RAF Digby
Encyclopedia
RAF Digby is a Royal Air Force station which, since March 2005, has been operated by the Ministry of Defence's Joint Service Signals Organisation, part of the Intelligence Collection Group. Formerly a training and fighter airfield, it is currently a tri-service military signals installation located near Scopwick, Lincolnshire
, England. Standing 11.6 mi (18.7 km) south east of county town Lincoln, Lincolnshire
and 132 mi (212.4 km) due north of London
. It currently houses the headquarters of the Joint Service Signals Organisation, and is the site of the country's oldest Royal Air Force station. The site is now the home to a number of communications and signals related organisations.
The post of Commander JSSO, who also holds the appointment of Head of Establishment for Digby, alternates every two years between an RAF officer or a British Army officer of OF5 rank (a group captain
or a full colonel). The station contains personnel from all three of the British Armed Forces
and allied forces.
The station's motto Icarus Renatus means Icarus Reborne and relates to the short period when the station was under 'care and maintenance' and then re-activated; the badge depicts a white crane
superimposed over a maple leaf. The Douglas Digby Mk1 light bomber flown by the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II was named after RAF Digby.
receiving instruction. What is on record is the minutes of a conference held at the Scopwick airfield in November 1917 that confirmed its suitability for conversion to a training depot station in its own right. On 12 January 1918 the War Office issued the authority notice for the site to be formally taken over under the Defence of the Realm Regulations.
Early accommodation for personnel was under canvas and the first pilots arrived on 28 March 1918, commanded by Major John H D’Albiac
a former Royal Marine aviator. The party left Royal Flying Corps Portholme Meadow aerodrome in Huntingdonshire and moved to Scopwick, bringing Handley Page bombers with them. RAF Scopwick Aerodrome was deemed officially open with their arrival, although the newly established Royal Air Force did not formally come into existence until four days later on 1 April 1918. D’Albiac was appointed as RAF Scopwick’s first commanding officer. A works report dated November 1918 shows that all building works had been completed. Designated as No. 59 Training Depot Station RAF, its initial establishment of 10 x Handley Page 0/100
s, 18 x FE2EB/DS
and 30 x Avro 504K
s indicates that it was a night bomber training unit. The only action seen by RAF Scopwick during World War I was when a German Zeppelin attempted a bombing raid, with its bombs missing the station and falling in a nearby field.
. Five months later the name of the station changed from Scopwick to RAF Digby, after several instances of aircraft spares being delivered in error to RAF Shotwick in North Wales. The role of the station also switched from training bomber pilots to training fighter pilots. In April 1922 the school was disbanded and the station placed on care and maintenance, when the RAF contracted further after the end of the war.
The closure was short-lived and in June 1924 No. 2 Flying Training School RAF arrived from RAF Duxford. The school flew Avro 504s, Bristol Fighter
s, and Sopwith Snipe
s and specialised in training novice pilots to fly in fighter-type aircraft, rather than the usual practice of learning on basic trainers and later converting to fighters. The school was commanded by Wing Commander Sidney ‘Crasher’ Smith DSO AFC, so named because of his habit of landing his aircraft rather more robustly than they were designed for; including three aircraft in a single day. Smith returned to Digby five years later as a Group Captain, for a second stint as station commander. Smith’s replacement as station commander was an officer due for greater things, Wing Commander Arthur Tedder
later became Lord Tedder and Marshal of the Royal Air Force. In 1934 the station was commanded by Group Captain T Leigh-Mallory
, who was later to become Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory and one of the most notable commanders in Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain
.
Between 1929 and 1936 the appearance of the station changed dramatically and most of the original wooden 1917/1918 hangars, barrack blocks and offices were demolished and replaced with substantial brick structures. The 7 original hangars were replaced by 2 new ones although a planned third hanger was first delayed and eventually never built. Most of the domestic barrack blocks, officers’ mess, station headquarters, squadron offices and married quarters built at this time still stand and remain in use. The 12 Group RAF Lima Sector Operations bunker, now the station museum, was constructed at a cost in 1936 of £5,000.
