Royal Air Force Milfield or more simply RAF Milfield is a former Royal Air Force

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 ...

which operated during the Second World War, located near Milfield, Northumberland, England.

History

The airfield opened on 26 January 1942, hosting

No. 59 Operational Training Unit RAF The numero sign or numero symbol, №, (also represented as Nº, No, No. or no.), is a Typography, typographic abbreviation of the word ''number''(''s'') indicating ordinal number, ordinal numeration, especially in names and titles. For exampl ...

, a fighter training unit, later joined by the

Specialised Low Attack Instructors School RAF The Central Fighter Establishment was a Royal Air Force formation that dealt with the development of fighter aircraft tactics which was formed on 4 September 1944 at RAF Wittering. It also tested new fighter aircraft and equipment, and with the ...

. The OTU trained ground-attack pilots for the Hawker Typhoon. In January 1944, both units were disbanded and merged to become the

Fighter Leaders School RAF The Central Fighter Establishment was a Royal Air Force formation that dealt with the development of fighter aircraft tactics which was formed on 4 September 1944 at RAF Wittering. It also tested new fighter aircraft and equipment, and with the ...

. That specialised in training officers in commanding ground attack units, with a focus on the skills which would be needed to lead close support operations from front-line airfields in Europe.

No. 56 Operational Training Unit RAF The numero sign or numero symbol, №, (also represented as Nº, No, No. or no.), is a typographic abbreviation of the word ''number''(''s'') indicating ordinal numeration, especially in names and titles. For example, using the numero sign, t ...

operated from Milfield from January 1945 onwards, training replacement Hawker Tempest pilots for Second Tactical Air Force in Europe. That continued to operate until 14 February 1946, when it was disbanded and RAF Milfield closed. The following units were based at RAF Milfield at some point: * No. 77 Squadron RAF *

No. 183 Squadron RAF No. 183 (Gold Coast) Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron that was a fighter-bomber unit in World War II. History Formation The squadron formed on 2 March 1942 at RAF Church Fenton and then equipped with rocket armed Typhoons. It was s ...

No. 184 Squadron RAF No. 184 Squadron was a Royal Air Force squadron during the second world war. History No.184 Squadron was formed at RAF Colerne on 1 December 1942, as a fighter bomber unit equipped with the Hawker Hurricane. Initially, Mark IIDs with 40mm anti-ta ...

Day Fighter Development Wing RAF The Central Fighter Establishment was a Royal Air Force formation that dealt with the development of fighter aircraft tactics which was formed on 4 September 1944 at RAF Wittering. It also tested new fighter aircraft and equipment, and with the ...

Post war use

After the RAF had departed, some of the outlying buildings at the site were converted into housing. The central airfield continued in use by the Borders Gliding Club until the mid-1970s, and was briefly used by Air Anglia for regional flights in 1977-78. The Borders Gliding Club moved back to Milfield in 1992 by which time the remaining part of the airfield had been levelled and grassed over. The site now contains a food-processing facility and sawmill, as well as a former sand and gravel quarry operated by Tarmac Limited.

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External links

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