#Landmark
RAF Woodhall Spa
RAF Woodhall Spa opened in February 1942 as a heavy bomber airfield with three hangars with bomb stores. It is located to the south of the village with the same name and is now a nature reserve.
The first unit based here was No. 97 Squadron, which arrived in March 1942. On 17 April 1943, they took part in the raid on the MAN diesel engine factory in Augsburg which, with many Lancaster aircraft lost and crew members killed, proved a very costly operation. On 18 April, most of the crews moved out. Three remaining crews from No. 97 Squadron formed the nucleus of No. 619 Squadron. Their first mission was flown in the night of 11 June 1943; their last bombing mission was flown almost two years later, on 25 April, when they destroyed many buildings in Hitler’s bunker complex in Obersalzberg, Germany.
Having built to full strength, No. 619 Squadron left on 9 January 1944 for Coningsby, where it switched bases with No. 617 Squadron. Shortly after their arrival, they were joined by the Mosquito aircraft of No. 627 Squadron. In November 1944, No. 617 Squadron departed for Scotland where, alongside No. 9 Squadron, they took part in Operation Catechism. This was the successful attack on and sinking of the German battleship Tirpitz off the Norwegian coast.
After the war, the squadrons at Woodhall Spa were either disbanded or moved to other bases. After the departure of the last squadron in October 1945, flying at the airfield ceased.
The remains of the runways here form part of a walk around what is now a nature reserve and is all that is publicly visible. The Airfield of Britain Memorial can be found on the site of the old runways. Close by is a communal site of Woodhall Spa that is now the location of Thorpe Camp Visitors Centre, and uses a number of restored buildings as exhibition rooms. In Woodhall Spa village, a memorial commemorates all the Woodhall Spa-based squadrons.