Royal Air Force Burn or more simply RAF Burn 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 ...

satellite station located south of

Selby Selby is a market town and civil parish in the Selby District of North Yorkshire, England, south of York on the River Ouse, with a population at the 2011 census of 14,731. The town was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire until ...

and east of

Burn A burn is an injury to skin, or other tissues, caused by heat, cold, electricity, chemicals, friction, or ultraviolet radiation (like sunburn). Most burns are due to heat from hot liquids (called scalding), solids, or fire. Burns occur mainl ...

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 which opened in 1942 before closing in 1946.

Station history

The airfield was opened in 1942 and first hosted No. 431 Squadron,

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

as part of 4 Group

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 ...

which formed at the airfield on 13 November 1942 flying

Vickers Wellington The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engined, long-range medium bomber. It was designed during the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey. Led by Vickers-Armstrongs' chief designer Rex Pierson; a key feature of the aircraft is its g ...

Mark X aircraft while at Burn. On 15 July 1943 the squadron was transferred to

RAF Tholthorpe RAF Tholthorpe was a Royal Air Force air station operated by RAF Bomber Command during the Second World War. The station, which had been opened in the late 1930s as a grass airfield, was located near Easingwold, North Yorkshire, UK. Tholthorpe a ...

and became part of

No. 6 Group RCAF No. 6 Group RCAF was a group of Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) heavy bomber squadrons in Europe during the Second World War, between 1942 and 1945. The group operated out of airfields in Yorkshire, England. History No. 6 Group was a Royal Cana ...

. On 1 January 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 ...

moved to the airfield from

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 ...

flying the Taylorcraft Auster III but left after only seven days, moving to

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 ...

. On 21 January 1944 the squadron returned, this time staying until 14 March 1944 when they moved to

RAF Collyweston RAF Collyweston is a former Royal Air Force satellite station located south west of Stamford, Lincolnshire, Stamford, Lincolnshire and north east of Corby, Northamptonshire, England. The airfield was a satellite station of RAF Wittering and ...

. The squadron was briefly joined on 31 December 1943 by 659 Squadron which moved to RAF Clifton the following day. During its use the airfield was also used by No. 10 Air Crew Holding Unit RAF. On 6 January 1944 No. 578 Squadron RAF squadron was relocated to RAF Burn from

RAF Snaith Royal Air Force Snaith or RAF Snaith is a former Royal Air Force station which was located south west of Goole, Yorkshire, England and close to the village of Pollington. The airfield opened 1941 before closing in 1946. Based units The airfi ...

. This Bomber Command squadron flew

Handley Page Halifax The Handley Page Halifax is a British Royal Air Force (RAF) four-engined heavy bomber of the Second World War. It was developed by Handley Page to the same specification as the contemporary twin-engine Avro Manchester. The Halifax has its or ...

Mk. III before disbanding on 15 April 1945 and the station was closed for flying operations in July 1945. On the night of 30 March 1944, Pilot Officer

Cyril Joe Barton Cyril Joe Barton, VC (5 June 1921 – 31 March 1944) was a Second World War bomber pilot in the Royal Air Force who received the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwe ...

took off from RAF Burn in Halifax LK797 for a raid on

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

, and won a posthumous

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

for valour. Shortly after flying was discontinued, the

Royal Army Service Corps The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and dom ...

took over some facilities to store surplus equipment. Many of the buildings have been dismantled but all three runways remain intact and are used by Burn Gliding Club Ltd.

Current use

The runways and hardstands are relatively intact, with Burn Gliding Club using the old aerodrome. The perimeter track of the airfield is also the location for the weekly Selby parkrun.

References

Citations

Bibliography

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External links