Breighton Aerodrome is a private aerodrome primarily used for

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...

flying located on the former Royal Air Force Breighton or more simply RAF Breighton, 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 Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

located near to the village of Breighton,

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 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 ...

History

The airfield was built between 1940 and 1942 for No. 1 Group RAF, its first residents were the No. 460 Squadron RAAF. From 1959 to 1963, as part of

Project Emily Project Emily was the deployment of American-built Thor intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBMs) in the United Kingdom between 1959 and 1963. Royal Air Force (RAF) Bomber Command operated 60 Thor missiles, dispersed to 20 RAF air stations ...

, the base was a launch site for three nuclear-armed

PGM-17 Thor The PGM-17A Thor was the first operative ballistic missile of the United States Air Force (USAF). It was named after the Thor, Norse god of thunder. It was deployed in the United Kingdom between 1959 and September 1963 as an intermediate-range b ...

intermediate-range ballistic missile An intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) is a ballistic missile with a range (aeronautics), range between (), categorized between a medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) and an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Classifying ball ...

s, operated by No. 240 Squadron RAF. The base closed in March 1964, when the last active unit (which operated the

Bristol Bloodhound The Bristol Bloodhound is a British ramjet powered surface-to-air missile developed during the 1950s. It served as the UK's main air defence weapon into the 1990s and was in large-scale service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the forces of f ...

air-defence missile) withdrew.

Squadrons

Units

* No. 20 Blind Approach Training Flight RAF (October 1941) became No. 1520 (Beam Approach Training) Flight RAF (October 1941 - June 1944) * Sub site for No. 35 Maintenance Unit RAF (November 1945 - June 1951) * Relief Landing Ground for No. 103 Flying Refresher School RAF (June - November 1951) * Relief Landing Ground for No. 207 Advanced Flying School RAF (November 1951 - June 1954) * No. 460 Conversion Flight RAF (May - August 1942 & September - October 1942) became 'A' Flight of No. 1656 Heavy Conversion Unit RAF (October - November 1942) * No. 2716 Squadron RAF Regiment * No. 2797 Squadron RAF Regiment

Current use

Mustangs Flying During Breighton Airshow

The original runways are covered in buildings but the outline of the runways, taxiways and dispersal stands are clearly visible using satellite imagery. A part of the airfield is currently used by the Real Aeroplane Company to house and maintain private and historic aircraft and a home for the Breighton Flying Club which uses a separate grass runway located within the original airfield grounds. Five people were injured in a helicopter crash at the airfield on 17 July 2016.

References

Citations

Bibliography

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External links

Real Aeroplane Company
{{DEFAULTSORT:Breighton Royal Air Force stations in Yorkshire Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom