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RAF Chipping Ongar, also known as Willingale, was an American-built airfield in Essex that became operational at a pivotal moment: the transition from defensive air war to the offensive campaign that would lead into Normandy. Constructed in 1942-43, it was designated USAAF Station 162 (AAF-162) and, for security, often referred to by code rather than location. Its layout followed the standard pattern of a medium bomber station with hard runways, extensive dispersals and accommodation sites spread across the countryside.
The airfield’s best-known unit was the 387th Bombardment Group (Medium), which arrived in 1943 equipped with the Martin B-26 Marauder. The group consisted of four squadrons (556th, 557th, 558th and 559th) and quickly began combat operations against targets in occupied Europe. Early missions included attacks on coastal defences, airfields, marshalling yards and bridges, aimed at weakening German capacity to reinforce and supply. Medium bomber work demanded accuracy and nerve: B-26 crews often flew at altitudes that exposed them to heavy flak and, later, to increasing fighter opposition as the Luftwaffe concentrated its defence of key targets.
As Allied plans shifted toward the invasion of France, Ninth Air Force concentrated its medium bomber groups closer to the south coast. In July 1944 the 387th moved to RAF Stoney Cross in the New Forest, leaving Chipping Ongar with reduced flying activity and a smaller station complement. Even so, the airfield remained useful. In September 1944 it was used by IX Troop Carrier Command as a forward base for C-47 Skytrains during Operation Market Garden, the airborne attempt to seize bridges in the Netherlands. This temporary re-role illustrates how airfields could be repurposed quickly to match operational demand.
Chipping Ongar had a further airborne connection in March 1945. Elements of the 61st Troop Carrier Group used the airfield on 24 March 1945 to carry British paratroops as part of Operation Varsity, the airborne crossing of the Rhine near Wesel. Varsity was the last major Allied airborne operation of the war in Europe, and it depended on a huge logistics and airlift effort from English bases that could still generate large formations on schedule.
- USAAF identity: Station 162 (AAF-162).
- Key combat unit: 387th Bombardment Group (Medium), flying B-26 Marauders.
- Notable operations linked to the airfield: medium bomber strikes in 1943-44; Market Garden (Sept 1944) as a temporary C-47 base; Varsity (24 March 1945) troop carrier operations.
In April 1945 the airfield passed back to British control and was used by the Army and RAF technical organisations before closure in the late 1940s. Local memory of the Americans, the sudden intensity of activity, and the shifting use from bombers to transports gives Chipping Ongar a distinctive place in the broader story of wartime Essex: a landscape where concrete runways appeared almost overnight, launched combat and airborne missions, then faded back into fields and villages once the war ended.