RAF Spilsby
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Royal Air Force Spilsby or more simply RAF Spilsby 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 ...
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 ...
and the
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
located in the rural village of Great Steeping, near the market town of
Spilsby Spilsby is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. The town is adjacent to the main A16 road (England), A16, east of Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Lincoln, north-east of Boston ...
,
Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...
,
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 ...
. Halpenny, Bruce Barrymore ''Action Stations: Wartime Military Airfields of Lincolnshire and the East Midlands v. 2'' - Page 173


History


A change of location

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 ...
the
Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force and civil aviation that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the ...
attempted to build an airfield at
Gunby Hall Gunby Hall is a country house in Gunby, East Lindsey, Gunby, near Spilsby, in Lincolnshire, England, reached by a private drive. The Estate comprises the 42-room Gunby Hall, listed Grade I, a clocktower, listed Grade II* and a carriage house a ...
that would have covered most of the estate and necessitated the demolition of the magnificent and historic hall. The then owner, Field Marshal Sir Archibald Montgomery-Massingberd personally appealed to
King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of In ...
and the Air Ministry relented, redrawing the plans that resulted in the building of the resited RAF Spilsby although the runway would eventually end only a few yards short of the Gunby estate boundary hedge.


First action

The airfield was built at Great Steeping, just south west of its originally planned location at Gunby, during 1942 to 1943 and opened for action on 20 September 1943 as an overflow satellite airfield to RAF East Kirkby in 5 (Bomber) Group RAF. The first operational squadron to be based at Spilsby was No. 207 Squadron RAF who moved from
RAF Langar Royal Air Force Langar or more simply RAF Langar is a former Royal Air Force station located near the village of Langar, Nottinghamshire, England. The airfield is located approximately east-southeast of Radcliffe on Trent. Opened in 1942 du ...
on 12 October 1943. The squadron bombed
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in
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
six days later on 18 October and the following week the station was upgraded from satellite status to a full station in its own right.


Later in the war

In April 1944 the three local bomber stations at Spilsby, Strubby and East Kirkby combined to form the 55 Base RAF with the headquarters located at East Kirkby. RAF Spilsby became a two squadron station when
No. 44 Squadron RAF Number 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron was an aviation unit of the Royal Air Force. It was active between 1917 and 1982. For most of its history it served as a heavy bomber squadron. History The World Wars (1917–1945) No. 44 Squadron was formed on 24 ...
relocated from
RAF Dunholme Lodge Royal Air Force Dunholme Lodge or more simply RAF Dunholme Lodge was a Royal Air Force station located between the parishes of Welton and Dunholme in Lincolnshire, England. History The grass airfield was first used by the Royal Air Force durin ...
near Lincoln in October 1944. In 1944 a Spilsby-based 207 Squadron airman, Flying Officer Denys Street escaped from the German prisoner of war camp
Stalag Luft III Stalag Luft III (; literally "Main Camp, Air, III"; SL III) was a ''Luftwaffe''-run prisoner-of-war (POW) camp during the Second World War, which held captured Western Allied air force personnel. The camp was established in March 1942 near th ...
and was one of the fifty executed by the
Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...
in the aftermath of the mass escape that was later filmed as The Great Escape. During the war the Lancasters of 207 Squadron flew over 6,000 individual sorties during 540 operational missions, by both day and night with the loss of 154 seven man crews killed or missing, with at least another 9 aircraft lost on non-operational training or ferry flights. As the Second World War came to an end 44 Squadron was moved south to RAF Mepal in Cambridgeshire and they were replaced by No. 75 (New Zealand) Squadron who were planned to be part of the
Tiger Force Tiger Force was the name of a long-range reconnaissance patrol (LRRP) unit of the 1st Battalion (Airborne), 327th Infantry, 1st Brigade (Separate), 101st Airborne Division, which fought in the Vietnam War from November 1965 to November 1967. Th ...
against
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
. However, when the nuclear bombs were dropped on
Hiroshima and Nagasaki On 6 and 9 August 1945, the United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively, during World War II. The aerial bombings killed between 150,000 and 246,000 people, most of whom were civili ...
and the war ended, the Spilsby squadrons were moved elsewhere in October 1945. The airfield defence force of No. 2751 Squadron RAF Regiment remained at RAF Spilsby and it became No. 2 Armament and Gunnery Practice School.


