Royal Air Force Ripon (also known as Royal Flying Corps Ripon) was a

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

airfield maintained by the

Royal Flying Corps The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC sup ...

in the city of

Ripon Ripon () is a cathedral city and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. The city is located at the confluence of two tributaries of the River Ure, the Laver and Skell. Within the boundaries of the historic West Riding of Yorkshire, the ...

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. The airfield was home to No. 76 Squadron which was employed on Home Defence (HD) in the United Kingdom. The airfield was created when the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) commandeered the southern half of

Ripon Racecourse Ripon Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Ripon, North Yorkshire, England and is nicknamed the Garden Racecourse. History Racing on the present site on Boroughbridge Road began on 6 August 1900. but racing has taken pla ...

in 1916. After the end of the First World War, the airfield was returned to horse-racing.

History

In 1916, the southern part of Ripon Racecourse, only south-west of the city of Ripon, was pressed into service as a base for No. 76 Squadron RFC. No. 76 Squadron was employed on Home Defence duties and had individual flights located at Catterick, Copmanthorpe, and Helperby, with Ripon acting as the headquarters. Other landing grounds could be used in an emergency (

RAF Manywells Height Royal Air Force Manywells Height (also known as Royal Flying Corps Manywells Height, Royal Flying Corps Cullingworth and Royal Air Force Cullingworth) was a grassed airstrip in use as Home Defence during the World War I, First World War. The si ...

), though in practice, lesser used locations saw very little activity (if any). As with the other landing grounds in Yorkshire, the site at Ripon was quite compact, covering only with basic facilities. The role of 76 Squadron at the base was in countering any

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

threats from air, most notably the

Zeppelin A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp. 155� ...

airships that would try bombing runs across the north. In 1917, No. 189 Squadron formed at RFC Ripon as a night training squadron and its stay at the airfield was short (only 5 months) before moving south to Suttons Farm. On 1 April 1918, the Royal Air Force was formed from the RFC and the Royal Naval Air Service. RFC Ripon was changed to Royal Air Force Ripon, though this name would only exist for 11 months. No. 76 Squadron moved to Tadcaster in March 1919 and was disbanded there just three months later. The airfield at Ripon was returned to the racecourse owners. Even after this, the portion of the racecourse to the south was used to land civilian flights including Sir Alan Cobham's Circus in the 1920s. The site was re-used during 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 ...

as a

Prisoner of War A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

(PoW) camp. During the Second World War,

RAF Dishforth Royal Air Force Dishforth or more simply RAF Dishforth is a former Royal Air Force station near Thirsk in North Yorkshire, England. Opened in 1936, the base was used as a bomber airfield during the Second World War with both British and Canad ...

, some to the east of Ripon was also commonly known as RAF Ripon due to its proximity to the town, but this was a purely unofficial name. The town also had another civilian airfield, due south of the city, that existed briefly in the 1920s.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ripon, RAF Military units and formations established in 1916

World War I airfields Royal Flying Corps airfields RAF World War I sites in England