Royal Air Force Catterick or RAF Catterick 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) an ...

airfield located near

Catterick, North Yorkshire Catterick () is a village, civil parish and electoral ward in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the North Riding of Yorkshire, it is north-west of the county town of Northallerton just to the west of ...

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 ...

. It is located alongside the

A6055 road The A6055 is a stretch of road in North Yorkshire that runs from Knaresborough to Boroughbridge, with a break, then starts up again at Junction 50 of the A1(M) to run parallel with A1(M) acting as a Local Access Road (LAR) going between Junctio ...

on the outskirts of

Catterick Village Catterick () is a village, civil parish and electoral ward in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the North Riding of Yorkshire, it is north-west of the county town of Northallerton just to the west ...

. Although initially a flying station, RAF Catterick was primarily the

depot Depot ( or ) may refer to: Places * Depot, Poland, a village * Depot Island, Kemp Land, Antarctica * Depot Island, Victoria Land, Antarctica * Depot Island Formation, Greenland Brands and enterprises * Maxwell Street Depot, a restaurant in ...

of the RAF Regiment for nearly 50 years. The station closed in 1994 and was transferred to the British Army to become Marne Barracks. Operationally it falls under the command of

Catterick Garrison Catterick Garrison is a major garrison and military town south of Richmond, North Yorkshire, England. It is the largest British Army garrison in the world, with a population of around 13,000 in 2017 and covering over 2,400 acres (about 10 ...

. It currently houses

5th Regiment Royal Artillery 5th Regiment Royal Artillery is a regiment of the Royal Artillery in the British Army. It was formed in 1939 as 5th Regiment Royal Horse Artillery before being redesignated in 1958. It currently serves in the Surveillance and Target Acquisitio ...

and 32 Engineer Regiment.

History

Catterick airfield or Catterick Airdrome/Aerodrome first opened in 1914 as a Royal Flying Corps

aerodrome An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...

with the role of training pilots and to assist in the defence of the

North East of England North East England is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The region has three current administrative levels below the region level in the region; combined authority, unitary authority ...

. It came under RAF administration in 1918 and housed No. 49 Training Depot Station. Aerial travel for Business or Pleasure - Thos Cook & Son - 1919 - pp 16+ (map)

Aerial travel for Business or Pleasure - Thos Cook & Son - 1919 - pp 16+ (map)

In 1927, it temporarily came under the administration of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

, under

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, ...

which would supply the army with air support as required. This continued until 1939 when the station was handed back to the RAF. 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 opposi ...

, the airfield operated a small satellite station, RAF Scorton, near the village of Scorton. Catterick's

runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt, concre ...

could not be extended from its existing for the

Jet Age The Jet Age is a period in the history of aviation defined by the advent of aircraft powered by jet turbine engines, and by the social change this brought about. Jet airliners were able to fly much higher, faster, and farther than older pisto ...

due to the perimeter being bounded by the A1 (or Great North Road) and the

River Swale The River Swale in Yorkshire, England, is a major tributary of the River Ure, which becomes the River Ouse, that empties into the North Sea via the Humber Estuary. The river gives its name to Swaledale, the valley through which it flows. ...

. Therefore, Catterick's role changed after the Second World War, becoming the depot of the RAF Regiment from 1946 until 1994.

Royal Air Force flying units (1914 - 1946)

The following squadrons have at some points been stationed at RAF Catterick: ;1-99 Squadrons *

No. 17 Squadron RAF Number 17 Squadron (sometimes written as No. XVII Squadron), currently No. 17 Test and Evaluation Squadron (TES), is a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was reformed on 12 April 2013 at Edwards Air Force Base, California, as the Operational ...

with the

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness b ...

IIB,

No. 26 Squadron RAF No. 26 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was formed in 1915 and was disbanded for the last time in 1976. The squadron's motto is ''N Wagter in die Lug'' (Afrikaans) (A guard in the sky), and the badge is a springbok's head couped. History 1915 ...

No. 41 Squadron RAF No. 41 Squadron of the Royal Air Force is the RAF's Typhoon Test and Evaluation Squadron ("TES"), based at RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire. Its official title is "41 TES". The squadron was formed in 1916 during First World War as part of the Royal ...

, No. 44 Squadron RAF, No. 53 Squadron RAF, No. 54 Squadron RAF, No. 63 Squadron RAF, No. 64 Squadron RAF,

No. 68 Squadron RAF The name No. 68 Squadron has been used for two quite different units, only one of which was strictly a unit of the Royal Air Force. "No. 68 Squadron RFC" was for a time the official British military designation for No. 2 Squadron Australian Flying ...

, No. 79 Squadron RAF and

No. 89 Squadron RAF No. 89 Squadron was a Royal Air Force squadron, mainly active in the fighter role during its existence. History Formation and World War I No. 89 squadron was formed on 1 September 1917 as a training unit at Netheravon. The squadron was not used f ...

. ;100-199 Squadrons * No. 107 Squadron RAF, No. 115 Squadron RAF, No. 118 Squadron RAF, No. 122 Squadron RAF, No. 127 Squadron RAF, No. 130 Squadron RAF, No. 131 Squadron RAF, No. 134 Squadron RAF and No. 145 Squadron RAF. ;200-299 Squadrons * No. 219 Squadron RAF,

No. 222 Squadron RAF No. 222 Squadron was a Royal Air Force fighter unit. History In World War I The squadron was formally formed at Thasos on 1 April 1918 from "A" Squadron of the former No. 2 Wing, RNAS when the Royal Air Force was formed. At this time, Richar ...

No. 256 Squadron RAF No. 256 Squadron RAF was a flying squadron of the Royal Air Force which operated during the First and Second World Wars. Initially equipped with Dh6 and Kangaroo aircraft, it operated Defiant Mk IIs, Beaufighters, and Mosquitoes in the Second W ...

and No. 289 Squadron RAF. ;300-399 Squadrons * No. 306 Polish Fighter Squadron, No. 313 Squadron RAF,

No. 331 Squadron RAF No. 331 Squadron RAF was a Second World War Squadron (aviation), squadron of the Royal Air Force. The squadron was primarily manned with Norwegian aircrew. The squadron was part of Fighter Command between 1941 and March 1944 when it joined the 2n ...

and No. 332 Squadron RAF. ;400-499 Squadrons * No. 401 Squadron RAF and No. 403 Squadron RAF. ;500-599 Squadrons * No. 504 Squadron RAF. ;600-699 Squadrons * No. 600 Squadron RAF and No. 609 Squadron RAF. ;Other units * No. 6 Reserve Aeroplane Squadron, No. 6 Reserve Squadron, No. 6 Training Squadron, No. 14 Reserve Aeroplane Squadron, No. 14 Reserve Squadron, No. 14 Training Squadron, No. 37 Reserve Squadron, No. 46 Training Squadron, No. 49 Training Depot Station, No. 52 Training Squadron, No. 68 Reserve Squadron, No. 69 Training Squadron, No. 83 (Canadian) Reserve Squadron, No. 88 (Canadian) Reserve Squadron, *

No. 3 Aircraft Delivery Flight RAF This is a List of Royal Air Force ferry units. Ferry Flights * No. 1689 (Ferry Pool Pilot Training) Flight RAF Units Crew pools Pilots pools Pools Training units Other units Aircraft See also Royal Air Force *List of R ...

(October - November 1943) * Detachment of No. 7 Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit RAF (May 1941) * 8th Wing RFC * No. 35 Maintenance Unit RAF (May 1947 - August 1949) * 166th Aero Squadron * No. 401 (Fleet Fighter) Flight * No. 449 (Fleet Spotter Reconnaissance) Flight * No. 450 (Fleet Spotter Reconnaissance) Flight *

No. 645 Gliding School RAF This is a list of Royal Air Force glider units. Gliding Schools +data 1-100 100-200 200-700 Volunteer Gliding Schools +data Other Glider units +data * Home Command Gliding Instructors School became Home Command Gliding Centre became ...

(March 1960 - 1984) became No. 645 Volunteer Gliding School RAF (1984 - *

No. 1472 (Anti-Aircraft Co-operation) Flight 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 ...

(January - November 1943) * Detachment of No. 1489 (Fighter) Gunnery Flight RAF (July 1943 - ?) * Detachment of

No. 1490 (Fighter) Gunnery Flight 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 ...

(May - July 1943) * Air Crew Allocation Centre * RAF Film Unit (October 1944- ?)

Royal Air Force Regiment

Catterick served as a

regimental depot The regimental depot of a regiment is its home base for recruiting and training. It is also where soldiers and officers awaiting discharge or postings are based and where injured soldiers return to full fitness after discharge from hospital bef ...

of the RAF Regiment occupied by operational Squadrons and was the training base for the RAF Regiment from 1946 to 1994 when the Regiment's training facilities moved to

RAF Honington Royal Air Force Honington or more simply RAF Honington is a Royal Air Force station located south of Thetford near Ixworth in Suffolk, England. Although used as a bomber station during the Second World War, RAF Honington is now the RAF Regim ...

. Catterick was also the training centre for the RAF Fire Service as the RAF School of Fire Fighting until the 1990s. As a fire school it had a "rescue set" the mock up of a house to simulate search and rescue scenarios. It also had a burning area where ex service aircraft were covered in fuel and set alight including in 1983 two complete

Avro Vulcan The Avro Vulcan (later Hawker Siddeley Vulcan from July 1963) is a jet-powered, tailless, delta-wing, high-altitude, strategic bomber, which was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) from 1956 until 1984. Aircraft manufacturer A.V. Roe an ...

bombers. The Vulcans were only able to land after the closure of the A1 and the clearing of the fields on the opposite side of the road. The aircraft had to fly as low to the ground as possible well before crossing the perimeter of the airfield and touched down at the furthest possible extremity, in order to be able to stop safely before running out of runway. There were also a number of retired airframes used for practice rescues and deployments. The Fire Fighting & Rescue squadron moved to

RAF Manston Royal Air Force Manston or more simply RAF Manston is a former Royal Air Force station located in the north-east of Kent, at on the Isle of Thanet from 1916 until 1996. The site was split between a commercial airport Kent International Airpo ...

in 1989. During the 1980s, Catterick was home to the largest UK-based fleet of armoured vehicles in the British forces. The fleet consisted of

FV101 Scorpion The FV101 Scorpion is a British armoured reconnaissance vehicle, and also a light tank. It was the lead vehicle and the fire support type in the Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked), CVR(T), family of seven armoured vehicles. Manufactured by ...

