RAF Riccall is a former Royal Air Force satellite station located 3.1 miles (5 km) north east of Selby, North Yorkshire and 7.9 miles (12.7 km) south west of Elvington, North Yorkshire, England.
RAF Riccall | |||||||||||
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| Riccall, North Yorkshire in England | |||||||||||
.svg)  RAF Riccall Shown within North Yorkshire  RAF Riccall RAF Riccall (the United Kingdom) | |||||||||||
| Coordinates | 53°49′26″N 001°01′50″W / 53.82389°N 1.03056°W | ||||||||||
| Type | Royal Air Force satellite station | ||||||||||
| Site information | |||||||||||
| Owner | Air Ministry | ||||||||||
| Operator | Royal Air Force | ||||||||||
| Controlled by | RAF Bomber Command | ||||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||||
| Built | 1941 | ||||||||||
| In use | 1942 - 1958 | ||||||||||
| Battles/wars | European theatre of World War II | ||||||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||||||
| Elevation | 10 metres (33 ft) AMSL | ||||||||||
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History
editThe airfield was opened in September 1942 as a satellite to RAF Marston Moor.[1] It had three runways of the A-style airfield; the longest was 5,940 feet (1,810 m) long, the second was 4,290 feet (1,310 m) long and the third was 4,620 feet (1,410 m) long. All were 50 yards (46 m) wide.[2][3] The technical site consisted of six T2 hangars and one B1 hangar.[4] The first runways built on the site sank into the soft earth of the low-lying ground, and had to be built back up again.[5]
During October 1942, No. 76 and No. 80 Conversion Flights (along with No. 10 Conversion Flight from another airfield) joined together to make No. 1658 Heavy Conversion Unit RAF.[6][7]
The following units were based at the airfield:
- No. 35 Maintenance Unit RAF.[8]
- No. 91 Maintenance Unit RAF.[8]
- No. 261 Maintenance Unit RAF.[8]
- No. 268 Maintenance Unit RAF.[8]
- No. 939 (West Riding) Balloon Squadron AAF.[8]
- No. 1332 (Transport) Heavy Conversion Unit RAF.[8]
- No. 1341 (Special Duties) Flight RAF.[8]
- Airborne Forces Experimental Establishment.[8]
- York & District Flying Group.[8]
After 1945, flying ceased, although the site was used as storage until 1958. The south west side of the airfield and storage area is now part of Skipwith Common National Nature Reserve.[9] Part of the site was also used for mining coal as part of the Selby Coalfield operation between the 1980s and 2004.[10]
Current use
editThe site is now used for farming.[8]
References
edit- ^ "RAF Riccall Airfield". controltowers.co.uk. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
- ^ Halpenny 1982, p. 157.
- ^ Delve 2006, p. 212.
- ^ Otter 1998, p. 210.
- ^ Riccall in World War II. Riccall Local History Group. 2004. p. 85. ISBN 1-903833-58-2.
- ^ Delve 2006, pp. 211–213.
- ^ "RAF Riccall [concept]". ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Riccall". abct.org.uk. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
- ^ Schofield, Peter (September 2010). Skipwith Common North Yorkshire, Phase 3; Airfield Survey and archaeological Landscape Survey (PDF). library.thehumanjourney.net (Report). Natural England. p. 21. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
- ^ Jacobs 2021, p. 97.
Sources
edit- Delve, Ken (2006). Northern England : Co. Durham, Cumbria, Isle of Man, Lancashire, Merseyside, Manchester, Northumberland, Tyne & Wear, Yorkshire. Ramsbury: Crowood. ISBN 1-86126-809-2.
- Jacobs, Peter (2021). Bomber Command Airfields of Yorkshire. Barnsley: Pen and Sword. ISBN 978-1-78346-331-2.
- Halpenny, Bruce Barrymore (1982). Action stations 4: military airfields of Yorkshire. Wellingborough: Stephens. ISBN 0-85059-532-0.
- Jefford, C. G. (2001). RAF squadrons : a comprehensive record of the movement and equipment of all RAF squadrons and their antecedents since 1912 (2 ed.). Shrewsbury: Airlife. ISBN 1-84037-141-2.
- Lake, Alan (1999). Flying units of the RAF : the ancestry, formation and disbandment of all flying units from 1912. Shrewsbury: Airlife. ISBN 1-84037-086-6.
- Otter, Patrick (1998). Yorkshire airfields in the Second World War. Newbury: Countryside Books. ISBN 1-85306-542-0.