Royal Air Force Skellingthorpe or more simply RAF Skellingthorpe 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 which was operational during 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 ...

. It was located just west of the city of

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

, England about south-east of the village of

Skellingthorpe Skellingthorpe is a village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 3,465. It is situated west from Lincoln city centre, and just outside the A46 ...

on a field previously called Black Moor. After its closure the site was developed as the Birchwood estate.

History

The airfield opened in 1941 under the control of

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 ...

and consisted of the standard pattern of three runways, with one Type B1 and two Type T2 hangars.

Nissen hut A Nissen hut is a prefabricated steel structure for military use, especially as barracks, made from a half-cylindrical skin of corrugated iron. Designed during the First World War by the American-born, Canadian-British engineer and inventor Majo ...

s were used for accommodation. It was known as "Skelly" by the RAF personnel serving there. No. 50 Squadron RAF, equipped with

Handley Page Hampden The Handley Page HP.52 Hampden is a British twin-engine medium bomber that was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was part of the trio of large twin-engine bombers procured for the RAF, joining the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley and Vickers ...

s, was the first squadron based at Skellingthorpe, with the first detachment of personnel arriving shortly before the runways were complete. They were followed by

No. 455 Squadron RAAF No. 455 Squadron was a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) torpedo bomber squadron during World War II and became famous as part of the "ANZAC Strike Wing" that was formed from Australian and New Zealand squadrons. Raised in early 1941, mainly fro ...

(also flying Hampdens), however this squadron moved to

RAF Wigsley Royal Air Force Station Wigsley, also known as RAF Wigsley, is a former Royal Air Force Royal Air Force station, station located east of Tuxford, Nottinghamshire and west of Lincoln, England, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England. History * No.14 (Pi ...

shortly afterwards. The 50 Squadron Hampdens were replaced with

Avro Manchester The Avro 679 Manchester was a British twin-engine heavy bomber developed and manufactured by the Avro aircraft company in the United Kingdom. While not being built in great numbers, it was the forerunner of the famed and vastly more successful ...

s in April 1942, then, in June 1942, Skellingthorpe was closed for runway extensions to cope with the Squadron's conversion to new

Avro Lancaster The Avro Lancaster is a British Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to the same specification, as well as the Short Stirlin ...

aircraft. In November 1943 a further bomber squadron,

No. 61 Squadron RAF No. 61 Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was first formed as a fighter squadron of the British Royal Flying Corps during the First World War. It was reformed in 1937 as a bomber squadron of the Royal Air Force and served in t ...

operating Avro Lancasters, arrived at Skellingthorpe, and remained until February 1944 after which it transferred to

RAF Coningsby Royal Air Force Coningsby or RAF Coningsby , is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located south-west of Horncastle, and north-west of Boston, in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is a Main Operating Base of the RAF and hom ...

in order for accommodation to be built on the Doddington Road side of Skellingthorpe airfield. 463 Squadron RAAF moved to RAF Skellingthorpe on 3 July 1945 with Lancaster Mks I and III from RAF Waddington. During the war the tally of bombers lost or failed to return from Skellingthorpe reached 208: 15 Hampdens, six Manchesters and 187 Lancasters. In 1981, former Chief of the Air Staff, Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir

Michael Beetham Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Michael James Beetham, (17 May 1923 – 24 October 2015) was a Second World War bomber pilot and a high-ranking commander in the Royal Air Force from the 1960s to the 1980s. As Chief of the Air Staff during th ...

, who had flown Lancasters from Skellingthorpe during the war, unveiled a memorial on the site to commemorate the 1,984 men killed flying from the airfield during the Second World War.

Postwar

After the end of the Second World War, RAF Skellingthorpe was the base for No. 58 Maintenance Unit RAF, with salvaged crashed aircraft stored at the base.

Units

The following units were also here at some point:

Current use

The Birchwood Estate was built on the airfield in the 1970s, and the A46 Lincoln Bypass was built on it in 1986. Today that site is known as Birchwood. The local

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

, The Black Swan, was named after the R/T call sign of the airfield.

Exhibition and museum

A Heritage Room at the Community Centre in

holds a public exhibition of photographs showing the history of RAF Skellingthorpe and Squadrons based there, and is part of the North Kesteven Airfield Trail. A small public museum, part of Birchwood Community Centre in Lincoln, commemorates Nos. 50 and 61 Squadrons. Included in the museum is squadron aircraft memorabilia, photographs and records. The 50 and 61 Squadron Books of Remembrance are also held there.

References

Citations

Bibliography

Bruce Barrymore Halpenny Bruce Barrymore Halpenny (1937 – 3 May 2015) was an English military historian and author, specialising in airfields and aircraft, as well as ghost stories and mysteries. He was also a broadcaster''Framlington Times'' - Journal of the 390t ...

''Action Stations: Wartime Military Airfields of Lincolnshire and the East Midlands v. 2'' ()

Military units and formations established in 1941 Museums in Lincoln, England Military aviation museums in England