| RAF Mepal | |
| Type: | Military |
| Owner: | Air Ministry/Ministry of Defence |
| Operator: | Royal Air Force |
| Location: | Mepal, Cambridgeshire |
| Built: | 1942 |
| Used: | 1943–1963 |
| Pushpin Map: | Cambridgeshire |
| Pushpin Label: | Mepal Airfield |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Cambridgeshire |
| R1-Number: | 08/26 |
| R1-Length-F: | 0 |
| R1-Length-M: | 0 |
| R1-Surface: | Concrete |
| R2-Number: | 05/23 |
| R2-Length-F: | 0 |
| R2-Length-M: | 0 |
| R2-Surface: | Concrete |
| R3-Number: | 14/32 |
| R3-Length-F: | 0 |
| R3-Length-M: | 0 |
| R3-Surface: | Concrete |
| Footnotes: | Runway information[1] |
RAF Mepal is a former RAF station located south of Mepal, Cambridgeshire, England and west of Ely. Construction commenced in July 1942 and opened in June 1943.[1] [2]
Mepal first hosted No. 75 (NZ) Squadron RAF flying Short Stirlings and later Avro Lancasters.[3]
It was used towards the end of the Second World War to prepare Avro Lancaster bombers squadrons such as No. 44 (Rhodesia) squadron for use in Tiger Force which was to bomb Japan.[4]
From 1957 PGM-17 Thor missiles were based at the airfield in the north east corner.[1] [5]
Very little remains of the original site, most of it razed to the ground after the USAF and their Thor missiles left. The site is now the Elean business park and is home to the world's only straw burning power station and a few manufacturing and warehousing operations. A small memorial plaque is in place at the entrance to the site.