The following year saw a major change to the station’s function. On 7 September 1937 No. 2 Flying Training School relocated to RAF Brize Norton
, and Digby was handed to No 12 Group Fighter Command as an operational fighter station intended to provide fighter cover for the cities of Lincoln, Nottingham and Leicester. Two months later there were already two squadrons of fighters at Digby, No. 73 Squadron RAF
flying Gloster Gladiator
s and No. 46 Squadron RAF
equipped with Gloster Gauntlet
s. In 1938 both squadrons were reequipped with Hawker Hurricane
s and joined by another Hurricane squadron No. 504 Squadron RAF
, an auxiliary squadron from Nottingham.
and RAF Wellingore. The first squadron scrambled from Digby was No. 46 Squadron on 3 September; told there was an incoming German raid they found nothing and returned.
October 1939 saw a number of arrivals at the station. On 10 October No. 611 Squadron RAF
flying Supermarine Spitfire
s and No. 229 Squadron RAF
operating Bristol Blenheim
s arrived at Digby. Initially, No. 611 Squadron flew affiliation exercises with the other two squadrons and with other new arrivals No. 44 Squadron RAF
and No. 144 Squadron RAF
, who were both equipped with Hampden light bombers. At the end of October a Bristol Blenheim
fighter and escort Squadron arrived, No. 29 Squadron RAF
. With the squadron came the soon to be famous officer Guy Gibson
, who would be awarded a Victoria Cross
as the commander of the Dambusters
. It was Gibson's second tour at Digby as he had learned to fly at the station while attending No. 2 FTS in 1936. Gibson was still based at Digby in 1940 when he was married in Penarth
, South Wales; he flew his Blenheim from RAF Wellingore
satellite field to RAF Pengam Moors
in Cardiff docks for the wedding, returning three days later with his wife Eve as a passenger.
As 1939 came to a close King George VI made the first of three formal visits to RAF Digby. In addition to inspecting No. 46 Squadron, he presented decorations to fighter pilots from Digby and several neighbouring stations. The recipients included Guy Gibson who received his first DFC.
For six weeks in May and June 1940 the station was home to No. 222 Squadron RAF
on a rotational rest and recuperation break from fighting the Battle of Britain
from RAF Duxford. The squadron's most famous flight commander was the legless fighter ace Flight Lieutenant Douglas Bader
. With the station's complement of pilots expanding nearby Wellingore Hall was requisitioned as a second officers' mess.
In late August 1940 a single German Junkers Ju 88
bomber appeared suddenly out of the mist and dropped its load of bombs on the station, all of them missing the runways and buildings to explode harmlessly on open ground. In February 1941 the first of the Canadian fighter squadrons arrived at Digby. No. 1 (Canadian) Squadron and No. 2 (Canadian) Squadron immediately renumbered as No. 401 Squadron RAF
and No. 402 Squadron RAF respectively; both squadrons were equipped with Hurricanes. The Canadian Digby wing was formed on 24 April 1941 when the station received three further squadrons, 409 Tactical Fighter Squadron flying Boulton Paul Defiant
s, No. 411 Squadron RCAF
and No. 412 Squadron RAF both flying Supermarine Spitfire
s.
RAF Digby received several German bomber raids during 1941 and extensive damage was suffered. It was decided to relocate the 12 Group Sector Operations Centre away from further danger and it moved to a luxurious setting in the west wing of Blankney Hall
where it stayed for the remainder of the war. Several RAF squadrons arrived to serve alongside the Canadians during 1941; No. 92 Squadron RAF
and No. 609 Squadron RAF
both arrived from RAF Biggin Hill on rotational rest and recuperation leave. There were now so many airmen at RAF Digby that even the two officers' messes could not accommodate them all. Several squadrons commandeered the nearby Ashby Hall
as their officers' mess and the hall remained in this role until the end of the war when it fell into disrepair and its estate was broken up.
