Royal Air Force Bellasize, also known as RAF Bellasize, was a former RAF airfield in the hamlet of Bellasize, near

Gilberdyke Gilberdyke is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately south-east of York and west of Hull. Gilberdyke lies near to Howden which is away. It lies on the B1230 road, south of the M62 ...

East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, often abbreviated to the East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, S ...

, England. Originally opened in 1916, Bellasize was one of only four Yorkshire-based RAF locations to see use in the

First First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

and

Second World Wars World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Flying at Bellasize was sporadic and training based, with the site not being used in an offensive capacity during the Second World War.

History

Bellasize appears to have been equipped with just one runway, which was a grass strip measuring angled in a north east/south west direction across a rectangular field. There are no records of any hangars or permanent buildings at the site. The site was opened in April 1916 as a 1st class landing ground. It was originally used by No. 33 and No. 76 Squadrons in the Home Defence (HD) role, even though its proximity to the River Ouse meant that the airfield was often flooded; Bellasize was only above sea level. The site was handed over to the Royal Air Force in April 1918, and then relinquished a year later in April 1919. However, during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the site was reactivated, and covered an area of , measuring by . Bellasize was one of only four sites used by the RAF in the First and Second World Wars, (the other being

Driffield Driffield, also known as Great Driffield (neighbouring Little Driffield), is a market town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The civil parish is formed by the town of Driffield and the village of Little Driffield. By ...

Doncaster Doncaster ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don, it is the administrative centre of the City of Doncaster metropolitan borough, and is the second largest se ...

and Catterick). For the entire period of the war, Bellasize belonged to

RAF Flying Training Command Flying Training Command was an organization of the Royal Air Force; it controlled flight training units. The command's headquarters were at RAF Shinfield Park, Reading in Berkshire. History Flying Training Command was formed from the element ...

, and was used as relief landing ground (RLG) by No. 4 Elementary Flying Training School RAF (No. 4 EFTS). No. 4 EFTS was based at nearby

Brough Aerodrome Brough Aerodrome was a private use aerodrome located at Brough, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is now disused with the last known flight out of the airfield occurring in 2011. The airfield closed in 2013. The site is now crossed by ...

, and the increased use of Bellasize was due to the prevalence of aircraft movements at Brough originating from the aircraft factory. Flying at RAF Bellasize ceased in July 1945. The site has been converted back to farmland.

Notes

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bellasize, RAF Royal Air Force stations in Yorkshire History of the East Riding of Yorkshire Royal Air Force stations of World War I in the United Kingdom Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom Military airbases established in 1916 Military airbases closed in 1945