RAF Sturgate

RAF Sturgate
IATA: noneICAO: none
Summary
Airport type Military
Owner Air Ministry
Operator Royal Air Force
United States Air Force
Location Near Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England
Built 1944 (1944)
In use 1944-1946
1953-1964 (1964)
Elevation AMSL 52 ft / 16 m
Coordinates 53°22′50″N 000°42′01″W / 53.38056°N 0.70028°W / 53.38056; -0.70028Coordinates: 53°22′50″N 000°42′01″W / 53.38056°N 0.70028°W / 53.38056; -0.70028
Map
RAF Sturgate

Location in Lincolnshire

Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
00/00 0 0 Asphalt
00/00 0 0 Asphalt
00/00 0 0 Asphalt

Royal Air Force Station Sturgate or more simply RAF Sturgate is a former Royal Air Force station located 10 miles (16 km) north of Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England.

Royal Air Force use

The airfield was opened in 1944 at Royal Air Force Station Sturgate.[1] Originally used for blind flying training two operational Lancaster squadrons arrived in June 1945 but both then moved to RAF Waddington in January 1946. The station closed to flying between 1946 and 1953.

RAF units and aircraft

Unit Dates Aircraft Variant Notes
No. 50 Squadron RAF 1945-1946 Avro Lancaster I & III Four-engined heavy bomber.[2]
No. 61 Squadron RAF 1945-1946 Avro Lancaster II Four-engined heavy bomber.[3]

United States Air Force use

In 1953 the station was allocated for use by the United States Air Force Strategic Air Command and the 508th Strategic Fighter Wing operating the Republic F-84 Thunderjet. It was also used to house SAC bombers on temporary duty (TDY) from the United States. From 1959, it was used for logistical support facilities for 99th Munitions Maintenance Squadron (USAF) located at the Thor missile unit at nearby RAF Hemsell. The airfield was closed in 1964.

Current use

A corner of the original airfield is now used as an unlicensed aerodrome for civil use as Sturgate Airfield.

References

Citations

Bibliography

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/15/2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.