RAF Bawtry
Encyclopedia
RAF Bawtry was a Royal Air Force station located at Bawtry Hall in Bawtry
and was No. 1 Group RAF
Bomber Command
headquarters and administration unit during and following WWII.
, Yorkshire
.
During the Second World War the RAF took it over and it became an RAF command centre. RAF Bawtry did not have its own airfield but instead took advantage of RAF Bircotes
, which was located literally next-door. Here the station based a number of communications aircraft.
Bawtry Hall served the Royal Air Force from 1941–1984; first as HQ for No. 1 Group, Bomber Command during and after WWII, then as Strike Command HQ up to and including the later stages of the Cold War. The famous bombing of the airfield at Port Stanley by Vulcan bombers from RAF Finningley during the Falklands conflict was co-ordinated from the operations room at Bawtry Hall.
RAF Bawtry became the centre of the RAF Meteorological Service for many years and ceased military operations in 1986.
No.1 Group Bomber Command units based at RAF Bawtry comprised as follows: -
During the Miners' Strike in the mid-1980s, up to 17,000 Police were based at RAF Bawtry to provide a central Operations and co-ordination point on the South Yorkshire
/ Nottinghamshire
border.
2008 Squadron is still located at the former site on Park Road in Bawtry, in a new building that replaced the former ones. The squadron is a fully functioning unit that regularly attend flying
, gliding
, target shooting and a very high quality of fieldcraft
training. Bawtry Sqn also enjoys its own hovercraft
, which is now part of a project to maintain. Currently the squadron is known for its high standards of cadets, and was the first ever Squadron from the Yorkshire Wing to participate in the 4 day Nijmegan March (100 miles). Recently the Squadron has had a boom in the recruiting of cadets following successful recruiting campaigns in local schools, boosting its total number of attendees by 25+. 2008 Squadron gather every Wednesday and Friday evening to continue activities run by the Air Training Corps.
Bawtry
Bawtry is a small market town and civil parish which lies at the point where the Great North Road crosses the River Idle in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England. Nearby towns include Gainsborough to the east, Retford south southeast, Worksop to the southwest and...
and was No. 1 Group RAF
No. 1 Group RAF
Number 1 Group of the Royal Air Force is one of the two operations groups in Air Command.The group is today referred to as the Air Combat Group, as it controls the RAF's combat fast-jet aircraft and has airfields in the UK plus RAF Unit Goose Bay in Canada, which is used extensively as an...
Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command controlled the RAF's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. During World War II the command destroyed a significant proportion of Nazi Germany's industries and many German cities, and in the 1960s stood at the peak of its postwar military power with the V bombers and a supplemental...
headquarters and administration unit during and following WWII.
History
Bawtry Hall itself, was erected around 1785 by a prosperous wool-merchant from WakefieldWakefield
Wakefield is the main settlement and administrative centre of the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district of West Yorkshire, England. Located by the River Calder on the eastern edge of the Pennines, the urban area is and had a population of 76,886 in 2001....
, Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
.
During the Second World War the RAF took it over and it became an RAF command centre. RAF Bawtry did not have its own airfield but instead took advantage of RAF Bircotes
RAF Bircotes
RAF Bircotes is a former Royal Air Force airfield located within South Yorkshire and the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster and was formerly located within the boundary of Nottinghamshire. RAF Bircotes was located next the No. 1 Group RAF, RAF Bomber Command HQ at RAF Bawtry, Bawtry Hall, Bawtry,...
, which was located literally next-door. Here the station based a number of communications aircraft.
Bawtry Hall served the Royal Air Force from 1941–1984; first as HQ for No. 1 Group, Bomber Command during and after WWII, then as Strike Command HQ up to and including the later stages of the Cold War. The famous bombing of the airfield at Port Stanley by Vulcan bombers from RAF Finningley during the Falklands conflict was co-ordinated from the operations room at Bawtry Hall.
RAF Bawtry became the centre of the RAF Meteorological Service for many years and ceased military operations in 1986.