American born pilot and poet John Gillespie Magee
flying for the Canadian air force was killed at the age of 19 on 30 June 1941 while stationed at RAF Digby with No 412 (Fighter) Squadron, RCAF
. Magee took off in a Spitfire from the satellite field at RAF Wellingore and, while descending through cloud over Roxholm village just south of Digby, was involved in a mid-air collision with an Airspeed Oxford climbing out of RAF Cranwell. Magee is buried at the War graves section of Scopwick church along with 49 other aviators from local airfields and five German aircrew. On his grave are inscribed the first and last lines from his poem High Flight:
UK bomb disposal teams were having continuing problems rendering safe with German 2 kg (4.4 lb) Butterfly bomb
s because no examples had been safely dismantled to learn the best process. This was because butterfly bombs were specifically designed to detonate if they were disturbed in any way. Whilst dealing with eight butterfly bombs which had fallen on RAF Harlaxton
and failed to explode, Flight Sergeant Hanford of RAF Bomb Disposal (based at RAF Digby) noticed that the arming rods on the bombs had not fully unscrewed themselves i.e. the fuze
s were not fully armed. Hanford carefully screwed the arming rods back into the fuze pockets by hand, thereby enabling the bomb disposal scientists to safely dismantle the fuze mechanisms, learn how they worked and develop counter-measures. Highly useful information in the form of diagrams and detailed explanations were then distributed to bomb disposal technicians for instructional purposes. Hanford was later awarded the British Empire Medal
for this feat of extreme bravery.
Airfield guarding duties during the war were covered initially by a variety of Army units and later by several squadrons the RAF Regiment. From the middle of 1941 until 1942 Digby was guarded by D Company of the 70th Battalion Royal Welsh Fusiliers. At various times after that elements of No. 2742 Squadron RAF Regiment, No. 2757 Squadron RAF Regiment and No. 2777 Squadron RAF Regiment covered the airfield protection duties.
s arrived at Digby and were allocated to No. 410 Squadron.
During early 1944 Digby was a hive of activity with all of the resident squadrons and several visiting squadrons, including several Czech and Belgian squadrons, taken up with training for D-day invasion support. When the invasion took place all of the squadrons relocated to captured airfields in France and Digby became an almost deserted 'ghost town'. All that remained were No. 116 Squadron RAF
flying a small number of Airspeed Oxford
s in an anti-aircraft training role and two squadrons flying elderly Blenheims for radar calibration off the east coast.
In May 1945 control of the station was handed back by the Canadians and it again became RAF Digby, although the new station crest showed the autumn gold maple leaf to permanently acknowledge its history as a Canadian facility for three years. By the time the war ended on 8 May 1945, RAF Digby had been the wartime home to 30 RAF squadrons, 13 Canadian squadrons, 4 Polish squadrons, 2 Belgian squadrons and 1 Czech squadron. Those airmen had flown Hurricane, Spitfire, Defiant, Blenheim, Beaufighter, Mosquito, Mustang, Wellington, Oxford and Anson aircraft. The station had also hosted the full range of visiting RAF heavy bombers and their crews, as well as no fewer than 54 USAAF B-17Gs on a foggy night in November 1944.
. In 1948 the Secretarial Branch Training School relocated from RAF Hereford
and the Equipment Officers’ School was established at Digby. Between 1948 and 1950 Digby also became home to the No.1 Initial Officer Training unit, the Aircrew Education Unit, the Aircrew Transit Unit and the Instructional Leadership Course. In 1951 No. 2 Aircrew Grading School for both potential pilots and ancillary aircrew was established at Digby using a wide range of elderly aircraft. An experimental and development flight of two Gloster Meteor
jet fighters, capable of operating from grassed runways, was based at Digby from 1946.
Flying ceased at Digby when all units and training schools were disbanded or relocated during January 1953 and the station was placed on care and maintenance until October 1954 when building works commenced in preparation for the establishment of the proposed signals units. No. 399 Signals Unit arrived in January 1955 and declared itself fully operational on 15 February, located in No. 2 hangar (now the station gymnasium). The second, No. 591 Signals Unit arrived in July 1955 and set up operations in hangar No. 1 (North).
In September 1959 the Wireless Operators' School and the Aerial Erectors’ School were established at Digby to begin training their respective students.The station continued to expand its scope of operations steadily from the 1970s and into the new millennium. British Army elements arrived in 1994 and were later joined by the Royal Navy. The addition of US detachments signalled the start of yet another era in the history of Digby. On 1 September 1998 399 Signals Unit merged with the newly arrived Special Signals Support Unit from Loughborough to form the Joint Service Signal Unit (Digby).
Two other units lodge on the site:
It also houses its own museum:
Scopwick, Lincolnshire
Scopwick is small village south of the city of Lincoln in the district of North Kesteven, in the county of Lincolnshire, England. The main road runs parallel to a narrow beck...
, England. Standing 11.6 mi (18.7 km) south east of county town Lincoln, Lincolnshire
Lincoln, Lincolnshire
Lincoln is a cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England.The non-metropolitan district of Lincoln has a population of 85,595; the 2001 census gave the entire area of Lincoln a population of 120,779....
and 132 mi (212.4 km) due north of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. It currently houses the headquarters of the Joint Service Signals Organisation, and is the site of the country's oldest Royal Air Force station. The site is now the home to a number of communications and signals related organisations.
The post of Commander JSSO, who also holds the appointment of Head of Establishment for Digby, alternates every two years between an RAF officer or a British Army officer of OF5 rank (a group captain
Group Captain
Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries. It ranks above wing commander and immediately below air commodore...
or a full colonel). The station contains personnel from all three of the British Armed Forces
British Armed Forces
The British Armed Forces are the armed forces of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.Also known as Her Majesty's Armed Forces and sometimes legally the Armed Forces of the Crown, the British Armed Forces encompasses three professional uniformed services, the Royal Navy, the...
and allied forces.
The station's motto Icarus Renatus means Icarus Reborne and relates to the short period when the station was under 'care and maintenance' and then re-activated; the badge depicts a white crane
Crane (bird)
Cranes are a family, Gruidae, of large, long-legged and long-necked birds in the order Gruiformes. There are fifteen species of crane in four genera. Unlike the similar-looking but unrelated herons, cranes fly with necks outstretched, not pulled back...
superimposed over a maple leaf. The Douglas Digby Mk1 light bomber flown by the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II was named after RAF Digby.
World War I
There are dated photographs that show that the airfield was already in use for flying training by Royal Naval pilots in the summer of 1917, although no documents supporting this have ever been found. The photographs show contemporary hangars, sheds and aircraft already in place around grassed runways and uniformed Royal Naval trainee pilots from the HMS Daedalus facility at CranwellRAF Cranwell
RAF Cranwell is a Royal Air Force station in Lincolnshire close to the village of Cranwell, near Sleaford. It is currently commanded by Group Captain Dave Waddington...
receiving instruction. What is on record is the minutes of a conference held at the Scopwick airfield in November 1917 that confirmed its suitability for conversion to a training depot station in its own right. On 12 January 1918 the War Office issued the authority notice for the site to be formally taken over under the Defence of the Realm Regulations.
John D'Albiac
Air Marshal Sir John Henry D'Albiac KCVO, KBE, CB, DSO was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force during World War II.-Biography:...
a former Royal Marine aviator. The party left Royal Flying Corps Portholme Meadow aerodrome in Huntingdonshire and moved to Scopwick, bringing Handley Page bombers with them. RAF Scopwick Aerodrome was deemed officially open with their arrival, although the newly established Royal Air Force did not formally come into existence until four days later on 1 April 1918. D’Albiac was appointed as RAF Scopwick’s first commanding officer. A works report dated November 1918 shows that all building works had been completed. Designated as No. 59 Training Depot Station RAF, its initial establishment of 10 x Handley Page 0/100
Handley Page Type O
The Handley Page Type O was an early biplane bomber used by Britain during the First World War. At the time, it was the largest aircraft that had been built in the UK and one of the largest in the world...
s, 18 x FE2EB/DS
Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2
The Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2 was a two-seat pusher biplane that was operated as a day and night bomber and as a fighter aircraft by the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War...
and 30 x Avro 504K
Avro 504
The Avro 504 was a World War I biplane aircraft made by the Avro aircraft company and under licence by others. Production during the War totalled 8,970 and continued for almost 20 years, making it the most-produced aircraft of any kind that served in World War I, in any military capacity, during...
s indicates that it was a night bomber training unit. The only action seen by RAF Scopwick during World War I was when a German Zeppelin attempted a bombing raid, with its bombs missing the station and falling in a nearby field.
