Royal Air Force Clifton or RAF Clifton is a former

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

station located north west of

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

city centre and south west of

Haxby Haxby is a town and civil parish in the City of York district of North Yorkshire, England. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 8,754, reducing to 8,428 at the 2011 Census. Open farmland is to the north as far as the vil ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The airfield was opened in 1936 as a civilian airport but by 1939 the station was taken by the Royal Air Force (RAF) for use in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and was returned in 1946 when the airport reopened. However, in 1955 the airfield was closed for good. The airfield during wartime was also known as RAF York and RAF Rawcliffe.

Station history

The airfield was originally York Municipal Aerodrome which opened in 1936 after an air circus had used the site previously but on 1 September 1939 the site was requisitioned by the RAF for

Bomber Command Bomber Command is an organisational military unit, generally subordinate to the air force of a country. The best known were in Britain and the United States. A Bomber Command is generally used for strategic bombing (although at times, e.g. during t ...

. The first squadron to use the airfield was No. 613 Squadron RAF between 7 September 1940 and 8 July 1941 as a detachment while the main squadron were at

RAF Firbeck Royal Air Force Firbeck or more simply RAF Firbeck is a former Royal Air Force station located west of Firbeck, South Yorkshire, England. The airfield was opened in September 1940 and was closed in 1948, during this time it was mainly used as ...

. The airfield was empty until

No. 4 Squadron RAF No. 4 Squadron, normally written as IV Squadron, of the Royal Air Force operates the BAE Hawk T2 in the training role from RAF Valley. History Formation and First World War IV Squadron formed at Farnborough in 1912 as part of the Royal Fl ...

arrived on 27 August 1940 originally with the

Westland Lysander The Westland Lysander is a British 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-operation role, the aircraft's ...

III/IIIA adding the

Tomahawk A tomahawk is a type of single-handed axe used by the many Indigenous peoples and nations of North America. It traditionally resembles a hatchet with a straight shaft. In pre-colonial times the head was made of stone, bone, or antler, and Europ ...

IIA in April 1942 and the

North American Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James H ...

I in May 1943. On 27 June 1942

No. 169 Squadron RAF No. 169 Squadron RAF was a tactical reconnaissance and later a night intruder squadron of the Royal Air Force during World War II. History No. 169 squadron was formed on 15 June 1942 at RAF Twinwood Farm as a tactical reconnaissance squadron f ...

arrived with the Mustang I as a detachment from

RAF Doncaster Royal Air Force Doncaster or more simply RAF Doncaster, also referred to as Doncaster Aerodrome, is a former Royal Air Force station near Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The first Aviation meeting in England In 1909, Doncaster and specif ...

. The squadron stayed until 12 October 1942. *

between 15 November 1942 and 18 December 1942 with the Mustang. *

between 12 March 1943 and 20 March 1943 with the Tomahawk and Mustang. *

No. 231 Squadron RAF No. 231 Squadron RAF was a squadron of the Royal Air Force between 1918 and 1946, active in both World War I and World War II in various roles. History First World War No. 231 Squadron was formed from Nos. 329 and 330 Flights of the seaplane st ...

between 21 March 1943 and 6 July 1943 with the Mustang I. The squadron had a detachment at

RAF Ballyhalbert Royal Air Force Ballyhalbert or more simply RAF Ballyhalbert is a former Royal Air Force station at Ballyhalbert on the Ards Peninsula, County Down, Northern Ireland RAF Kirkistown was a satellite to the larger Ballyhalbert. Construction beg ...

. *

No. 659 Squadron RAF No. 659 Squadron was a Royal Air Force Air Observation Post squadron associated with the 21st Army Group during World War II. Numbers 651 to 663 Squadrons of the RAF were Air Observation Post units working closely with Army units in artillery sp ...

between 17 August 1943 and 23 April 1944 with a brief change to

RAF Burn Royal Air Force Burn or more simply RAF Burn is a former Royal Air Force satellite station located south of Selby and east of Burn in North Yorkshire, England which opened in 1942 before closing in 1946. Station history The airfield was open ...

on 31 December 1943. The squadron flew the Auster III before upgrading to the Mk. IV during March 1944. *

No. 658 Squadron RAF No. 658 Squadron was a Royal Air Force Air Observation Post squadron associated with the 21st Army Group during World War II. No.s 651 to 663 Squadrons of the RAF were Air Observation Post units working closely with British army, Army units in a ...

between 29 August 1943 and 1 January 1944 with the

Taylorcraft Auster The Taylorcraft Auster was a British military liaison and observation aircraft produced by the Taylorcraft Aeroplanes (England) Limited company during the Second World War. Design and development The Auster was a twice-removed development of ...

III. * No. 48 Maintenance Unit RAF. During its lifetime Clifton was used by

RAF Bomber Command RAF Bomber Command controlled the Royal Air Force's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. Along with the United States Army Air Forces, it played the central role in the strategic bombing of Germany in World War II. From 1942 onward, the British bo ...

RAF Army Cooperation Command The RAF Army Co-operation Command was a short-lived command of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, comprising the army cooperation units of the RAF. The command was formed on 1 December 1940 when No. 22 (Army Co-Operation) Group, ...

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...

RAF Fighter Command RAF Fighter Command was one of the commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It served throughout the Second World War. It earned near-immortal fame during the Battle of Britai ...

and

RAF Maintenance Command RAF Maintenance Command was the Royal Air Force command which was responsible for controlling maintenance for all the United Kingdom-based units from formation on 1 April 1938 until being renamed RAF Support Command on 31 August 1973. History ...

Current use

York Aerodrome Plaque with daffodils - geograph

The airfield site now forms a housing estate, industrial estate, shopping centre and local nature reserve (Clifton Backies). However, there are two stubs of the original runways still visible north of the A1237 near the roundabout leading to the shopping centre. There is also a stub of another runway and taxiway visible to the south of the A1237 just west of Wigginton Road.

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links