Airfield accidents

On Easter Monday 10 April 1944, during the preparation for an operation, a bomb exploded while it was being disarmed in a fusing shed. Ten squadron armourers were killed, three of whom were never found and have no known grave. The force of the explosion also caused damage to some of the airfield's buildings and even some slight damage in the nearby community. The second accident happened on 1 November 1944. During 207 Squadron's daylight departure on sorties, a Lancaster piloted by Flying Officer Arthur Loveless swung violently on take-off and careered across the airfield. It demolished a Nissen hut before coming to rest among four Halifaxes belonging to 429 'Bison' Squadron (RCAF) which had been diverted to Spilsby from the previous night's operation. The Lancaster and three of the Halifaxes were destroyed by explosion and fire. A fourth Halifax was severely damaged and its Flight Engineer killed when he started the engines with the intention of getting clear of the inferno. Once again a number of the airfield's buildings were damaged with the control tower having a narrow escape. A few days later on 11 November, a further tragedy befell Spilsby airmen when returning home from an operation. Two Lancasters – one from 44 Squadron, flown by Pilot Officer Garyer, and one from 207 Squadron – received identical landing instructions from the Spilsby control tower and collided in the approach funnel over the village of
Bratoft Bratoft is a small hamlet in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated approximately east from Spilsby, west from Burgh Le Marsh, and south from the A158 road. Bratoft Grade II listed Anglican church is dedicated to ...
, east of the airfield, killing both crews and scattering debris over a large area. This led to revised approach procedures being implemented with aircraft being allocated specific time slots to prevent overcrowding in the circuit.


The Cold War period and closure

In December 1946 RAF Spilsby was abandoned and placed on care and maintenance until June 1955, during which time it was used for storing overflow supplies for RAF East Kirkby. After the
Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
and as the
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
started RAF Spilsby re-opened to host units of the
USAF The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
and the east-west runway was extended by in preparation for accommodating long range escort fighters. However no USAF squadrons were ever based at Spilsby, where only non-flying units were stationed, there is no evidence that the airfield was used by any aircraft. The Korean war had ended in 1953 but the USAF did not move out until March 1958, relocating to
RAF Mildenhall Royal Air Force Mildenhall, or more simply RAF Mildenhall , is a Royal Air Force List of Royal Air Force stations, station located near Mildenhall, Suffolk, Mildenhall in Suffolk, England. Despite its status as a List of Royal Air Force stations, ...
, when the Spilsby airfield immediately closed. The extended runway was long enough to handle the RAF's jet engined nuclear bomber V-force and a decision to rip it out was delayed for nearly twenty years just in case it became needed again by the RAF. Spilsby remained on RAF maps as a designated emergency landing site for the
Avro Vulcan The Avro Vulcan (later Hawker Siddeley Vulcan from July 1963) was a jet-powered, tailless, delta-wing, high-altitude, strategic bomber, which was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) from 1956 until 1984. Aircraft manufacturer A.V. Roe ...
bombers based at RAF Scampton. With the V-force disbanding the runways and perimeter track were finally torn up during the late 1970s, with most of the crushed aggregate being used in the construction of the new
Humber Bridge The Humber Bridge is a single-span road suspension bridge near Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. When it opened to traffic on 24 June 1981, it was the longest of its type in the world; the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge surpassed ...
.


Memorials

RAF Spilsby is commemorated by an Airfield Memorial standing just outside Great Steeping and by plaques in the All Saints' Church Great Steeping. The ghost cropmarks showing the airfield's runway layout are still visible on some aerial photographs and at certain times of the year.


Surviving buildings


Units and aircraft based at Spilsby

Jefford 1985, page 159


See also

*
List of former Royal Air Force stations This list of former RAF stations includes most of the stations, airfields and administrative headquarters previously used by the Royal Air Force. They are listed under any former county or country name which was appropriate for the duration of ...


References


Citations


Bibliography

* Halpenny, Bruce Barrymore ''Action Stations: Wartime Military Airfields of Lincolnshire and the East Midlands v. 2'' (1981) () *


External links


RAF Spilsby official historyRAF Spilsby
at the International Bomber Command Centre Digital Archive. {{DEFAULTSORT:Spilsby Royal Air Force stations in Lincolnshire Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom