Dishforth Airfield is a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

station in

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It was an

Army Air Corps Army Air Corps may refer to the following army aviation corps: * Army Air Corps (United Kingdom), the army aviation element of the British Army * Philippine Army Air Corps (1935–1941) * United States Army Air Corps (1926–1942), or its p ...

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

base and a Relief Landing Ground for

RAF Linton-on-Ouse RAF Linton-on-Ouse was a Royal Air Force (RAF) station at Linton-on-Ouse in North Yorkshire, England, north-west of York. It had satellite stations at RAF Topcliffe and Dishforth Airfield (British Army). The station opened in 1937. With t ...

. 6 Regiment Royal Logistic Corps is currently located at Dishforth. It is located next to the A1(M) at Junction 49 with the A168. Dishforth airfield is built over part of the Great North Road which is also the old A1. It is east of

Ripon Ripon () is a cathedral city in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. The city is located at the confluence of two tributaries of the River Ure, the Laver and Skell. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the city ...

and north east of

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa w ...

, North Yorkshire,

RAF use (1936–1992)

Early years

Royal Air Force Dishforth opened in 1936. At the beginning of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

it became part of 4 Group, RAF Bomber Command, and was used for recruit training. Between September 1939 and April 1941, No. 78 Squadron RAF used it to launch night operations using

Armstrong Whitworth Whitley The Armstrong Whitworth A.W.38 Whitley was a British medium bomber aircraft of the 1930s. It was one of three twin-engined, front line medium bomber types that were in service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) at the outbreak of the Second World ...

medium bombers. Between 1943 and 1945 the station was used by No. 6 (RCAF) Group Bomber Command and was a sub-station of

RAF Topcliffe Royal Air Force Topcliffe or RAF Topcliffe is a Royal Air Force station in North Yorkshire, England. It was established as a RAF Bomber Command station in 1940. The British Army took over a large part of the site in 1974 and the airfield beca ...

. Immediately after the war the station was used to convert aircrew to the

Douglas Dakota The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF, and SAAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in ...

transport aircraft.

Post war

After the war, the station was occupied by training and transport units. No. 241 Operational Conversion Unit RAF were at the site from 5 January 1948 – 16 April 1951; No. 47 Squadron RAF from 14 September 1948 – 22 August 1949;

No. 297 Squadron RAF No 297 Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was notable for being the first airborne forces squadron formed. With sister No 296 Squadron it formed No 38 Wing RAF in January 1942, joined in August by No 295 Squadron; the Wing ex ...

from 1 November 1948 to 22 August 1949; and then conversion units again, No. 240 Operational Conversion Unit RAF briefly in March – April 1951 before being merged into the new

No. 242 Operational Conversion Unit RAF No. 242 Operational Conversion Unit RAF is a former Royal Air Force Operational conversion unit which operated between 16 April 1951 and 1 July 1992 when the unit became No. 57 Squadron RAF. History No. 242 OCU Argosy Conversion Unit The Argo ...

(at the station from 16 April 1951 – 29 January 1962). No. 30 Squadron RAF arrived on 14 April 1953, operating the Blackburn Beverley, and was based here until November 1959. No. 215 Squadron RAF arrived on 30 April 1956, equipped with

Scottish Aviation Pioneer The Scottish Aviation Pioneer was an STOL aircraft manufactured by Scottish Aviation in Scotland. It was used for casualty evacuation and communications and could accommodate a pilot and up to four passengers. Design and development The Pion ...