Between the wars
In April 1920 No. 59 TDS handed over to No. 3 Flying Training School whose first commander was Squadron Leader A T Harris, later to become known as Air Marshal Arthur 'Bomber' HarrisSir Arthur Harris, 1st Baronet
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Arthur Travers Harris, 1st Baronet GCB OBE AFC , commonly known as "Bomber" Harris by the press, and often within the RAF as "Butcher" Harris, was Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of RAF Bomber Command during the latter half of World War...
. Five months later the name of the station changed from Scopwick to RAF Digby, after several instances of aircraft spares being delivered in error to RAF Shotwick in North Wales. The role of the station also switched from training bomber pilots to training fighter pilots. In April 1922 the school was disbanded and the station placed on care and maintenance, when the RAF contracted further after the end of the war.
The closure was short-lived and in June 1924 No. 2 Flying Training School RAF arrived from RAF Duxford. The school flew Avro 504s, Bristol Fighter
Bristol F.2 Fighter
The Bristol F.2 Fighter was a British two-seat biplane fighter and reconnaissance aircraft of the First World War flown by the Royal Flying Corps. It is often simply called the Bristol Fighter or popularly the "Brisfit" or "Biff". Despite being a two-seater, the F.2B proved to be an agile aircraft...
s, and Sopwith Snipe
Sopwith Snipe
The Sopwith 7F.1 Snipe was a British single-seat biplane fighter of the Royal Air Force . It was designed and built by the Sopwith Aviation Company during the First World War, and came into squadron service a few weeks before the end of that conflict, in late 1918.The Snipe was not a fast aircraft...
s and specialised in training novice pilots to fly in fighter-type aircraft, rather than the usual practice of learning on basic trainers and later converting to fighters. The school was commanded by Wing Commander Sidney ‘Crasher’ Smith DSO AFC, so named because of his habit of landing his aircraft rather more robustly than they were designed for; including three aircraft in a single day. Smith returned to Digby five years later as a Group Captain, for a second stint as station commander. Smith’s replacement as station commander was an officer due for greater things, Wing Commander Arthur Tedder
Arthur Tedder, 1st Baron Tedder
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Arthur William Tedder, 1st Baron Tedder, GCB was a senior British air force commander. During the First World War, he was a pilot and squadron commander in the Royal Flying Corps and he went on to serve as a senior officer in the Royal Air Force during the inter-war...
later became Lord Tedder and Marshal of the Royal Air Force. In 1934 the station was commanded by Group Captain T Leigh-Mallory
Trafford Leigh-Mallory
Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory KCB, DSO & Bar was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force. Leigh-Mallory served as a Royal Flying Corps pilot and squadron commander during World War I...
, who was later to become Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory and one of the most notable commanders in Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...
.
Between 1929 and 1936 the appearance of the station changed dramatically and most of the original wooden 1917/1918 hangars, barrack blocks and offices were demolished and replaced with substantial brick structures. The 7 original hangars were replaced by 2 new ones although a planned third hanger was first delayed and eventually never built. Most of the domestic barrack blocks, officers’ mess, station headquarters, squadron offices and married quarters built at this time still stand and remain in use. The 12 Group RAF Lima Sector Operations bunker, now the station museum, was constructed at a cost in 1936 of £5,000.
The following year saw a major change to the station’s function. On 7 September 1937 No. 2 Flying Training School relocated to RAF Brize Norton
RAF Brize Norton
RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, about west north-west of London, is the largest station of the Royal Air Force. It is close to the settlements of Brize Norton, Carterton and Witney....
, and Digby was handed to No 12 Group Fighter Command as an operational fighter station intended to provide fighter cover for the cities of Lincoln, Nottingham and Leicester. Two months later there were already two squadrons of fighters at Digby, No. 73 Squadron RAF
No. 73 Squadron RAF
-World War I:It was initially a unit of the Royal Flying Corps and was formed out of the Central Flying School, based at Upavon, Wiltshire. Eight days after, the new unit moved to Lilbourne, near Rugby....
flying Gloster Gladiator
Gloster Gladiator
The Gloster Gladiator was a British-built biplane fighter. It was used by the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy and was exported to a number of other air forces during the late 1930s. It was the RAF's last biplane fighter aircraft and was rendered obsolete by newer monoplane designs even as it...
s and No. 46 Squadron RAF
No. 46 Squadron RAF
No. 46 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Air Force, formed in 1916, was disbanded and re-formed three times before its last disbandment in 1975. It served in both World War I and World War II.- World War I :...
equipped with Gloster Gauntlet
Gloster Gauntlet
-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Crawford, Alex. Bristol Bulldog, Gloster Gauntlet. Redbourn, UK: Mushroom Model Publications, 2005. ISBN 83-89450-04-6....
s. In 1938 both squadrons were reequipped with Hawker Hurricane
Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd for the Royal Air Force...
s and joined by another Hurricane squadron No. 504 Squadron RAF
No. 504 Squadron RAF
No. 504 Squadron was one of the Special Reserve Squadrons of the Auxiliary Air Force. It was integrated into the AAF proper in 1936. Based at RAF Cottesmore, Rutland, 504 Squadron used a variety of light bombers before being re-tasked to fighters with the Hawker Hurricane in 1939. It subsequently...
, an auxiliary squadron from Nottingham.
World War II
RAF Digby entered the war with some of its squadrons operating from nearby satellite fields under its control at RAF Coleby GrangeRAF Coleby Grange
RAF Coleby Grange was a Royal Air Force station situated alongside the western edge of the A15 on open heathland between the villages of Coleby and Nocton Heath and lying due south of the county town Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England....
and RAF Wellingore. The first squadron scrambled from Digby was No. 46 Squadron on 3 September; told there was an incoming German raid they found nothing and returned.
October 1939 saw a number of arrivals at the station. On 10 October No. 611 Squadron RAF
No. 611 Squadron RAF
No. 611 Squadron was a British Auxiliary Air Force later Royal Auxiliary Air Force squadron first formed in 1936 and lastly disbanded in 1957.-Early years:...
flying Supermarine Spitfire
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
s and No. 229 Squadron RAF
No. 229 Squadron RAF
No. 229 Squadron RAF was a squadron of the Royal Air Force, and is an officially accredited Battle of Britain Squadron. It became No. 603 Squadron RAF in January 1945.-Formation & World War I:...
operating Bristol Blenheim
Bristol Blenheim
The Bristol Blenheim was a British light bomber aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company that was used extensively in the early days of the Second World War. It was adapted as an interim long-range and night fighter, pending the availability of the Beaufighter...
s arrived at Digby. Initially, No. 611 Squadron flew affiliation exercises with the other two squadrons and with other new arrivals No. 44 Squadron RAF
No. 44 Squadron RAF
No. 44 Squadron of the Royal Air Force is no longer operational. For most of its history it served as a heavy bomber squadron.-History:...
and No. 144 Squadron RAF
No. 144 Squadron RAF
No. 144 Squadron, RAF, was a British aviation and missle squadron during World War I, World War II, and the Cold War.-World War I:No. 144 Squadron, RFC, was formed at Port Said, Egypt, on 20th March 1918...
, who were both equipped with Hampden light bombers. At the end of October a Bristol Blenheim
Bristol Blenheim
The Bristol Blenheim was a British light bomber aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company that was used extensively in the early days of the Second World War. It was adapted as an interim long-range and night fighter, pending the availability of the Beaufighter...
fighter and escort Squadron arrived, No. 29 Squadron RAF
No. 29 Squadron RAF
No. 29 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was first raised in 1915, and is one of the world's oldest fighter squadrons. The second British squadron to receive the Eurofighter Typhoon, it is currently the Operational Conversion Unit for the RAF's newest fighter.-Service in World War I:This unit was...
. With the squadron came the soon to be famous officer Guy Gibson
Guy Gibson
Wing Commander Guy Penrose Gibson VC, DSO & Bar, DFC & Bar, RAF , was the first CO of the Royal Air Force's 617 Squadron, which he led in the "Dam Busters" raid in 1943, resulting in the destruction of two large dams in the Ruhr area...
, who would be awarded a Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
as the commander of the Dambusters
No. 617 Squadron RAF
No. 617 Squadron is a Royal Air Force aircraft squadron based at RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland. It currently operates the Tornado GR4 in the ground attack and reconnaissance role...
