Royal Air Force Clifton, or more simply RAF Clifton, 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 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 north west of

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

city centre and south west of

Haxby Haxby is a town and civil parish in the City of York district of North Yorkshire, England. According to the 2001 Census, the parish had a population of 8,754, which reduced to 8,428 at the 2011 Census. Open farmland extends to the north as fa ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

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 airfield was opened in 1936 as a civilian airport but by 1939 the station was taken by the Royal Air Force (RAF) for use 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 ...

and was returned in 1946 when the airport reopened. However, in 1955 the airfield was closed for good. The airfield during wartime was also known as RAF York and RAF Rawcliffe.

Station history

The airfield was originally York Municipal Aerodrome which opened in 1936 after an air circus had used the site previously but on 1 September 1939 the site was requisitioned by the RAF for

Bomber Command Bomber Command is an organisational military unit, generally subordinate to the air force of a country. The best known were in Britain and the United States. A Bomber Command is generally used for strategic bombing (although at times, e.g. during t ...

. The first squadron to use the airfield was No. 613 Squadron RAF between 7 September 1940 and 8 July 1941 as a detachment while the main squadron were at

RAF Firbeck Royal Air Force Firbeck or more simply RAF Firbeck is a former Royal Air Force relief landing ground located west of Firbeck, South Yorkshire, England. The airfield was opened in September 1940 and was closed in 1948, during this time it was ...

. The airfield was empty until

No. 4 Squadron RAF No. 4 Squadron, also known as No. IV Squadron, is a squadron of the Royal Air Force. Since November 2011, it has operated the BAE Hawk T2 from RAF Valley, Anglesey, Wales. The squadron provides weapons and tactics training for student pilots a ...

arrived on 27 August 1940 originally with the

Westland Lysander The Westland Lysander is a British Army cooperation aircraft, army co-operation and liaison aircraft produced by Westland Aircraft that was used immediately before and during the Second World War. After becoming obsolete in the army co-operat ...

III/IIIA adding the

Curtiss Tomahawk The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter-bomber that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry ...

IIA in April 1942 and the

North American Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter aircraft, fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in 1940 by a team headed ...

I in May 1943. On 27 June 1942 No. 169 Squadron RAF arrived with the Mustang I as a detachment from

RAF Doncaster Royal Air Force Doncaster or more simply RAF Doncaster, also referred to as Doncaster Aerodrome, is a former Royal Air Force satellite station near Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The first Aviation meeting in England In 1909, Doncaster ...

. The squadron stayed until 12 October 1942. * No. 169 Squadron RAF between 15 November 1942 and 18 December 1942 with the Mustang. *

between 12 March 1943 and 20 March 1943 with the Tomahawk and Mustang. * No. 231 Squadron RAF between 21 March 1943 and 6 July 1943 with the Mustang I. The squadron had a detachment at

RAF Ballyhalbert Royal Air Force Ballyhalbert or more simply RAF Ballyhalbert is a former Royal Air Force sector station at Ballyhalbert on the Ards Peninsula, County Down, Northern Ireland. RAF Kirkistown was a satellite to the larger Ballyhalbert. Constru ...

. * No. 659 Squadron RAF between 17 August 1943 and 23 April 1944 with a brief change to RAF Burn on 31 December 1943. The squadron flew the Auster III before upgrading to the Mk. IV during March 1944. * No. 658 Squadron RAF between 29 August 1943 and 1 January 1944 with the

Taylorcraft Auster The Taylorcraft Auster was a British military liaison aircraft, liaison and observation aircraft produced by the Auster Aircraft, Taylorcraft Aeroplanes (England) Limited company during the Second World War. Design and development The Auster ...

III. * No. 48 Maintenance Unit RAF. During its lifetime Clifton was used by

RAF Bomber Command RAF Bomber Command controlled the Royal Air Force's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. Along with the United States Army Air Forces, it played the central role in the Strategic bombing during World War II#Europe, strategic bombing of Germany in W ...

RAF Army Cooperation Command The RAF Army Co-operation Command was a short-lived Command (military formation), command of the Royal Air Force during the World War II, Second World War, comprising the army cooperation units of the RAF. The command was formed on 1 December 1 ...

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is the naval aviation component of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy (RN). The FAA is one of five :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, RN fighting arms. it is a primarily helicopter force, though also operating the Lockhee ...

RAF Fighter Command RAF Fighter Command was one of the commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It operated throughout the Second World War, winning fame during the Battle of Britain in 1940. The ...

and

RAF Maintenance Command RAF Maintenance Command was the Royal Air Force command which was responsible for controlling maintenance for all the United Kingdom-based units from formation on 1 April 1938 until being renamed RAF Support Command on 31 August 1973. Histor ...

Accidents

Handley Page Halifax The Handley Page Halifax is a British Royal Air Force (RAF) four-engined heavy bomber of the Second World War. It was developed by Handley Page to the same specification as the contemporary twin-engine Avro Manchester. The Halifax has its or ...

Mk VII ''JP203'' crashed on approach to Clifton on the 8 June 1945. The aircraft had left Hooton Park, Cheshire on route to Clifton for scrapping by No. 48 Maintenance Unit RAF. Both crew members on board were killed.

Current use

York Aerodrome Plaque with daffodils - geograph

The airfield site now forms a housing estate, industrial estate, shopping centre and local nature reserve (Clifton Backies). However, there are two stubs of the original runways still visible north of the A1237 near the roundabout leading to the shopping centre. There is also a stub of another runway and taxiway visible to the south of the A1237 just west of Wigginton Road.

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links

UK Airshow Review Message Board - Farewell RAF Clifton
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clifton Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom Royal Air Force stations in Yorkshire