CC Mk. 1 aircraft, but it was renumbered No. 230 Squadron RAF on 1 September 1958. 230 Squadron was at Dishforth from 1 September – 27 November 1958, and then briefly in April 1959. No. 1325 (Transport) Flight RAF comprising three

aircraft formed at Dishforth on 1 August 1956.Sturtivant and Hamlin 2007, p. 119. It was established to support ''Operation Buffalo'' and ''Operation Antler,'' the British nuclear tests at

Maralinga Maralinga, in the remote western areas of South Australia, was the site, measuring about in area, of British nuclear tests in the mid-1950s. In January 1985 native title was granted to the Maralinga Tjarutja, a southern Pitjantjatjara Aborig ...

in Australia. 1325 Flight was soon relocated to

Christmas Island Christmas Island, officially the Territory of Christmas Island, is an Australian external territory comprising the island of the same name. It is located in the Indian Ocean, around south of Java and Sumatra and around north-west of the ...

(

Kiritimati Kiritimati (also known as Christmas Island) is a Pacific Ocean atoll in the northern Line Islands. It is part of the Republic of Kiribati. The name is derived from the English word "Christmas" written in Gilbertese according to its phonolog ...

) to support the Grapple series of nuclear tests in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

.Lake 1999, p. 85. The move to Christmas Island may have taken place on 25 January 1957. Headquarters No. 23 Group RAF of Flying Training Command arrived at Dishforth on 8 March 1962. It stayed until 11 July 1966. 23 Group's Communications Flight had arrived just under a month earlier, on 12 February 1962, and was at the station until 1 October 1964. Two other units were also present in 1962–66: Leeds University Air Squadron flying the de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk T Mk 10; and No. 60 Maintenance Unit RAF between 1 March 1962 and 2 February 1966. From 1962 the station also became a Relief Landing Ground, successively for 1 FTS and 3 FTS. Jet Provosts from RAF Leeming used the site in this fashion, with personnel deployed from RAF Leeming on a day-to-day basis.

Avro Vulcan The Avro Vulcan (later Hawker Siddeley Vulcan from July 1963) is a jet-powered, tailless, delta-wing, high-altitude, strategic bomber, which was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) from 1956 until 1984. Aircraft manufacturer A.V. Roe an ...

V-Bomber aircraft were dispersed to Dishforth during exercises, and would have been dispersed from RAF Scampton during any hostilities during the Cold War. During the 1970s and 1980s part of the base was used as a police training centre for northern English police forces from Northumbria down to Hertfordshire.

Army use (1992 – present)

Dishforth was transferred from the RAF to Army Air Corps use by 9 Regiment Army Air Corps in 1992 and became known as Dishforth Airfield. Dishforth was the first base to receive the

Apache helicopter The Boeing AH-64 Apache () is an American twin-turboshaft attack helicopter with a tailwheel-type landing gear arrangement and a tandem cockpit for a crew of two. It features a nose-mounted sensor suite for target acquisition and night visi ...

, and had 16, divided between 2 squadrons. Following a reshuffle of AAC units in 2006/2007 Apaches were concentrated on Wattisham Airfield in Suffolk. Between 2007 and 2016, Dishforth had three squadrons of Lynx Mk.7 helicopters & Lynx Mk.9A helicopters. In 2007, personnel and Apache helicopters from the Army Air Corps took part in the rescue mission at Jugroom Fort, which involved marines being strapped to the sides of the helicopter as it flew into Taliban held territory to recover their dead colleague. Dishforth Airfield recently underwent a major expansion as 6 Force Logistic Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps moved from Gutersloh in Germany to Dishforth. The official handover took place on 30 June 2016. 9 Regiment Army Air Corps disbanded and most of its soldiers merged with 1 Regiment Army Air Corps who also moved from Germany to RNAS Yeovilton in Somerset.

Based units

Notable units based at Dishforth Airfield.

British Army

Royal Logistic Corps The Royal Logistic Corps provides logistic support functions to the British Army. It is the largest Corps in the Army. History The Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) was formed on 5 April 1993, by the union of five British Army corps: * Royal Engine ...

* 6 Regiment RLC ** 62 Squadron ** 64 Squadron ** 600 Headquarters Squadron

Future

In November 2016, the Ministry of Defence announced that it intended to close the site in 2031.

References

* {{authority control Dishforth Military installations established in the 1990s Military history of North Yorkshire