History
Wethersfield airfield was one of several wartime airfields constructed in Essex, with a planned completion date of December 1942. Construction was delayed due to shortages of materials and labor, and the airfield was not opened until January 1944. It was built to the Class A airfield standard set by the Air Ministry, which called for three converging concrete runways optimally placed at 60 degree angles to each other in a triangular pattern, each connected to an enclosing perimeter track of a standard width of 50 ft (15 m).
The ground support station was constructed largely of Nissen huts of various sizes. The location of the squadron headquarters and orderly rooms, these huts were used by the group and ground station commanders. The ground station facilities also included mess facilities, a chapel and hospital, mission briefing and debriefing facilities, an armory and bomb storage facility, life support, parachute rigging, supply warehouses, station and airfield security, motor pool, and other ground support functions. These facilities were connected by a network of single path support roads.
The technical site, connected to the ground station and airfield, consisted of at least two T-2 type hangars and various organizational, component, and field maintenance shops, along with the crew chiefs and other personnel necessary to keep the aircraft airworthy and to quickly repair light and moderate battle damage. Severely damaged aircraft were sent to repair depots. The ammunition dump was located on the north side of the airfield, outside of the perimeter track. Surrounded by large dirt mounds, it consisted of concrete storage pens for storing bombs and other munitions.
Communal accommodation and a sick quarters for personnel was provided by clusters of Maycrete or Nissen huts made of prefabricated corrugated iron with a door and two small windows at the front and back. They were located about a mile away from the airfield. The huts were built singly or were connected by being set up end-to-end.
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