received No. 408 Squadron RCAF and its Handley Page Hampdens from RAF Syerston on 9 December 1941. 408 Squadron's first operational flight from RAF Balderton was on 10 December 1941 and was a daylight bombing raid on the airfield at Leeuwarden. 408 Squadron remained at RAF Balderton from 9 December 1941 until 20 September 1942 60 operational aircraft and crews sent to RAF North Luffenham from 25 January 1942 to 16 March 1942 due to Baldertons runways becoming unserviceable . 1943 saw the laying of the concrete runways and in August of that year 1668 HCU was formed at RAF Balderton and stayed until moving to RAF Syerston to become No. 5 Lancaster Finishing School. United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Use The airfield was officially taken over by Ninth Air Force on New Year's Day 1944. Balderton was used as a reception center for the 437th and the 439th troop carrier groups arriving from the United States that were subsequently located at other UK airfields. Balderton was known as USAAF Station AAF-482 for security reasons by the USAAF during the war, and by which it was referred to instead of location. Its USAAF Station Code was "BD". Its World War II radio callsign was 'Cheapride'. Operation Market-Garden Balderton was retained by IX Troop Carrier Command throughout the summer of 1944, and it was about to be released to the Royal Air Force when, in September, it was required as an advance base for Operation "Market". Ground units moved in during the first week and the air echelon of the 439th TCG, which had been in the process of moving to France, returned to Balderton to airlift the ground forces into the Netherlands. On 17 September, the 439th despatched two flights of aircraft. The first, with 30 Douglas C-47 Skytrains carrying paratroops of the 82nd Airborne Division to Groesbeek near Nijmegen, successfully completed their mission. The 50 C-47s of the second flight towed Waco CG-4A gliders, losing one but no C-47s were lost The next day, 50 C-47s again towed gliders to Groesbeck. one C47 was lost on 18 September 42-93098c-N12972 and Captain F O Lorimer was killed. On D-plus 2, 25 C-47s took part in an unsuccessful re-supply mission. On D-plus 3, 15 C-47s of the group carried out a re-supply drop to the 101st Airborne Division from RAF Greenham Common. 437th Troop Carrier Group The first USAAF transport