RAF Burn was a Second World War air station located southwest of Selby

Selby

Selby is a town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. Situated south of the city of York, along the course of the River Ouse, Selby is the largest and, with a population of 13,012, most populous settlement of the wider Selby local government district.Historically a part of the West Riding...

 and immediately east of Burn

Burn, North Yorkshire

Burn is a village and civil parish in the Selby district North Yorkshire, England. It is situated some three miles south of Selby.The village is mainly situated around the main A19 road with the addition of a small housing estate built in the mid 1960s to the west of the main road.To the east of...

 in North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...

, England.

The airfield was opened in 1942 and first hosted No. 431 Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force

Royal Canadian Air Force

The history of the Royal Canadian Air Force begins in 1920, when the air force was created as the Canadian Air Force . In 1924 the CAF was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force and granted royal sanction by King George V. The RCAF existed as an independent service until 1968...

 as part of 4 Group RAF 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...

. No. 431 Squadron flew Wellington Mark X

Vickers Wellington

The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engine, long range medium bomber designed in the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey, by Vickers-Armstrongs' Chief Designer, R. K. Pierson. It was widely used as a night bomber in the early years of the Second World War, before being displaced as a...

 aircraft while at Burn. In 1943 the squadron was transferred to RAF Tholthorpe

RAF Tholthorpe

RAF Tholthorpe was a Royal Air Force air station operated by RAF Bomber Command during the Second World War. The station, which had been opened in the late 1930s as a grass airfield, was located near Easingwold, North Yorkshire, UK...

 and became part of No. 6 Group RCAF

No. 6 Group RCAF

No. 6 Group RCAF was an organization of Royal Canadian Air Force bomber squadrons which operated from airfields in Yorkshire, England during the Second World War. Although 6 Group was RCAF, it was controlled by the Royal Air Force as part of Bomber Command. No. 6 Group had been previously active...

.

In December 1943, 658

No. 658 Squadron RAF

No. 658 Squadron was a Royal Air Force Air Observation Post squadron associated with the 21st Army Group during World War II. Numbers 651 to 663 Squadrons of the RAF were Air Observation Post units working closely with Army units in artillery spotting and liaison. A further three of these...

 and 659

No. 659 Squadron RAF

No. 659 Squadron was a Royal Air Force Air Observation Post squadron associated with the 21st Army Group during World War II. Numbers 651 to 663 Squadrons of the RAF were Air Observation Post units working closely with Army units in artillery spotting and liaison. A further three of these...

 Air Observation Post (AOP) squadrons moved to Burn, flying Auster III

Taylorcraft Auster

The Taylorcraft Auster was a British military liaison and observation aircraft produced by the Taylorcraft Aeroplanes Limited company during the Second World War.-Design and development:...

 aircraft. These squadrons moved out in April 1944. In January 1944 No. 578 Squadron RAF

No. 578 Squadron RAF

No. 578 Squadron RAF was a heavy bomber squadron of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.-History:578 Squadron was formed at RAF Snaith, East Riding of Yorkshire on 14 January 1944 from 'C' flight of No. 51 Squadron RAF, equipped with Halifax Mk.III bombers, as part of No. 4 Group RAF in...

 squadron was relocated to RAF Burn from RAF Snaith. This Bomber Command squadron flew Halifax

Handley Page Halifax

The Handley Page Halifax was one of the British front-line, four-engined heavy bombers of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. A contemporary of the famous Avro Lancaster, the Halifax remained in service until the end of the war, performing a variety of duties in addition to bombing...

 aircraft. No. 578 was disbanded in April 1945 and the station was closed for flying operations in July 1945.

Shortly after flying was discontinued, the Royal Army Service Corps

Royal Army Service Corps

The Royal Army Service Corps was a corps of the British Army. It was responsible for land, coastal and lake transport; air despatch; supply of food, water, fuel, and general domestic stores such as clothing, furniture and stationery ; administration of...

 took over some facilities to store surplus equipment. Many of the buildings have been dismantled and much of the airfield is currently used for farming. The runways are relatively intact and the Burn 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...

Club uses the old aerodrome.