Royal Air Force Sturgate or more simply RAF Sturgate 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 located north west of

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the 16th president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln (na ...

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 ...

Royal Air Force use

The airfield was opened in 1944 at Royal Air Force Sturgate.RAF Sturgate www.controltowers.co.uk
/ref> Originally used for blind flying training two operational Lancaster squadrons arrived in June 1945 but both then moved to

RAF Waddington Royal Air Force Waddington , commonly known as RAF Waddington, and informally known by its nickname 'Waddo' is a Royal Air Force station located beside the village of Waddington, south of Lincoln, Lincolnshire, in England. The station is th ...

in January 1946. The station closed to flying between 1946 and 1953.

RAF units and aircraft

United States Air Force use

In 1953 the station was allocated for use by the

United States Air Force 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 ...

Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile compon ...

and the 508th Strategic Fighter Wing operating the

Republic F-84 Thunderjet The Republic F-84 Thunderjet is an American turbojet fighter-bomber aircraft. Originating as a 1944 United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) proposal for a "day fighter", the F-84 first flew in 1946. Although it entered service in 1947, the Thunde ...

. It was also used to house SAC bombers on temporary duty (TDY) from the United States. From 1959, it was used for logistical support facilities for 99th Munitions Maintenance Squadron (USAF) located at the

PGM-17 Thor The PGM-17A Thor was the first operative ballistic missile of the United States Air Force (USAF). It was named after the Thor, Norse god of thunder. It was deployed in the United Kingdom between 1959 and September 1963 as an intermediate-range b ...

missile unit at nearby

RAF Hemswell Royal Air Force Hemswell, or RAF Hemswell, is a former Royal Air Force station located east of Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. Located close to the village of Hemswell in Lincolnshire, England the disestablished airfield is now in f ...

. The airfield was closed in 1964.

Current use

A corner of the original airfield is now used as an unlicensed aerodrome for civil use as Sturgate Airfield.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sturgate Royal Air Force stations in Lincolnshire Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom Installations of the United States Air Force in the United Kingdom Military airbases closed in 1964 History of Lincolnshire Military airbases established in 1944