RAF Riccall is a former
Royal Air Force airfield located north east of
Selby,
North Yorkshire and south west of
Elvington, North Yorkshire,
England.
History
The airfield was opened in September 1942 as a satellite to
RAF Marston Moor
RAF Marston Moor was a Royal Air Force airfield at Tockwith, North Yorkshire, during the Second World War. It was originally called RAF Tockwith, but confusion with RAF Topcliffe led to the name change.
RAF Marston Moor was opened on 11 Novemb ...
. It had three runways of the
A-style airfield; the longest was long, the second was long and the third was long. All were wide. The technical site consisted of six T2 hangars and one B1 hangar. The first runways built on the site sank into the soft earth of the low-lying ground, and had to be built back up again.
During October 1942, No. 76 and No. 80 Conversion Flights (along with No. 10 Conversion Flight from another airfield) joined together to make
No. 1658 Heavy Conversion Unit RAF.
The following units were based at the airfield:
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No. 35 Maintenance Unit RAF
The following is a list of Royal Air Force Maintenance Units (MU).
The majority of MUs were previously Equipment Depots (ED), Storage Depots (SD) and Aircraft Storage Units (ASU)s.
No. 1 MU – No. 100 MU
No. 101 MU – No. 200 MU
No ...
.
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No. 91 Maintenance Unit RAF
The following is a list of Royal Air Force Maintenance Units (MU).
The majority of MUs were previously Equipment Depots (ED), Storage Depots (SD) and Aircraft Storage Units (ASU)s.
No. 1 MU – No. 100 MU
No. 101 MU – No. 200 MU
No ...
.
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No. 261 Maintenance Unit RAF.
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No. 268 Maintenance Unit RAF.
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No. 939 (West Riding) Balloon Squadron AAF.
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No. 1332 (Transport) Heavy Conversion Unit RAF.
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No. 1341 (Special Duties) Flight RAF
("By sweat and blood")
, colors=
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, battle_honours=World War I• Western Front 1916–1918• Ypres, 1917• Messines, 1917 World W ...
.
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Airborne Forces Experimental Establishment.
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York & District Flying Group.
After 1945, flying ceased, although the site was used as storage until 1958. The south west side of the airfield and storage area is now part of
Skipwith Common
Skipwith Common is a national nature reserve south of Skipwith, North Yorkshire, England. It is one of only three areas within the Vale of York that represent what the area was like before intensive agriculture took over. Natural England have ...
National Nature Reserve.
Part of the site was also used for mining coal as part of the
Selby Coalfield operation between the 1980s and 2004.
Current use
The site is now used for farming.
References
Sources
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External links
Atlantik Wall - RAF RiccallImage of RAF Riccall from 1947
{{DEFAULTSORT:Riccall
Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom
Royal Air Force stations in Yorkshire