Earls Colne was built in 1941 as an airfield for No.3 Group, RAF Bomber Command, although never used as such. Assigned to the US Eighth Air Force (as Station 358) in 1942, its 36 hardstands were increased to 50, bringing the airfield up to Air Ministry 'Class A’ standard.



Part of the site occupied land requisitioned from the Marks Hall estate, whose Jacobean mansion was taken over by various USAAF HQ units in December 1942.



Earls Colne’s first operational tenants were B-17Fs of the Eighth Air Force's 94th Bomb Group in May 1943. Its four squadrons moved to Rougham, Suffolk, on 13 June, having lost nine bombers that day during a mission to Kiel.



The following month, B-26 Marauder ‘medium’ bombers of the 323rd Bomb Group moved in, staying at Earls Colne until July 1944 – having transferred to the US Ninth Air Force on October 16, 1943.



Meanwhile, Marks Hall had operated independently, first as headquarters for the Eighth AF’s 4th Bomb Wing. In October 1943 it became the command and control centre of the Ninth AF’s IX Bomber Command, at which point Earls Colne airfield became the headquarters of the 98th Combat Bomb Wing while continuing to host the 323rd Bomb Group.



After the Americans left for France in the summer of 1944, the RAF’s 296 and 297 Squadrons, flying Halifax aircraft in army co-operation roles, occupied Earls Colne until May 1946.



Today the site includes an industrial park, golf course, leisure centre and an airstrip used by a flying school. It is also home to the Essex Air Ambulance.