Royal Air Force Firbeck or more simply RAF Firbeck 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 ...

relief landing ground Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

located west of Firbeck,

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the north, the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north-east, Lincolnshire ...

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 September 1940 and was closed in 1948, during this time it was mainly used as a relief landing ground (RLG) and small planes such as 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 ...

and 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 ...

. After 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 ...

had ended the airfield was used by two Royal Air Force (RAF) gliding schools.

History

The airfield was first constructed in 1935 in conjunction with a country club opening up at Firbeck Hall. Cyril Nicholson invested money into the Jacobean hall and its surroundings which attracted the rich and glamorous of that time. The then Prince of Wales (the future

Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire, and Emperor of India, from 20 January ...

) also flew into the airfield in his own

de Havilland Dragon Rapide The de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide is a 1930s short-haul biplane airliner developed and produced by British aircraft company de Havilland. Capable of accommodating 6–8 passengers, it proved an economical and durable craft, despite its outd ...

aircraft (the very aircraft that he flew to London on his accession to King in 1936). On the outbreak of war, the airfield was pressed into service for the Royal Air Force under the Emergency Powers Act. The first squadron to use the airfield was No. 613 Squadron RAF which had moved from RAF Netherthorpe on 7 September 1940. The unit had detachments at various other airfields such as

RAF Clifton Royal Air Force Clifton, or more simply RAF Clifton, is a former Royal Air Force station located north west of York city centre and south west of Haxby, North Yorkshire, England. The airfield was opened in 1936 as a civilian airport but by 19 ...

, RAF Netherthorpe,

RAF Sutton Bridge Royal Air Force Sutton Bridge or more simply RAF Sutton Bridge is a former Royal Air Force List of former Royal Air Force stations, station found next to the village of Sutton Bridge in the south-east of Lincolnshire. The airfield was to the sou ...

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 ...

and

RAF Martlesham Heath Royal Air Force Martlesham Heath or more simply RAF Martlesham Heath is a former Royal Air Force station located southwest of Woodbridge, Suffolk, England. It was active between 1917 and 1963, and played an important role in the development o ...

initially flying the

Mk. II before the addition of the Mk. III in January 1941. The squadron moved to

on 8 July 1941. A short time after this on 19 July 1941

No. 2 Squadron RAF Number 2 Squadron, also known as No. II (Army Co-operation) Squadron, is the most senior squadron of the Royal Air Force. It is currently equipped with the Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 at RAF Lossiemouth, Moray, since reforming there on 12 Janua ...

moved in from

RAF Sawbridgeworth Royal Air Force Sawbridgeworth or more simply RAF Sawbridgeworth is a former Royal Air Force List of former Royal Air Force stations, station located north of Harlow, Essex and east of Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England. The airfield was used ...

flying the Lysander II for four days before moving back to Sawbridgeworth. Between July 1941 and 1 November 1945 Firbeck was used as a relief landing ground for No. 25 Elementary Flying Training School RAF (EFTS). The next are both air observation post squadron which were used by

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 ...

to help spot enemy positions. The first of these squadron was

No. 654 Squadron RAF No. 654 Squadron AAC (654 Sqn) is a squadron of the British Army's Army Air Corps (United Kingdom), Army Air Corps (AAC) that is currently the Headquarters Squadron for 4 Regiment Army Air Corps, 4 Regt AAC. It was formerly No. 654 Squadron RAF, ...

which started using RAF Firbeck from 15 September 1942 flying the Taylorcraft Auster Plus C2 and the Auster I before moving to

RAF Bottisham Royal Air Force Bottisham or more simply RAF Bottisham is a former Royal Air Force station located east of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England. History RAF Fighter Command use RAF Bottisham opened in March 1940 and was first used by bomb-arm ...

on 20 November 1942 and the second was No. 659 Squadron RAF which was formed at the airfield on 30 April 1943 and flew the Auster III before moving to

on 17 August 1943. In 1944 No. 28 Gliding School RAF took up residence with Cadet gliders staying until January 1946. However, after a short amount of time No. 24 Gliding School RAF took over the empty space in May 1946 and they stayed until February 1948. The airfield closed during 1948.

Current use

There is a memorial at the airfield where the aircraft repair shop used to be located. The airfield is currently open land.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Firbeck Royal Air Force stations in Yorkshire Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom