Walk 225: Harrington Airfield…Carpetbaggers & Nuclear Missiles

The ‘Needs to Know’

Distance: 4.3 miles (6.92km)

Time to walk: Just over a couple of hours

Difficulty: Fairly flat. A mixture of field edges, runways & small roads – very diverse! There are a few stiles to cross

Parking: Free parking in the Draughton Crossing Car Park on the Brampton Valley Way on the road between Maidwell & Draughton. what3words: sang.essays.headstone

Public toilets: None

Map of the route:

We’re starting this walk from the Draughton Crossing car park on the Brampton Valley Way. It is, however, possible to start it from Maidwell & walk down to the BVW. Please do not attempt it from Harrington as, although it’s still marked on OS Maps, the bridleway from the village, across the A14 is permanently closed

I’ve wanted to include Harrington Airfield in one of my walks for a long time mainly because of the incredible history that’s attached to it, whether that’s the ‘Carpetbaggers’ or the Cold War Thor Nuclear Missiles which were based there

It also takes in the superb museum although this is only open at certain times of the year. We’ll look in more details at all these amazing places as we come across them so…

Let’s Walk!

1. Having parked, head north through the barrier along the Brampton Valley Way…

It’s always a pleasure to walk along the BVW, a 14 mile rail trail built on the route of the former Northampton to Market Harborough Railway. It’s actually classified as a ‘linear country park

The railway line was closed in 1981 & the 13-mile Northamptonshire section was purchased by Northamptonshire County Council with grant aid from the Countryside Commission in 1987. The 1-mile section north of the county boundary is owned by Leicestershire County Council

2. Continue for 0.7 miles to a crossing of paths (there’s a signpost on the left)…

Our path is the one to the right…

…&, as it bends slightly right, keep straight ahead along the narrow track

3. The track opens up into the fields. The direction is diagonally right – you can see it clearly in the picture below…

Pass through the gap & continue up the hill with the hedge on your left

4. The path changes from grass into more of a hard surface which makes walking slightly easier. The noise level increases as you near the A14, eventually arriving at a gate…

Pass through the kissing gate on the left & take the right hand track

5. Follow this to arrive at one of Northamptonshire’s hidden treasures…Harrington Aviation Museum…

The Carpetbagger Aviation Museum is located in the wartime Group Operations Building of the Harrington Airfield

Exhibits include: Operation Carpetbagger & the secret war carried out by the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) & the American Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in supplying resistance groups in Occupied Europe with weapons, equipment & agents from Harrington & Tempsford airfields during World War II

It also tells the story of the history of the airfield & the Thor nuclear missiles that were stationed at Harrington during the Cold War years

Please see this link for opening dates & times

6. The paths you’re now walking on are all part of the airfield. Continue ahead on the narrow track…

Shortly you’ll come to a junction but just keep straight ahead – Lily wasn’t too sure!

7. Another path goes off to the left but keep ahead in the same direction, passing a marker post…

The path meanders for a while but don’t stray off it. Eventually it becomes clearer…

8. And then opens right up onto one of the former runways…

All you need to do is follow this runway to the far side of the airfield

So let’s look at the incredible history of this place…

The airfield was opened in September 1943 & was originally planned as a satellite for No. 84 Operational Training Unit RAF at RAF Desborough. The airfield, intended for heavy bomber use, was built by 826th & 852nd Engineer Battalions of the US Army & was completed in the spring of 1944

Harrington was allocated to the United States Army Air Forces Eighth Air Force & assigned USAAF designation Station 179. The first US Group to use Harrington was the 801st Bombardment Group (Provisional), arriving from RAF Alconbury on 25 March 1944

The 801st Bomb Group became best known as the Carpetbaggers

The mission of the Carpetbaggers was to fly Special Operations missions which entailed delivering supplies to resistance groups in enemy-occupied countries. The squadrons flew agents & supplies into southern France with B-24 Liberators that had all armament removed except in the top & tail turrets. In addition, the standard bomb shackles were removed from the bomb bay & British shackles were installed to accommodate special supply canisters. All unneeded radio gear was removed, as were the oxygen bottles

Flash suppressors were installed on the guns, flame dampeners were installed on the turbo-superchargers, & blackout curtains were installed over the waist gun windows. Light bulbs were painted red to spare night vision & special radio gear was added to assist in navigation & homing in on drop zones. The undersides of the aircraft were painted black to avoid detection by enemy searchlights. Combat with the enemy was avoided as it only endangered the success of the mission

Drops were also made using radio-navigation equipment. Supplies were also released in containers designed to be dropped from the existing equipment in the bomb bay. Pilots often flew several miles farther into enemy territory after completing the drop to disguise the actual drop zone in case enemy observers were tracking the plane’s movement

The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses flown by the 788th & 850th Bombardment Squadrons were employed to drop leaflets over Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, France, Germany, Poland, Greece, & the Balkans. Some leaflets informed the citizens in occupied Europe of war news & Axis losses. Others urged German troops to surrender & offered safe passage through Allied lines. 77% of the German troops captured in France either had one of these leaflets or had seen one

The leaflets were a trusted source of news for the oppressed citizens of occupied Europe. They were widely read & sometimes carried for months & hidden in false pockets, hats, & shoes. Possession of one of the leaflets meant an automatic death sentence if caught by the Nazis

The Group ceased Carpetbagger missions on 16 September 1944 to haul gasoline to advancing mechanised forces in France & Belgium, along with attacking airfields, oil refineries, seaports, & other targets in France, the Low Countries, & Germany until February 1945

9. Continue along the wide path & note the structures across to your left…

These are 3 Thor nuclear missile launch pads

Whilst it’s tempting to walk across the agricultural land to explore, there’s no public footpath & you would therefore be trespassing

Here’s some pictures of the pads

10. The base was selected to become one of the RAF’s Thor missile sites in 1958. Three rocket launch pads were constructed together with ancillary buildings, the whole area being declared top security, fenced off & floodlighted

The last missile left in 1963

In 2011, just ahead of the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Thor missile site at Harrington was given Grade II listed status as an example of Cold War architecture. As part of the announcement, the Chief Executive of English Heritage, Dr Simon Thurley, said: “The remains of the Cold War are fading from view faster than those of the World Wars. Our Cold War heritage is a complicated & not always easily loved collection of concrete bunkers & silos. But they are the castles & forts of the second half of the 20th century & we want to ensure that the best examples survive”

If you Google the launch pads you can see detailed pictures

11. Continue along the old runway which finally narrows through a copse…

…& then arrives at a barrier

12. Pass through the barrier, turn right & follow the lane. Although this is a very quiet lane you may encounter traffic, so just step on the wide verges

Simply follow the lane to arrive in Draughton

13. The small village of Draughton was once home to the poet John Dryden. The oldest parts of St Catherine’s Church date back to the 12th century

Continue through the village, & straight ahead at the junction

14. On the corner beside the white gate…climb the stile on the right & head down the drive…

At the end cross another stile…

15. Now follow the paddock to the left of the shed…

…where there’s another stile to cross

16. The path now isn’t clearly marked during winter, but see the map below. It heads diagonally right heading towards the left of the copse which contain a pond (as marked on by the circle on the map

Pass through the gap & continue in the same direction to arrive at the Brampton Valley Way – see the picture below on Google Earth (you can also see the pond)