RAF Little Snoring

RAF Little Snoring
Little Snoring, Norfolk in England
The old Watch Office, 2014
RAF Little Snoring Shown within Norfolk Show map of Norfolk RAF Little Snoring RAF Little Snoring (the United Kingdom) Show map of the United Kingdom
Coordinates	52°51′43″N 000°54′52″E
Type	Royal Air Force station
Code	LS[1]
Site information
Owner	Air Ministry
Operator	Royal Air Force
Controlled by	RAF Bomber Command * No. 3 Group RAF * No. 100 (BS) Group RAF
Site history
Built	1943 (1943)
In use	July 1943 - October 1958 (1958)
Airfield information
Elevation	58 metres (190 ft)[1] AMSL
Runways Direction Length and surface 01/19 1,280 metres (4,199 ft) Concrete 07/25 1,830 metres (6,004 ft) Concrete 13/31 1,280 metres (4,199 ft) Concrete

Royal Air Force Little Snoring or more simply RAF Little Snoring is a former Royal Air Force station located immediately north of the Norfolk village of Little Snoring, approximately 2 miles (3 km) east-northeast from the town of Fakenham. The airfield remains open for general aviation use as Little Snoring Airfield.[2][3]

History

The station opened in July 1943[4] and was built to be a satellite station and dispersal for RAF Foulsham which is 6.0 miles (9.7 km) south-east of Little Snoring. Just a month after the station became operational, the stations status changed when No. 3 Bomber Group gave the station full status.

Squadron	Period	Aircraft
23 Squadron	1944–1945	de Havilland Mosquito VI and XX
115 Squadron	1943[5]	Avro Lancaster II
141 Squadron	1945	de Havilland Mosquito XXX
169 Squadron	1943–1944	de Havilland Mosquito II
515 Squadron	1943–1945	Bristol Beaufighter, de Havilland Mosquito II and VI
1678 Heavy Conversion Flight	1943	Avro Lancaster II

After this the airfield was retained on a care and maintenance until an anti-aircraft co-operation unit on civilian contract operated from Little Snoring for several years during the 1950s. Supermarine Spitfire were the main type used, but were replaced by de Havilland Vampires before the unit was disbanded in 1958.[6]

Additional units[7]

• No. 2 Civilian Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit
• No. 15 Heavy Glider Maintenance Section
• No. 274 Maintenance Unit RAF

Current use

The site is currently used as Little Snoring Airfield, operated by the McAully Flying Group, formerly the Fakenham Flying Group. Airfield facilities include a private hangar and a clubhouse with pre-flight briefing facilities, kitchen and toilets.[8] The eastern and southern parts of all three runways have been removed but the remainder are retained for flying.

The airfield is also used for aircraft manufacturing, The Light Aircraft Company has an aircraft maintenance facility which produces the Sherwood Ranger microlight.[6]

The former mortuary is now a toilet and shower block at the villages' camp site. The site also features an air raid shelter and concrete pads for vehicles and temporary buildings.

• 
  The former mortuary
• 
  Modern aircraft hangars, 2014

References

Citations

1. Falconer 2012, p. 131.
2. Moyes 1976, p. 162.
3. "Little Snoring airfield control tower". controltowers.co.uk. Archived from the original on 6 December 2021.
4. Smith, Graham (2007). "Section 17 – Little Snoring – Reference to location, usage and operational timeline". Norfolk Airfields in the Second World War. Countryside Books. p. 147. ISBN 9781853063206.
5. Collins & Halladay 1983, p. 35.
6. "The Snorings Website: The Little Snoring Airfield". the-snorings.co.uk. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
7. "Little Snoring". Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
8. "Little Snoring Airfield | McAully Flying Group". Archived from the original on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2014. McAully Flying Group

Bibliography

• Collins, Dick; Halladay, Jim (1983). Despite the Elements. The History of Number 115 Squadron 1917-1982. Brize Norton, UK: Nettlebed Press.
• Falconer, Jonathan (2012). RAF Airfields of World War 2. UK: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85780-349-5.
• Moyes, Philip J. R. (1976). Bomber squadrons of the R.A.F. and their aircraft (2nd ed.). London: Macdonald and Jane's. ISBN 978-0-354-01027-6.
• "RAF Stations – L". Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation. Retrieved 14 September 2024.