Royal Air Force Firbeck or more simply RAF Firbeck 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 west of

Firbeck Firbeck is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham in South Yorkshire, England, on the border with Nottinghamshire. It lies between Maltby and Oldcotes, off the A634 and B6463 roads. Firbeck had a population of ...

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of Doncaster and Sheffield as well as the boroughs of Barnsley and Rotherham. In N ...

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 September 1940 and was closed in 1948, during this time it was mainly used as a relief landing ground (RLG) and small planes such as 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 ...

and 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 ...

. After 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 ...

had ended the airfield was used by two Royal Air Force (RAF) gliding schools.

History

The airfield was first constructed in 1935 in conjunction with a country club opening up at Firbeck Hall. Cyril Nicholson invested money into the Jacobean hall and its surroundings which attracted the rich and glamorous of that time. The then Prince of Wales (the future

Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire and Emperor of India from 20 January 19 ...

) also flew into the airfield in his own Dragon rapide aircraft (the very aircraft that he flew to London on his accession to king in 1936). On the outbreak of war, the airfield was pressed into service for the Royal Air Force under the Emergency Powers Act. The first squadron to use the airfield was No. 613 Squadron RAF which had moved from RAF Netherthorpe on 7 September 1940. The unit had detachments at various other airfields such as

RAF Clifton Royal Air Force Clifton or RAF Clifton is a former Royal Air Force station located north west of York city centre and south west of Haxby, North Yorkshire, England. The airfield was opened in 1936 as a civilian airport but by 1939 the statio ...

, RAF Netherthorpe,

RAF Sutton Bridge Royal Air Force Sutton Bridge or more simply RAF Sutton Bridge is a former Royal Air Force station found next to the village of Sutton Bridge in the south-east of Lincolnshire. The airfield was to the south of the current A17, and east of the Ri ...

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 ...

and

RAF Martlesham Heath Royal Air Force Martlesham Heath or more simply RAF Martlesham Heath is a former Royal Air Force station located southwest of Woodbridge, Suffolk, England. It was active between 1917 and 1963, and played an important role in the development of ...

initially flying the

Mk. II before the addition of the Mk. III in January 1941. The squadron moved to

on 8 July 1941. A short time after this on 19 July 1941

No. 2 Squadron RAF Number 2 Squadron, also known as No. II (Army Co-operation) Squadron, is the most senior Squadron (aviation), squadron of the Royal Air Force. It is currently equipped with the Eurofighter Typhoon, Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 at RAF Lossiemouth, C ...

moved in from

RAF Sawbridgeworth Royal Air Force Sawbridgeworth or RAF Sawbridgeworth is a former Royal Air Force station located north of Harlow, Essex and east of Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England. The airfield was used during the First World War as a night landing ground ...

flying the Lysander II for four days before moving back to Sawbridgeworth. Between July 1941 and 1 November 1945 Firbeck was used as a relief landing ground for No. 25 Elementary Flying Training School RAF (EFTS). The next squadrons are both Air Observation Post squadron which were used by

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, ...

to help spot enemy positions. The first of these squadron was No. 654 Squadron RAF which started using RAF Firbeck from 15 September 1942 flying the Taylorcraft Auster Plus C2 and the Auster I before moving to

RAF Bottisham Royal Air Force Bottisham or more simply RAF Bottisham is a former Royal Air Force station located east of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England. History RAF Fighter Command use RAF Bottisham opened in March 1940 and was first used by bomb-ar ...

on 20 November 1942 and the second was

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 ...

which was formed at the airfield on 30 April 1943 and flew the Auster III before moving to

on 17 August 1943. In 1944 No. 28 Gliding School RAF took up residence with Cadet gliders staying until January 1946. However after a short amount of time No. 24 Gliding School RAF took over the empty space in May 1946 and they stayed until February 1948. The airfield closed during 1948.

Current use

There is a memorial at the airfield where the aircraft repair shop used to be located. The airfield is currently open land.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Firbeck Royal Air Force stations in Yorkshire Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom