Also known as Station 367
The story of RAF Kings Cliffe
As Station 367 it was the most northerly and westerly Eighth Air Force fighter base. P-39s of the 347th Fighter Squadron stayed briefly in December 1942 before leaving for North Africa. The 56th Fighter Group trained here on new P-47 Thunderbolts from January to April 1943. The 20th Fighter Group arrived on 26 August 1943 and entered combat with P-38 Lightnings that November. Its many attacks on trains earned it the name 'Loco Group'. It won a Distinguished Unit Citation for 8 April 1944 and converted to P-51 Mustangs in July 1944. On 3 October 1944 Glenn Miller played his last airfield concert in the hangar here.
After the war the RAF used the field for armament storage. It was sold for farming in January 1959. The hangars and technical site were razed, but the control tower still stands. The Duke of Gloucester unveiled a memorial in 1983. The King's Cliffe Airfield Museum opened on the site in July 2024.
Flying units
| Unit | Years | Aircraft |
|---|---|---|
| No. 266 Squadron | 1941 | |
| No. 616 Squadron | 1942 | |
| No. 485 (New Zealand) Squadron | 1942 | |
| 56th Fighter Group, USAAF | 1943–1943 | Republic P-47 Thunderbolt |
| 20th Fighter Group, USAAF | 1943–1945 | Lockheed P-38 Lightning, North American P-51 Mustang |
What survives
- The abandoned control tower
- The 1983 airfield memorial and a Glenn Miller memorial on the hangar base
- Runway outlines, visible from the air
The museum on the airfield
| Museum | Adult entry | Airframes | Headline exhibit |
|---|---|---|---|
| King's Cliffe Airfield MuseumPeterborough, Northamptonshire | Free | — | King's Cliffe (20th FG) opened its purpose-built museum near the hangar base where Glenn Miller played his final airfield concert — new,… |