BOTTESFORD
Six miles north-west of Grantham, on the eastern side of the Bottesford to Long Bennington road, Bottesford was located partly in the parishes of Normanton and Long Bennington, straddling the Lincolnshire-Leicestershire border. As Normanton was the nearest village, the airfield became known locally by that name, although the official name was Bottesford after the larger village 11/z miles to the south.
Built by George Wimpey & Co. Ltd from November 1940, it had concrete runways from the outset, one of the first in the area to do so. The main Ol-19 was 1,700 yards long, the 08-26 1,200 yards and the 14-32 1,300 yards. However, the main runway was extended to 1,933 yards, the 08-26 to 1,460 yards and the 14-32 to 1,510 yards before the airfield was completed. Thirty-six pan hardstandings were provided, one grouping being located on the other side of the Bottesford Bennington road. Five of the dispersals were lost when the hangars were erected. The main technical site was situated on the northeast side and dispersed domestic sites in fields towards the Al trunk road. A Type T2 hangar was located on the technical site and another on the south-west corner of the airfield. Later a B1 for Ministry of Aircraft Production engineers was erected on the west side of the Bottesford-Bennington road with an access strip to the perimeter track. Bomb stores and armoury were on the east side in Noss Plantation near Big Grange. The dispersed camp sites, 11 domestic, two communal and a sick quarters providing for a maximum complement of 2,373 males and 462 females was to the north of the airfield.
The airfield became operational in November 1941 with the arrival of No. 207 Squadron from Waddington. This squadron, the first to be equipped with the troublesome Manchester, was relieved to start exchanging them for Lancasters in March 1942. No. 207 moved to Langar in September 1942, presumably to escape further construction work, which included the erection of two more T2 hangars. In November 1942, No. 90 Squadron was re-formed at Bottesford to fly Stirlings in No. 3 Group and departed for Ridgewell the following month before becoming operational. A new Australian manned squadron, No. 467, arrived in November 1942 commencing operations on the night of January 2/3, 1943.
Two more T2 hangars were erected near the technical site in 1943 specifically to protect Horsa gliders from inclement weather as Bottesford was the recipient of over 50 of these wood and canvas craft in preparation for the cross-Channel invasion. In November 1943, No. 467 Squadron was moved out to Waddington as Bottesford had been allocated to the USAAF's IX Troop Carrier Command for the forthcoming operation. Work started immediately on providing more hardstandings, 21 loops being added in two clusters on the west side of the Bottesford-Bennington road. In the course of this work, five of the pans were destroyed. The 56 C-47s of the 436th Troop Carrier Group arrived in January 1944 and moved on in March to be replaced by the 440th TCG fresh from the USA. This group also moved south during the following month and Bottesford was then used for glider repair and modification.
The USAAF relinquished Bottesford to No. 5 Group Bomber Command in July 1944. No. 1668 Heavy Conversion Unit with Lancasters arrived and later some specialist flights were also based at the station with a variety of aircraft types. In November, No. 1668 HCU was re-assigned to No. 7 Training Group. Bottesford remained a Lancaster training station until the late summer of 1945, No. 1668 HCU moving to more comfortable accommodation at Cottesmore in September. Thereafter little flying took place although the hangars were used for storage by the Air Ministry. A holding party remained for a few years but the airfield was in agricultural use by 1948 and a civilian warehousing operation was established in the hangars by John Rose, whose company was formed in 1954, and who purchased most of the airfield in 1962. The Roseland Group Ltd continues to operate from the site and uses the restored control tower as the company's office.
RAF Bomber Command operational losses sustained by the units based at Bottesford amounted to three Manchesters and 55 Lancasters, a total of 58.
