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OK, let’s start with the history.
RAF Saltby is an ex-World War II airfield in Leicestershire, located in-between Melton Mowbray and Grantham. It opened in 1941 as a grass strip and surrounding support buildings until a year later when it was up-graded to Class A airfield standards with three converging concrete runways. It was used by both the RAF and the US Army Air Forces with RAF Vickers Wellingtons first to fly out of it. It was used primarily as a transport airfield and closed after the war and kept in reserve until 1955. The ground support station was constructed largely of Nissen huts and included mess facilities, a chapel, hospital and armoury and bombsite storage amongst other buildings. An ammunition dump was located outside of the perimeter track and surrounded by large dirt mounds and concrete storage pens. At its peak it accommodated up to 2100 staff members and boasted five hangars which were used to store 32 Horse gliders in 1943.
On its release from military use in 1955, much of the airfield was returned to agriculture. Today, a large amount of the airfield is intact, including almost the entire main runway remains, utilised by the Buckminster Gliding Club for gliding, motor gliding and glider aerobatics.
The remains of the former RAF base are dispersed over quite a large area. A lot of key buildings have been demolished (such a the old control tower) but there’s still enough to hold your attention for a couple of hours or so. As a child I remember cycling out to the base and there being more buildings still standing than there currently is. The most striking thing about the site today is perhaps the number of intact stanton shelters untouched by the hand of chav. Let’s hope they stay this way…
Not too much to see at the airfield itself now apart from this monument to the fallen airmen:
img7270_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Nearby, though, is the first of many large stanton shelters. Here's the entrance to one:
img7273_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
The inside is perfect and untouched by the hand of chav:
img7275_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
You have to move further away to find other buildings of interest. Not too sure what this was (my only guess is a spigot mortar plinth):
img7261_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Many of the buildings are close to the Wyville-Saltby road, including this stanton shelter:
img7246_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
This time viewed with slightly more illumination:
img7245_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
This building wasn't quite so lucky:
img7254_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
...nor was this one:
img7253_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Not too sure what this was is:
img7258_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
But these are definitely slit trenches:
img7255_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
....slowly being reclaimed by nature:
img7259_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img7256_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
A right turn off the Wyville-Saltby Road skirts a wooded area with a number of other remains, including more slit trenches:
img7079_2 by HughieDW, on Flickr
...and yet more perfectly preserved air-raid shelters:
img7263_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img7266_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
The second one...
img7267_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
...is as clean as whistle on the inside:
img7268_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
...and finally there's an old water tower:
img7262_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Finally, just down the road at Skillington is this wonderful pillbox. Here's an external:
img5352_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
An external close up on the embrasure:
img5355_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
...and the same embrasure from the inside:
img5359_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Thanks for looking!
RAF Saltby is an ex-World War II airfield in Leicestershire, located in-between Melton Mowbray and Grantham. It opened in 1941 as a grass strip and surrounding support buildings until a year later when it was up-graded to Class A airfield standards with three converging concrete runways. It was used by both the RAF and the US Army Air Forces with RAF Vickers Wellingtons first to fly out of it. It was used primarily as a transport airfield and closed after the war and kept in reserve until 1955. The ground support station was constructed largely of Nissen huts and included mess facilities, a chapel, hospital and armoury and bombsite storage amongst other buildings. An ammunition dump was located outside of the perimeter track and surrounded by large dirt mounds and concrete storage pens. At its peak it accommodated up to 2100 staff members and boasted five hangars which were used to store 32 Horse gliders in 1943.
On its release from military use in 1955, much of the airfield was returned to agriculture. Today, a large amount of the airfield is intact, including almost the entire main runway remains, utilised by the Buckminster Gliding Club for gliding, motor gliding and glider aerobatics.
The remains of the former RAF base are dispersed over quite a large area. A lot of key buildings have been demolished (such a the old control tower) but there’s still enough to hold your attention for a couple of hours or so. As a child I remember cycling out to the base and there being more buildings still standing than there currently is. The most striking thing about the site today is perhaps the number of intact stanton shelters untouched by the hand of chav. Let’s hope they stay this way…
Not too much to see at the airfield itself now apart from this monument to the fallen airmen:
img7270_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Nearby, though, is the first of many large stanton shelters. Here's the entrance to one:
img7273_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
The inside is perfect and untouched by the hand of chav:
img7275_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
You have to move further away to find other buildings of interest. Not too sure what this was (my only guess is a spigot mortar plinth):
img7261_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Many of the buildings are close to the Wyville-Saltby road, including this stanton shelter:
img7246_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
This time viewed with slightly more illumination:
img7245_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
This building wasn't quite so lucky:
img7254_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
...nor was this one:
img7253_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Not too sure what this was is:
img7258_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
But these are definitely slit trenches:
img7255_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
....slowly being reclaimed by nature:
img7259_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img7256_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
A right turn off the Wyville-Saltby Road skirts a wooded area with a number of other remains, including more slit trenches:
img7079_2 by HughieDW, on Flickr
...and yet more perfectly preserved air-raid shelters:
img7263_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img7266_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
The second one...
img7267_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
...is as clean as whistle on the inside:
img7268_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
...and finally there's an old water tower:
img7262_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Finally, just down the road at Skillington is this wonderful pillbox. Here's an external:
img5352_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
An external close up on the embrasure:
img5355_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
...and the same embrasure from the inside:
img5359_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Thanks for looking!
