Royal Air Force (RAF) use The following units were present at some point: • No. 1 Equipment Disposal Depot (June 1945) became
No. 254 Maintenance Unit RAF (June 1945 - January 1946 & February - July 1946) • Detachment of
No. 12 (Pilots) Advanced Flying Unit RAF (December 1943 - January 1944) • Detachment of
No. 14 (Pilots) Advanced Flying Unit RAF (April 1942) • Satellite Airfield of
No. 25 Operational Training Unit RAF (June - November 1941) • No. 28 Heavy Glider Maintenance Section of No. 2 Heavy Glider Maintenance Unit (June 1943 - March 1944) • Sub site of
No. 93 Maintenance Unit RAF (December 1948 - August 1955) •
No. 227 Squadron RAF • Sub site of
No. 255 Maintenance Unit RAF (July 1946 - November 1948) •
No. 408 Squadron RCAF •
No. 1668 Heavy Conversion Unit RAF (August - November 1943) The airfield was assigned to
No. 5 Group RAF 1943 saw the laying of the concrete runways, and in August of that year, 1668 HCU was formed at RAF Balderton and stayed until moving to RAF Syerston to become No. 5 Lancaster Finishing School.
United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Use The airfield was officially taken over by Ninth Air Force on New Year's Day 1944. Balderton was used as a reception centre for the 437th and the 439th troop carrier groups arriving from the United States that were subsequently located at other UK airfields. Balderton was known as
USAAF Station AAF-482 for security reasons by the USAAF during the war, and by which it was referred to instead of location. Its USAAF Station Code was "BD". Its World War II radio callsign was "Cheapride".
Operation Market-Garden Balderton was retained by IX Troop Carrier Command throughout the summer of 1944, and it was about to be released to the Royal Air Force when, in September, it was required as an advance base for Operation "Market". Ground units moved in during the first week and the air echelon of the 439th TCG, which had been in the process of moving to France, returned to Balderton to airlift the ground forces into the Netherlands. On 17 September, the 439th despatched two flights of aircraft. The first, with 30
Douglas C-47 Skytrains carrying paratroops of the 82nd Airborne Division to Groesbeek near Nijmegen, successfully completed their mission. The 50 C-47s of the second flight towed
Waco CG-4A gliders, losing one but no C-47s were lost The next day, 50 C-47s again towed gliders to Groesbeck. one C47 was lost on 18 September 42-93098c-N12972 and Captain F O Lorimer was killed. On D-plus 2, 25 C-47s took part in an unsuccessful re-supply mission. On D-plus 3, 15 C-47s of the group carried out a re-supply drop to the
101st Airborne Division from
RAF Greenham Common.
437th Troop Carrier Group The first USAAF transport unit to arrive was the
437th Troop Carrier Group during January 1944 from
Baer Army Airfield,
Indiana. The group's squadrons and fuselage codes were: • 83d Troop Carrier Squadron (T2) • 84th Troop Carrier Squadron (Z8) • 85th Troop Carrier Squadron (90) • 86th Troop Carrier Squadron (5K) The 439th was a group of
Ninth Air Force's
53d Troop Carrier Wing,
IX Troop Carrier Command. The first aircraft arrived on 21 January. On 5/6 February, it was moved south to
RAF Ramsbury in
Wiltshire.
439th Troop Carrier Group In early February 1944, the air echelon of the 439th was ordered to Baer Field, Fort Wayne, Indiana, the aerial port of embarkation, arriving there on the 14th of the month. The ground echelon would follow by ship to England. The advance parties of the 439th and two of its squadrons, the 91st and 92nd, departed Baer Field in their C47 transports o/a 19 February 1944. Flying a circuitous route they arrived at Balderton on 21 February 1944. The remaining two squadrons, the 93rd and 94th, did not arrive at Balderton until 6 March. Skidmore and the ground echelon of the 439th TC Group and its four squadrons left New York aboard the
USS George Washington, an Army troop transport, on 28 February 1944. After eleven days at sea the ship arrived at
Liverpool, England on 10 March 1944. From there they traveled by rail to Balderton where they would remain until 26 April 1944. On that date the group was relocated to the aerodrome at
RAF Upottery, England. The group's squadrons and fuselage codes were: • 91st Troop Carrier Squadron (L4) • 92d Troop Carrier Squadron (J8) •
93d Troop Carrier Squadron (3B) •
94th Troop Carrier Squadron (D8) The 439th was a group of
Ninth Air Force's
50th Troop Carrier Wing,
IX Troop Carrier Command. Intensive training with paratroops of the
82nd Airborne Division was conducted until the 439th was moved to
RAF Upottery in
Devon on 26 April, although all elements did not move until May.
Frank Whittle's jet engine trials at Balderton 1943–1944 Jet aircraft with Rolls-Royce engines were subsequently test flown from Balderton, Nottinghamshire, during 1943–1944 (notably Whittle's Meteor and Vickers Wellington W5389/G jet engine trials) and Church Broughton, Derbyshire, where concrete runways were available. This account taken from the book 'Men of Power: The Lives of Rolls-Royce Chief Test Pilots Harvey and Jim Heyworth.' It includes the following details; Jan 44 - Returned to Glosters for a complete overhaul. 24 Feb 44 - To Rolls-Royces' aerodrome at Balderton following completion of overhaul. 25-minute flight. To quote from the flight report held by DoRIS; 'due to the landing of an entire American Transport Squadron, the aircraft was flown around Balderton for a few minutes while waiting for the aerodrome to clear'. 28 Apr 44 Following tests, transferred to Church Broughton for further development flying. Whittle is believed to have based himself at Balderton Old Hall on Main Street while working on his prototype jet engine trials at RAF Balderton.
Return to British control RAF Balderton was returned to No. 5 Group
RAF Bomber Command at the end of September 1944 and the re-formed
No. 227 Squadron RAF with
Avro Lancasters. 227's Squadron identification code was 9J. 227 Squadron was based at RAF Balderton between October 1944 and April 1945. The first mission they took part in while at RAF Balderton was on the night of 28 October 1944. 18 aircraft to bomb
Bergen,
Norway. 227 Squadron moved to
RAF Strubby, Lincolnshire on 5 April 1945. ==Postwar Use==