- Joined
- Jan 6, 2013
- Messages
- 5,573
- Reaction score
- 11,209
Another WWII Lincolnshire aerodrome ticked off the list. RAF Ingham (a.k.a. Cammeringham) was a used by RAF Bomber Command between 1940 and 1945 as a Polish Air Force base until its closure in 1946. The airfield was located between the A15 (Ermine Street) and the B1398, approximately 10 miles north of the Lincoln and due east of the village of Ingham. It was mainly used as an overflow airfield for nearby RAF Hemswell and then as a training establishment. The airfield closed in early December 1946.
The site had initially been considered as a potential stand-alone airfield back in 1936 but building did not commence until 1940 when RAF Hemswell required additional capacity. The contour gradients were considered unsuitable for concrete runways so the runways remained grass only, although between 1940-42 a concrete peri-track was laid down along with the construction of three hangars (one B1 and two T2 types) along with a technical site. The first squadron to be based at Ingham were No. 301 Polish Bomber Squadron who flew Wellingtons. After heavy losses over Germany in 1943 the Polish squadrons, lacking the manpower and know-how of their British counterparts decided to disband. After the brief hosting of Squadron 199 and their Short Stirling bombers, two non-bomber training flights (one of Hurricanes, the other of Martinets) were based here. The station was renamed RAF Cammeringham in 1944 to prevent any confusion with the Norfolk aerodrome of the same name. Flying effectively ceased from the airfield in early 1945 due to deterioration of the grassed runways and the station finally closed in December 1946. Since then the site has lay abandoned – with a few building used by the local farmers for storage.
A pretty relaxed explore on a sunny October afternoon. There would have been more to explore but the mess hall and cook house are now out-of-bounds having been acquired by the RAF Ingham Heritage Trust who only open on a Sunday. Still just enough to merit a report. Here’s the pictures.
Here its all about the Wartime Quonset accommodation huts:
img8019 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img8020 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img8021 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img8023 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img8022 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Now used by the local farmer for storage:
img8024 by HughieDW, on Flickr
And a few other buildings next to them:
img8029 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img8030 by HughieDW, on Flickr
As they slowly rust away:
img8027 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img8032 by HughieDW, on Flickr
There’s also a few other buildings in the woods to the right of the heritage centre:
img8034 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img8038 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img8035 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img8036 by HughieDW, on Flickr
The site had initially been considered as a potential stand-alone airfield back in 1936 but building did not commence until 1940 when RAF Hemswell required additional capacity. The contour gradients were considered unsuitable for concrete runways so the runways remained grass only, although between 1940-42 a concrete peri-track was laid down along with the construction of three hangars (one B1 and two T2 types) along with a technical site. The first squadron to be based at Ingham were No. 301 Polish Bomber Squadron who flew Wellingtons. After heavy losses over Germany in 1943 the Polish squadrons, lacking the manpower and know-how of their British counterparts decided to disband. After the brief hosting of Squadron 199 and their Short Stirling bombers, two non-bomber training flights (one of Hurricanes, the other of Martinets) were based here. The station was renamed RAF Cammeringham in 1944 to prevent any confusion with the Norfolk aerodrome of the same name. Flying effectively ceased from the airfield in early 1945 due to deterioration of the grassed runways and the station finally closed in December 1946. Since then the site has lay abandoned – with a few building used by the local farmers for storage.
A pretty relaxed explore on a sunny October afternoon. There would have been more to explore but the mess hall and cook house are now out-of-bounds having been acquired by the RAF Ingham Heritage Trust who only open on a Sunday. Still just enough to merit a report. Here’s the pictures.
Here its all about the Wartime Quonset accommodation huts:
img8019 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img8020 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img8021 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img8023 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img8022 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Now used by the local farmer for storage:
img8024 by HughieDW, on Flickr
And a few other buildings next to them:
img8029 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img8030 by HughieDW, on Flickr
As they slowly rust away:
img8027 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img8032 by HughieDW, on Flickr
There’s also a few other buildings in the woods to the right of the heritage centre:
img8034 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img8038 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img8035 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img8036 by HughieDW, on Flickr