RAF Pocklington was an operational flying station of the

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 ...

during the Second World War, forming part of

Bomber Command Bomber Command is an organisational military unit, generally subordinate to the air force of a country. The best known were in Britain and the United States. A Bomber Command is generally used for strategic bombing (although at times, e.g. during t ...

, and operating primarily

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

and Halifax bombers. The station, adjacent to the town of

Pocklington Pocklington is a market town and civil parish situated at the foot of the Yorkshire Wolds in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The 2011 Census recorded its population as 8,337. It is east of York and northwest of Hull. The town's sk ...

at , opened in 1941, and was closed in 1946. After a return to agricultural use, the station now forms an industrial estate and a restricted use airfield for a gliding club.

History

Work started on RAF Pocklington in August 1940, with the design for grass runways, along with hangars, technical buildings and administration blocks. This was changed during construction to include three concrete runways. Late into the building of the three runways, it was realised that the runway 3 (07-25 at 1,300 yards) posed a threat to the nearby village of Barmby Moor, and so was abandoned in favour of a fourth runway (13–31 at 1,600 yards). Three hangars were originally constructed, and these were supplemented by two additional hangars constructed on the other side of the main A1079 road. The station at

RAF Elvington Royal Air Force Elvington or more simply RAF Elvington is a former Royal Air Force station which operated from the beginning of the Second World War until 1992 located at Elvington, Yorkshire, England. History Royal Air Force use The station ...

was originally built as a sub station of Pocklington, and along with

RAF Melbourne Royal Air Force Melbourne or more simply RAF Melbourne is a former Royal Air Force station used during the Second World War. Located to the south-west of Pocklington, Yorkshire, England. The nearest village is Seaton Ross. History East Com ...

became known as 42 base, within the 4 groups of

. Despite being the smaller station, RAF Elvington was operational long after the closure of Pocklington.

Occupying squadrons

The first occupants of the site in 1941 were the

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 ...

unit of 405 squadron, operating

bombers for 84 raids in eleven months, during which 20 aircraft failed to return. 102 Squadron Halifax at RAF Pocklington WWII IWM CH 10776

In April 1942, the squadron changed to Halifax bombers, flying a further 20 raids before exchanging bases with the

102 squadron from

RAF Topcliffe Royal Air Force Topcliffe or RAF Topcliffe is a Royal Air Force station in North Yorkshire, England. It was established as a RAF Bomber Command station in 1940. The British Army took over a large part of the site in 1974 and the airfield beca ...

, and were the last unit to occupy the station until its closure (although a personnel holding unit was briefly based at the base in 1946). The station finally closed in September 1942. The station transferred to

Transport Command RAF Transport Command was a Royal Air Force command that controlled all transport aircraft of the RAF. It was established on 25 March 1943 by the renaming of the RAF Ferry Command, and was subsequently renamed RAF Air Support Command in 1967. ...

the day before the end of the war, operating

B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...

aircraft before their transfer to

RAF Bassingbourn Royal Air Force Bassingbourn or more simply RAF Bassingbourn is a former Royal Air Force Royal Air Force station, station located in Cambridgeshire approximately north of Royston, Hertfordshire, Royston, Hertfordshire and south west of Cambri ...

Subsequent use

Following the closure of the station, it was mostly returned to agricultural use, with the hangars used as grain stores, but subsequently the technical area became an industrial estate, and a large number of buildings still stand. The original runways are still in use by the

Wolds gliding club The Wolds is a term used in England to describe a range of hills which consists of open country overlying a base of limestone or chalk. Geography The Wolds comprise a series of low hills and steep valleys that are in the main underlain by calcare ...

, who secured the lease to the airfield in 1971, and purchased it outright from the land owner in 1983. Former members of 102 squadron still hold reunion events at the gliding club.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pocklington Royal Air Force stations in Yorkshire Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom Transport in the East Riding of Yorkshire Pocklington