RAF Leicester East

RAF Leicester East
RAF Leicester East
Stoughton, Leicestershire in England
	RAF Leicester East Shown within Leicestershire
Coordinates	52°36′28″N 001°01′55″W
Type	Royal Air Force station
Code	LE
Site information
Owner	Air Ministry
Operator	Royal Air Force
Controlled by	RAF Fighter Command; 1943-44; RAF Transport Command; 1944-
Site history
Built	1942/43
In use	October 1943 - December 1947
Battles/wars	European theatre of World War II
Airfield information
Identifiers	ICAO: EGBG
Elevation	139 metres (456 ft)[1] AMSL
Runways
04/22	490 metres (1,608 ft) Asphalt
06/24	335 metres (1,099 ft) Grass
10/28	940 metres (3,084 ft) Asphalt
15/33	495 metres (1,624 ft) Asphalt
16/34	418 metres (1,371 ft) Grass
	Sources: UK AIP at NATS[2]

Royal Air Force Leicester East, more commonly known as RAF Leicester East (ICAO: EGBG), is a former Royal Air Force station, near the village of Stoughton, 4 NM (7.4 km; 4.6 mi) east southeast of Leicester,[2] Leicestershire, England.

It was constructed in 1942 and formally opened in October 1943. The airfield is now Leicester Airport.

History

The following units were posted to the airfield at some point:[3]

No. 190 Squadron RAF (1944), flying Short Stirling IV
No. 196 Squadron RAF (1943–44), flying Short Stirling III & IV
No. 620 Squadron RAF (1943–44), flying Short Stirling III
No. 93 Group Screened Pilots School
No. 107 (Transport) Operational Training Unit RAF
No. 216 Maintenance Unit RAF (MU)
No. 255 MU
No. 1333 (Transport Support) Conversion Unit RAF

On 10 August 1944, at the formation of the First Allied Airborne Army, General Eisenhower visited RAF Leicester East to review 12,000 troops of the 82nd Airborne Division who were camped nearby and at other locations around Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire. He was accompanied by Brigadier General James M. Gavin, who had recently taken Command of the Division, Major General Matthew Ridgeway, who had recently taken Command of the XVIIIth Airborne Corps and Lieutenant General Lewis H. Brereton who would take Command of the First Allied Airborne Army, having previously Commanded the US 9th Army Air Force. Also present were small contingents of the five Groups that made up the US 52nd Troop Carrier Wing, the Wing mostly responsible for delivering the 82nd Airborne Division to combat in WWII.

On 19 February 1945, a Dakota of No. 107 OTU returning to Leicester East with personnel who had attended training at RAF Zeals, Wiltshire, crashed soon after taking off with the loss of 21 RAF, RAAF and RCAF lives.[4]

In March 1945 all operational military aircraft left Leicester East, and the airfield was placed on Care and Maintenance until its closure on 31 December 1947.

Current use

Today, the former RAF Leicester East is now known as Leicester Airport, and was previously known as Stoughton Aerodrome.

The airfield, control tower, and other smaller buildings are now used by the Leicestershire Aero Club.

References

Citations

Falconer 1998, p. 57.
Leicester - EGBG
"Leicester East (Leicester)". Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
"Memorial: Crew of Dakota TS436". Imperial War Museums. Retrieved 23 April 2021.

Bibliography

Falconer, J (1998). RAF Fighter Airfields of World War 2. UK: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 0-7110-2175-9.

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[FOOTNOTEFalconer199857-1] Falconer 1998, p. 57.

[aip-2] Leicester - EGBG

[ABCT-3] "Leicester East (Leicester)". Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust. Retrieved 23 April 2022.

[4] "Memorial: Crew of Dakota TS436". Imperial War Museums. Retrieved 23 April 2021.