Also known as No. 54 Base Substation · Thorpe Camp
The story of RAF Woodhall Spa
In January 1944 No. 617 'Dambusters' Squadron moved in from Coningsby. It stayed until the end of the war and pioneered the Tallboy and Grand Slam bombs. Its first Tallboys blocked the Saumur railway tunnel. It hit the U-boat bases at La Pallice and Lorient and sank the cruiser Lützow in shallow water. On 12 November 1944 aircraft from Woodhall Spa and Bardney sank the Tirpitz. Mosquitos of No. 627 Squadron marked targets for 5 Group from April 1944. The last raid was on Hitler's Berghof.
After the war a maintenance unit stored bombs here. From 1960 Bloodhound surface-to-air missiles were based on the site, until most of it was sold in 1964. Part was later used to service Phantom and Tornado engines until 2003. The station's barracks, Thorpe Camp, is now a visitor centre.
Flying units
| Unit | Years | Aircraft |
|---|---|---|
| No. 97 Squadron | 1942–1943 | Avro Lancaster |
| No. 619 Squadron | 1943–1944 | Avro Lancaster |
| No. 617 Squadron | 1944–1945 | Avro Lancaster, de Havilland Mosquito |
| No. 627 Squadron | 1944–1945 | de Havilland Mosquito |
| No. 222 Squadron and No. 112 Squadron | 1960–1967 | Bristol Bloodhound missiles |
What survives
- Thorpe Camp: the airmen's mess, NAAFI, ablution block and ration store, now a visitor centre
- The Petwood Hotel, the wartime officers' mess
The museum on the airfield
| Museum | Adult entry | Airframes | Headline exhibit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thorpe Camp Visitor CentreLincoln, Lincolnshire | £7 | 5 | Thorpe Camp preserves RAF Woodhall Spa's communal site — home of 617 Squadron post-Dams — as a period village of huts, with volunteers in… |