977, the MOD sold off the remaining parts of RAF Goxhill to private owners for agricultural use.

With the end of military control, RAF Goxhill's airfield is remarkably intact and has a 'Marie Celeste' feel about it. All the buildings in the Technical Site, with the sad exception of the control tower, demolished over the owner's objection in 2002, are still standing. The three hangars, two T2's and a J type also are there, albeit in a state of disrepair. The perimeter track is almost complete and a large part of the main runway is still in place. To the northwest corner of the site is a memorial incorporating a propeller blade from a crashed P-38 Lightning. Perhaps of its relative inaccessibility, RAF Goxhill looks very much like it did during the war years.

Aircraft & Squadron's