Royal Air Force Binbrook or RAF Binbrook is a former

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

station located near Binbrook,

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The old domestic site (married quarters) has been renamed to become the village of Brookenby. RAF Binbrook was primarily used by Bomber Command in 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 Central Fighter Establishment moved to Binbrook from RAF West Raynham between 1959 and 1962 and two

English Electric Lightning The English Electric Lightning is a British fighter aircraft that served as an interceptor during the 1960s, the 1970s and into the late 1980s. It is capable of a top speed above Mach 2. The Lightning was designed, developed, and manufactured ...

squadrons were stationed there between 1965 and 1988.

History

Bombers

RAF Binbrook was opened as a Bomber Command station in June 1940 during the

Halpenny 1991, p. 42. and home to No. 12 Squadron RAF, with

Vickers Wellington The Vickers Wellington (nicknamed the Wimpy) is a British twin-engined, long-range medium bomber. It was designed during the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey. Led by Vickers-Armstrongs' chief designer Rex Pierson, a key feature of t ...

Mk II and III, between 3 July 1940 and 25 September 1942 before it moved to RAF Wickenby. Another squadron stationed at Binbrook before 1942 was 142, with the

Fairey Battle The Fairey Battle is a British single-engine light bomber that was designed and manufactured by the Fairey Aviation Company. It was developed during the mid-1930s for the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a monoplane successor to the Hawker Hart and Ha ...

, from 3 July 1940 to 12 August 1940 and from 6 September 1940 to 26 November 1941 when it moved to RAF Waltham. The squadron used the Battle until November 1940 before switching to the Wellington Mk II. RAF Binbrook closed in 1942 for the installation of three concrete runways, reopening in 1943 as home to No. 460 Squadron,

Royal Australian Air Force The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...

.Halpenny 1991, p. 43. Post-war, Binbrook was home to a number of distinguished RAF bomber squadrons, notably IX, 12, 101 and 617, all four of which were there for more than a decade.Halpenny 1991, pp. 46–47.Jefford 2001, pp. 30–31, 57, 101–102. The airfield saw the start of the RAF's transition to jet bombers with the arrival of the first

English Electric Canberra The English Electric Canberra is a British first-generation, jet-powered medium bomber. It was developed by English Electric during the mid- to late 1940s in response to a 1944 Air Ministry requirement for a successor to the wartime de Havilla ...

Fighters

After the departure of IX and 12 squadrons in 1959, 64 Squadron with

Gloster Javelin The Gloster Javelin is a twin-engined all-weather interceptor aircraft designed and produced by the Gloster Aircraft Company. It was operated by the Royal Air Force from the mid-1950s until the late 1960s and was the final aircraft design to b ...

all-weather fighters moved to Binbrook together with part of the Central Fighter Establishment from RAF West Raynham. 85 Target Facilities Squadron also moved to Binbrook with a mixture of Canberras and

Gloster Meteor The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies' only jet aircraft to engage in combat operations during the Second World War. The Meteor's development was heavily reliant on its ground-breaking turbojet engines, pioneere ...

Lightnings

s moved to Binbrook in 1965 with 5 Squadron, and 1972 with 11 Squadron. 5 and 11 were the last two RAF Lightning squadrons. 5 Squadron re-equipped with the Tornado F3 at

RAF Coningsby Royal Air Force Coningsby or RAF Coningsby , is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located south-west of Horncastle, and north-west of Boston, in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is a Main Operating Base of the RAF and h ...

early in 1988, leaving 11 Squadron to continue at Binbrook for a few more months with the remaining few Lightnings in RAF service. When 11 Squadron disbanded to also re-equip with the Tornado F3 at RAF Leeming, the Lightning was withdrawn from service.

Closure

The station closed as a main operating base in the 1980s, although it continued as a relief landing ground for

RAF Scampton Royal Air Force Scampton or RAF Scampton (formerly ) is a former Royal Air Force List of former Royal Air Force stations, station located adjacent to the A15 road (England), A15 road near to the village of Scampton, Lincolnshire, and north-wes ...

into the early 1990s before eventually closing and all military activity ceasing, it was subsequently sold off for development.Halpenny 1984, p. ? The control tower and adjacent fire section were demolished in 1995. In the mid-90s, Lincolnshire Police and Humberside Police used the site to teach

riot control Riot control is a form of public order policing used by law enforcement, military, paramilitary or security forces to social control, control, disperse, and arrest people who are involved in a riot, unlawful Demonstration (people), demonstration ...

techniques to its police officers. As of 2012 a majority of the accommodation blocks have been demolished. The hangars and offices are used as an industrial estate housing many businesses. The flight line is fenced off and used for storage of mainly ex-military equipment awaiting resale. The married quarters are private housing, forming the new village of Brookenby. There is also a memorial to 460 Squadron (RAAF) consisting of a memorial plaque and benches around the former ident square. The following units were here at some point: * No. 1 Group Target Towing Flight RAF (November 1941) became No. 1481 (Target Towing) Flight RAF (November 1941 - January 1942) became No. 1481 (Target Towing and Gunnery) Flight RAF (January - November 1942) * No. 50 Squadron RAF * No. 109 Squadron RAF * No. 139 Squadron RAF * No. 460 Squadron RAAF Notably, the squadron: flew the most sorties of any Australian bomber squadron; dropped more bomb tonnage than any other squadron in Bomber Command; lost 188 aircraft and suffered 1,018 combat deaths. * No. 643 Volunteer Gliding School RAF (June 1991 - October 1992) * 819 Naval Air Squadron * 849 Naval Air Squadron * No. 849B Flight of 849 NAS * Air Bomber Training Flight (No. 1 Group) RAF (June - September 1942) * Bomber Command Aircraft Maintenance Unit RAF (July 1952 - ?) * Bomber Command Jet Conversion Flight RAF (December 1950 - July 1952) * Bomber Command Supply Support Unit RAF (October - November 1956) * Day Fighter Combat Squadron RAF (November 1962 - November 1965) * Instant Readiness Reserve Unit RAF (June 1979 - 1981) became Lightning Augmentation Flight RAF (1981 - 82) * Lightning Special Engineering Project Team RAF (April 1974 - ?) * Lightning Training Flight RAF (October 1975 - April 1987)

Popular culture

In 1989 RAF Binbrook alongside RAF Little Rissington served as the

USAAF The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

airbase for filming for the 1990 movie '' Memphis Belle''.Halpenny 1991, p. 219. Some of the aircrew of the original "Memphis Belle", a

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engined heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). A fast and high-flying bomber, the B-17 dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during ...

, visited Binbrook during the filming, and met the cast of the movie. Robert Hanson, the airplane's radio operator, said the cast were "... not quite as good-looking as we were ... but they are young and enthusiastic—exactly like we were."Myrna Oliver. "Robert Hanson, 85; Last Living Crewman of the Memphis Belle". 10 October 2005. ''Los Angeles Times''.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * Halpenny, Bruce Barrymore. ''Action Stations: Wartime Military Airfields of Lincolnshire and the East Midlands v. 2''. Patrick Stephens Ltd., 1981. .
Later published (With 16 page Update Supplement) as: ** ''Action Stations: Wartime Military Airfields of Lincolnshire and the East Midlands v. 2'' Patrick Stephens Ltd., 1991. . * *