RAF Molesworth - History

History

  • Bob Hope entertained base personnel on 6 July 1943.
  • American journalist and news correspondent Walter Cronkite flew on a 303d Bombardment Group mission while reporting the war.
  • American servicemen from RAF Molesworth married more English women during World War II than servicemen from any other American base in England.
  • During the early 1980s, Molesworth was completely rebuilt. All of the World War II runways, taxiways, bomber hardstandings, as well as a 9,000 ft jet runway laid down in the 1950s were removed. Crumbling buildings, mostly from the 1950s were also demolished and removed. The only surviving remnants of the World War II era are two T.2 hangars and one J-Type hangar on the former airfield. A cluster of wartime buildings, including Nissen huts exist just east of the facility, at the intersection of the B660 and Brington Road at the edge of the town of Old Weston. 52°22′49.68″N 000°23′37.97″W / 52.3804667°N 0.3938806°W / 52.3804667; -0.3938806
  • A monument to the 303rd BG resides just inside the main entrance to the base and is accessible to the public.

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