Fulbeck
Location:
close to the A17 on the Stragglethorpe to
Brandon (Marston) road. This is a private site
with no access.
Dates of Operation:
1940 to 1942 – Relief Landing Ground (RLG)
1943 to 1943 – RAF training base
1943 to 1944 – 9th USAAF
base – Station 488
1944 to 1945 – RAF Bomber
Command base
1945 to 1959 – Maintenance Depot
1956 to 1960s – RLG
Current – mixed use including Defence
Training Estates (DTE) use
In 1940 Fulbeck was a
Relief Landing Ground
(RLG) for RAF Cranwell,
then allocated to 5 Group
Bomber Command.
Concrete runways were
Squadrons / Units:
laid allowing gunnery
1485 (Bomber) Gunnery
training for 1485
Flight
Bomber Gunnery
RAF College – Service Flying
Flight (BGF) and
Training School (SFTS)
flying resumed
1506 Beam Approach Training
for Cranwell’s
(BAT) Flight
9th USAAF 53rd Troop Carrier
Service
Wing (TCW)
Flying
434th Troop Carrier Group (TCG)
Training
with 71st, 72nd, 73rd & 74th Troop
School
Carrier Squadrons (TCS)
(SFTS).
442nd Troop Carrier Group (TCG) with
303rd, 304th, 305th & 306th Troop Carrier
Squadrons (TCS) – later transferred to 9th
USAAF 50th Troop Carrier Wing (TCW)
440th Troop Carrier Group (TCG)
49 Squadron
189 Squadron
Automatic Gun Laying Turret Training Flight
55 Maintenance Unit (MU) – changed to 255 MU
93 MU – Air Historical Branch Collection
Defence Training Estates (DTE)
22
By May 1943 it was home
to1506 Beam Approach
Training (BAT) Flight. 1485
BGF operated briefly with
Lancasters from Heavy
Conversion Units (HCUs) at
Swinderby and Winthorpe.
Fulbeck was then allocated
to 9th USAAF 53rd Troop
Carrier Wing (TCW) and
renamed Station 488. The
first unit was the 434th Troop
Carrier Group (TCG) with
71st, 72nd, 73rd & 74th
Troop Carrier Squadrons
(TCS) undertaking intensive
training with C-47s, gliders and
practice parachutist drops.
442nd Troop Carrier Group
(TCG) soon moved to Fulbeck
with 303rd, 304th, 305th &
306th Troop Carrier Squadrons
(TCS), later transferring
to 9th USAAF 50th Troop
Carrier Wing (TCW) and
dropping parachutists near