Combat Reconnaissance Vehicles (CVRT) and FV103 Spartan Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC). As well as these infantry assets, the RAF Regiment at Catterick held the Rapier air defence training wing and, after the Falklands War, a number of 35mm twin-barrelled

Oerlikon GDF The Oerlikon GDF or Oerlikon 35 mm twin cannon is a towed anti-aircraft gun made by Oerlikon Contraves (renamed as ''Rheinmetall Air Defence AG'' following the merger with Rheinmetall in 2009). The system was originally designated 2 ZLA/35 ...

anti-aircraft cannons captured from Argentinian forces. These particular guns were used to great effect in late 1982 to accompany a memorable rendition of the 1812 Overture at the station's official victory parade, on the return of troops from the South Atlantic. The RAF Regiment was a welcome occupier of the site and was granted the Freedom of

Richmond, North Yorkshire Richmond is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, and the administrative centre of the district of Richmondshire. Historically in the North Riding of Yorkshire, it is from the county town of Northallerton and situated on ...

in 1971, as a gesture of gratitude and goodwill by the local people. Whilst no longer resident at Catterick, the Regiment holds this honour very dear and mark it each year with the Freedom of Richmond Parade in the town. 2022 saw 34 Squadron mark the 51st anniversary. The following RAF Regiment units were here at some point: *

No. 2 Squadron RAF Regiment The II Squadron RAF Regiment is a parachute-trained Field Squadron of RAF Regiment based at RAF Brize Norton. Early history The unit was formed as Number 2 Armoured Car Company RAF at Heliopolis, Egypt on 7 April 1922 and placed under the com ...

No. 16 Squadron RAF Regiment No. 16 Squadron RAF Regiment was a field squadron of the Royal Air Force Regiment. The squadron operated mostly outside the United Kingdom since its formation in 1948 until 2006 when it was disbanded. It started out as a field squadron before bec ...

* No. 37 Squadron RAF Regiment * No. 48 Squadron RAF Regiment * No. 51 Squadron RAF Regiment *

No. 58 Squadron RAF Regiment This is a list of units of the Royal Air Force Regiment. The RAF Regiment is the ground fighting force of the Royal Air Force and is charged mainly with protecting military airfields, among other duties. First formed in 1942 to protect the air ...

* No. 2701 Squadron RAF Regiment *

No. 2703 Squadron RAF Regiment This is a list of units of the Royal Air Force Regiment. The RAF Regiment is the ground fighting force of the Royal Air Force and is charged mainly with protecting military airfields, among other duties. First formed in 1942 to protect the airfi ...

* No. 2729 Squadron RAF Regiment * No. 2736 Squadron RAF Regiment * No. 2742 Squadron RAF Regiment * No. 2757 Squadron RAF Regiment * No. 2773 Squadron RAF Regiment * No. 2777 Squadron RAF Regiment * No. 2798 Squadron RAF Regiment * No. 2800 Squadron RAF Regiment * No. 2806 Squadron RAF Regiment * No. 2809 Squadron RAF Regiment

Marne Barracks

The RAF station closed on 30 June 1994 with the RAF Regiment depot moving to

. The site was then transferred to the

to become Marne Barracks is part of the

complex. A number of establishments exist on the barracks, including a HUB bar, a Londis shop, a PRI shop, a hairdresser, and a gymnasium. The barracks have had upgraded accommodation installed as part of Project SLAM (Single Living Accommodation Modernisation). This has been undertaken by Corus. BAM Construction have also undertaken the conversion of some of the old RAF hangars to maintenance depots for the

Land Rover Land Rover is a British brand of predominantly four-wheel drive, off-road capable vehicles, owned by multinational car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), since 2008 a subsidiary of India's Tata Motors. JLR currently builds Land Rovers ...

s utilised by the two regiments.

In popular culture

RAF Catterick was used as the fictional 'RAF Halfpenny Field' for the 1945 film ''

The Way to the Stars ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'', and some of the airfield locations remain little changed.

Motorsport

Between 1958 and 1963, the airfield was partly used as a race track, under the name of Catterick Circuit.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Catterick Royal Air Force stations in Yorkshire History of North Yorkshire Buildings and structures in North Yorkshire Royal Flying Corps airfields Installations of the British Army

RAF 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 ...

Barracks in England Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom