Saltby
Location:
Dates of Operation:
off the Sproxton to Skillington road; or by foot
from the Viking Way, which passes close to
the memorial. The airfield is an active aviation
site, so please be aware of planes and gliders.
1942 to 1943 – RAF training base
1943 to 1945 – 9th USAAF
base – Station 538
1945 – RAF training base
1943 to 1945 – 9th USAAF base
1945 to 1955 – Maintenance Command
1971 to current – civilian gliding site
Located south-west of
Grantham on Saltby Heath,
the airfield was originally
constructed by Mowlem
as a satellite for RAF
Cottesmore and
initially housed No.
14 Operational
Training Unit
(OTU) with
Squadrons / Units:
Wellingtons.
14 OTU
RAF
Saltby was
9th USAAF 52nd Troop
allocated
Carrier Wing (TCW)
to the 9th
314th Troop Carrier Group (TCG)
United
with 32nd, 50th, 61st and 62nd Troop
Carrier Squadrons (TCS)
States
Army
1665 HCU
Air
349th TCG
RAF Maintenance Command
Buckminster Gliding Club
32
Force (USAAF) 52nd Troop
Carrier Wing (TCW) and
became known as Station
538.The first units of the
314th Troop Carrier Group
(TCG) arrived with their C-47s
and S-53s from Sicily in
February 1944. The 314 TCG
comprised of the 32nd, 50th,
61st and 62nd Troop Carrier
Squadrons (TCS).
The various TCSs worked
with the men of the 82nd
Airborne Division who had
been deployed locally;
including parachute drops and
glider launches.
Squadrons from Saltby
took part in D-Day (Operation
Overlord) dropping men of
the 82nd Airborne Division
in France and followed up
by supply drops and some
tactical operations throughout
the summer of 1944.
Squadrons from the