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

satellite station A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater (two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tran ...

located in Greatham,

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

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 ...

. It was also known as RAF West Hartlepool and was located at

Hartlepool Hartlepool ( ) is a seaside resort, seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is governed by a unitary authority borough Borough of Hartlepool, named after the town. The borough is part of the devolved Tees Valley area with an estimat ...

and was little more than a grass

airstrip An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes in ...

, a satellite station of

RAF Thornaby Royal Air Force Thornaby, or more simply RAF Thornaby, is a former Royal Air Force Station located in the town and borough of Thornaby-on-Tees, in the North Riding of Yorkshire, England. Fighter Command, Bomber Command and Coastal Command a ...

History

It was home to four of 403 Squadron's

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allies of World War II, Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced conti ...

s from 19 June 1942 to 22 January 1943; operating forward from

RAF Catterick Royal Air Force Catterick or RAF Catterick is a former Royal Air Force List of former Royal Air Force stations, sector station located near Catterick, North Yorkshire in England. It is located alongside the A6055 road on the outskirts of Catter ...

. The airfield was once home to No. 645 Volunteer Gliding School, who operate Grob Vigilant Motor Gliders for the

Air Training Corps The Air Training Corps (ATC) is a British Youth organisations in the United Kingdom, volunteer youth organisation; aligned to, and fostering the knowledge and learning of military values, primarily focusing on military aviation. Part of the ...

. They are now located at

RAF Topcliffe Royal Air Force Topcliffe or RAF Topcliffe is a Royal Air Force List of Royal Air Force stations, station in North Yorkshire, England. It was established as a RAF Bomber Command station in 1940. The British Army took over a large part of the s ...

in Yorkshire. The following units were also here at some point: * 'N' Flight of

No. 1 Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit RAF This is a List of Anti-aircraft co-operation units of the Royal Air Force. Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Units * Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Flight RAF (1931–36) became Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit RAF * Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Flight, ...

* No. 6 (Coastal) OTU RAF * No. 26 Gliding School RAF * No. 32 Elementary and Reserve Flying Training School RAF *

No. 243 Squadron RAF No. 243 Squadron was a flying squadron of the Royal Air Force. Originally formed in August 1918 from two flights that had been part of the Royal Naval Air Service, the squadron conducted anti-submarine patrols during the final stages of World W ...

* No. 1613 (Anti-Aircraft Co-operation) Flight RAF * No. 2782 Squadron RAF Regiment *

No. 4054 Anti-Aircraft Flight RAF Regiment This is a list of units of the Royal Air Force Regiment. The RAF Regiment is the ground fighting force of the Royal Air Force and is charged mainly with protecting military airfields, among other duties. First formed in 1942 to protect the airfi ...

Current use

Little now remains, as the site was developed after the war by

British Steel Corporation British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and cultur ...

References

Organisations based in the Borough of Hartlepool Buildings and structures in the Borough of Hartlepool Royal Air Force stations in County Durham History of the Borough of Hartlepool {{RAF-stub

History

Current use

See also

References