No.1 Group Bomber Command units based at RAF Bawtry comprised as follows: -
| Airfield . | Squadron | Aircraft Type | Number of Aircraft . |
| RAF Elsham Wolds RAF Elsham Wolds RAF Elsham Wolds is a former Royal Air Force station in England, which operated in World War I and World War II. It is located just to the north east of the village of Elsham in north Lincolnshire.-World War I:... |
103 Sqn | Lancaster I and III | 17 |
| RAF Elsham Wolds RAF Elsham Wolds RAF Elsham Wolds is a former Royal Air Force station in England, which operated in World War I and World War II. It is located just to the north east of the village of Elsham in north Lincolnshire.-World War I:... |
576 Sqn | Lancaster I and III | 8 |
| RAF Kirmington RAF Kirmington RAF Kirmington was a Royal Air Force Bomber Command station in North Lincolnshire during World War II.It took its name from the village of Kirmington nearby; the most notable squadron based there was 166 Squadron and a memorial plaque to the members of that unit is in the parish church.-After World... |
166 Sqn | Lancaster I and III | 23 |
| RAF Ingham | 300 (Polish) Sqn | Wellington X | 23 |
| RAF Ingham | 300 (Polish) Sqn | Lancaster I and III | 0 - Re-equipping |
| RAF Wickenby RAF Wickenby RAF Wickenby was a purpose built bomber base constructed late 1942 and early 1943. It lies halfway between Wickenby and Holton cum Beckering, to the south-east of Wickenby close to the B1399 in West Lindsey, north-east of Lincoln.-Construction:... |
12 Sqn | Lancaster I and III | 16 |
| RAF Wickenby RAF Wickenby RAF Wickenby was a purpose built bomber base constructed late 1942 and early 1943. It lies halfway between Wickenby and Holton cum Beckering, to the south-east of Wickenby close to the B1399 in West Lindsey, north-east of Lincoln.-Construction:... |
626 Sqn | Lancaster I and III | 14 |
| RAF Grimsby RAF Grimsby RAF Grimsby was initially opened as a satellite station for RAF Binbrook in November 1941. The station was officially named RAF Grimsby although the name of the nearby village Waltham was used by locals and servicemen.-History:... |
100 Sqn | Lancaster I and III | 18 |
| RAF Grimsby RAF Grimsby RAF Grimsby was initially opened as a satellite station for RAF Binbrook in November 1941. The station was officially named RAF Grimsby although the name of the nearby village Waltham was used by locals and servicemen.-History:... |
550 Sqn | Lancaster I and III | 7 |
| RAF Ludford Magna RAF Ludford Magna RAF Ludford Magna was a Royal Air Force airfield operated by Bomber Command during World War II and the Cold War. The station lay on agricultural farmland immediately south of the village of Ludford, Lincolnshire and was sited 21.4 miles north east of the county town of Lincoln, Lincolnshire... |
101 Sqn | Lancaster I and III | 22 |
| RAF Binbrook RAF Binbrook RAF Binbrook was a Bomber Command station during World War II. After the war it was amongst others the home of the Central Fighter Establishment... |
460 Sqn RAAF | Lancaster I and III | 27 |
| RAF Kelstern | 625 Sqn RAAF | Lancaster I and III | 17 |
During the Miners' Strike in the mid-1980s, up to 17,000 Police were based at RAF Bawtry to provide a central Operations and co-ordination point on the South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It has a population of 1.29 million. It consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and City of Sheffield...
/ Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...
border.
Present
The Air Training CorpsAir Training Corps
The Air Training Corps , commonly known as the Air Cadets, is a cadet organisation based in the United Kingdom. It is a voluntary youth group which is part of the Air Cadet Organisation and the Royal Air Force . It is supported by the Ministry of Defence, with a regular RAF Officer, currently Air...
2008 Squadron is still located at the former site on Park Road in Bawtry, in a new building that replaced the former ones. The squadron is a fully functioning unit that regularly attend flying
Aviation
Aviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, especially heavier-than-air aircraft. Aviation is derived from avis, the Latin word for bird.-History:...
, gliding
Gliding
Gliding is a recreational activity and competitive air sport in which pilots fly unpowered aircraft known as gliders or sailplanes using naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to remain airborne. The word soaring is also used for the sport.Gliding as a sport began in the 1920s...
, target shooting and a very high quality of fieldcraft
Fieldcraft
Fieldcraft is a term used especially in American, Canadian and British military circles to describe the basic military skills required to operate stealthily and the methods used to do so, which can differ during day or night and due to weather or terrain...
training. Bawtry Sqn also enjoys its own hovercraft
Hovercraft
A hovercraft is a craft capable of traveling over surfaces while supported by a cushion of slow moving, high-pressure air which is ejected against the surface below and contained within a "skirt." Although supported by air, a hovercraft is not considered an aircraft.Hovercraft are used throughout...
, which is now part of a project to maintain. Currently the squadron is known for its high standards of cadets, and was the first ever Squadron from the Yorkshire Wing to participate in the 4 day Nijmegan March (100 miles). Recently the Squadron has had a boom in the recruiting of cadets following successful recruiting campaigns in local schools, boosting its total number of attendees by 25+. 2008 Squadron gather every Wednesday and Friday evening to continue activities run by the Air Training Corps.
Further reading
- Bruce Barrymore HalpennyBruce Barrymore HalpennyBruce Barrymore Halpenny is a widely respected English military historian and author, specialising in airfields and aircraft, as well as ghost stories and mysteries. He is also a broadcaster and games inventor.-Parents:...
, Action Stations: Military Airfields of Yorkshire v. 4, ISBN 978-0850595321 - Roger A. Freeman, Bases of Bomber Command Then and Now, ISBN 1870067355,