RAF Wombleton

Royal Air Force Wombleton or RAF Wombleton is a former Royal Air Force sub-station located 3.8 miles (6.1 km) east of Helmsley, North Yorkshire and 11.8 miles (19 km) north-east of Easingwold, North Yorkshire, England.

RAF Wombleton
Wombleton, North Yorkshire in England
Memorial to the Royal Canadian Air Force. Inscription reads: "This memorial is dedicated to the Canadians of No.6 (RCAF) Group of RAF Bomber Command and to the men and women of the RAF and WAAF who served at Wombleton during the Second World War. The people of Ryedale express their sincere thanks to them for giving their youth and time and, in many instances, their lives. We will remember them. Dedicated 28th May, 2001."
RAF Wombleton Shown within North Yorkshire Show map of North Yorkshire RAF Wombleton RAF Wombleton (the United Kingdom) Show map of the United Kingdom
Coordinates	54°13′59″N 000°58′09″W
Type	RAF Sub-station
Code	UN[1]
Site information
Owner	Air Ministry
Operator	Royal Air Force Royal Canadian Air Force
Controlled by	RAF Bomber Command * No. 6 (T) Group RCAF * No. 7 (T) Group RAF
Site history
Built	1942 (1942)/43
In use	October 1943 – 1949 (1949)
Battles/wars	European theatre of World War II
Airfield information
Elevation	36 metres (118 ft)[1] AMSL
Runways Direction Length and surface 00/00  Concrete 00/00  Concrete 00/00  Concrete

Station history

Wombleton opened in 1943 as a sub-station of RAF Topcliffe. It was part of RAF Bomber Command's No. 6 Group RCAF, and along with the main station at Topcliffe and the station at Dishforth, was designated part of No. 61 (Training) Base.^[2][3] In November 1944, No. 61 Base was transferred to No 7 (Training) Group and it was renumbered No. 76 Training Base. No. 1666 Heavy Conversion Unit (HCU) was the first unit to move to Wombleton. Aircrew who were originally trained on twin-engined aircraft such as Vickers Wellingtons or Armstrong Whitworth Whitleys received conversion training on heavy four-engined bombers such as the Handley Page Halifax or Avro Lancaster.^[4] No. 1666 HCU remained at Wombleton until the end of the war. The RAF took over the station and stayed for several years with the RAF Regiment using the site as a battle school.^[5]

Units and aircraft

Unit	From	To	Aircraft	Version	Notes
No. 1666 'Mohawk' HCU	21 October 1943	3 August 1945	Handley Page Halifax Avro Lancaster	Mks.II, III, V Mks.I, II, III, X	[6]
No. 1679 HCF	13 December 1943	27 January 1944	Avro Lancaster	Mk.II	Disbanded into 1666 HCU[6]
No. 261 Maintenance Unit RAF	15 November 1945	10 September 1946			[7]

The former Flying Control at RAF Wombleton (2007)

Current use

Wombleton airport is now used for recreational flying.^[8] Under the labour government new housing rules (2024), This site is earmarked as brownfield land and will be used for building homes.

See also

• List of former Royal Air Force stations

References

Citations

1. Falconer 2012, p. 216.
2. Delve 2006, p. 272
3. Halpenny 1982, p. 195
4. Halpenny, Bruce Barrymore (1990). Action stations (2 ed.). Wellingborough: Stephens. pp. 195–196. ISBN 0-85059-532-0.
5. Otter, Patrick (1999). Yorkshire airfields in the Second World War (1 ed.). Newbury, Berkshire: Countryside Books. p. 79. ISBN 1-85306-542-0.
6. Sturtivant and Hamlin 2007, p. 99.
7. Sturtivant and Hamlin 2007, p. 183.
8. "Wombleton Conservation Area" (PDF). ryedale.gov.uk. 21 July 2005. p. 6. Retrieved 18 July 2017.

Bibliography

• Delve, Ken. The Military Airfields of Britain: Northern England: Co. Durham, Cumbria, Isle of Man, Lancashire, Merseyside, Manchester, Northumberland, Tyne & Wear, Yorkshire. Ramsbury, Wiltshire, UK: The Crowood Press, 2006. ISBN 1-86126-809-2
• Delve, Ken. The Source Book of the RAF. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing, 1994. ISBN 1-85310-451-5.
• Falconer, J. (2012). RAF Airfields of World War 2. UK: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85780-349-5.
• Halpenny, Bruce Barrymore. Action Stations: 4: Military airfields of Yorkshire. Cambridge, UK: Patrick Stephens, 1982. ISBN 0-85059-532-0
• Sturtivant, Ray, ISO and John Hamlin. RAF Flying Training And Support Units since 1912. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., 2007. ISBN 0-85130-365-X.

External links

• Airfields in Yorkshire – Wombleton
• Control towers – RAF Wombleton airfield
• Wombleton RCAF Memorial
• Former RAF Wombleton on Wikimapia
• Wombleton on Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation
• Image of RAF Wombleton in 1946