. It was Gibson's second tour at Digby as he had learned to fly at the station while attending No. 2 FTS in 1936. Gibson was still based at Digby in 1940 when he was married in Penarth
Penarth
Penarth is a town and seaside resort in the Vale of Glamorgan , Wales, 5.2 miles south west from the city centre of the Welsh capital city of Cardiff and lying on the north shore of the Severn Estuary at the southern end of Cardiff Bay...
, South Wales; he flew his Blenheim from RAF Wellingore
Navenby
Navenby is a village and civil parish in Lincolnshire, England. Lying south of Lincoln and north-northwest of Sleaford, Navenby has a population of 1,666 and is a dormitory village for Lincoln...
satellite field to RAF Pengam Moors
RAF Pengam Moors
RAF Pengam Moors was a Royal Air Force station and maintenance unit , located on the Pengam Moors area of Tremorfa, 2 miles south east of Cardiff city centre in Wales from June 1938 to January 1946....
in Cardiff docks for the wedding, returning three days later with his wife Eve as a passenger.
As 1939 came to a close King George VI made the first of three formal visits to RAF Digby. In addition to inspecting No. 46 Squadron, he presented decorations to fighter pilots from Digby and several neighbouring stations. The recipients included Guy Gibson who received his first DFC.
For six weeks in May and June 1940 the station was home to No. 222 Squadron RAF
No. 222 Squadron RAF
-In World War I:The Squadron was formally formed at Thasos on 1 April 1918 from A squadron of the former No. 2 Wing, RNAS when the Royal Air Force was formed. Later, 6 April 1918 former Z Squadron of No. 2 Wing, RNAS was added to the strength. Renumbered No. 62 Wing and consisting of Nos...
on a rotational rest and recuperation break from fighting the Battle of Britain
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...
from RAF Duxford. The squadron's most famous flight commander was the legless fighter ace Flight Lieutenant Douglas Bader
Douglas Bader
Group Captain Sir Douglas Robert Steuart Bader CBE, DSO & Bar, DFC & Bar, FRAeS, DL was a Royal Air Force fighter ace during the Second World War. He was credited with 20 aerial victories, four shared victories, six probables, one shared probable and 11 enemy aircraft damaged.Bader joined the...
. With the station's complement of pilots expanding nearby Wellingore Hall was requisitioned as a second officers' mess.
In late August 1940 a single German Junkers Ju 88
Junkers Ju 88
The Junkers Ju 88 was a World War II German Luftwaffe twin-engine, multi-role aircraft. Designed by Hugo Junkers' company through the services of two American aviation engineers in the mid-1930s, it suffered from a number of technical problems during the later stages of its development and early...
bomber appeared suddenly out of the mist and dropped its load of bombs on the station, all of them missing the runways and buildings to explode harmlessly on open ground. In February 1941 the first of the Canadian fighter squadrons arrived at Digby. No. 1 (Canadian) Squadron and No. 2 (Canadian) Squadron immediately renumbered as No. 401 Squadron RAF
No. 401 Squadron RAF
No. 401 "City of Westmount" Squadron RCAF was a Royal Canadian Air Force fighter squadron that flew alongside the Royal Air Force during World War II and is notable for having fought in the Battle of Britain. Postwar, the squadron operated in Canada as an auxiliary squadron, reserve squadron and...
and No. 402 Squadron RAF respectively; both squadrons were equipped with Hurricanes. The Canadian Digby wing was formed on 24 April 1941 when the station received three further squadrons, 409 Tactical Fighter Squadron flying Boulton Paul Defiant
Boulton Paul Defiant
The Boulton Paul Defiant was a British interceptor aircraft that served with the Royal Air Force early in the Second World War. The Defiant was designed and built by Boulton Paul Aircraft as a "turret fighter", without any forward-firing guns. It was a contemporary of the Royal Navy's Blackburn Roc...
s, No. 411 Squadron RCAF
No. 411 Squadron RCAF
No. 411 "City of York" Squadron RCAF was a Second World War Royal Canadian Air Force squadron that operated as part of RAF Fighter Command in Europe with the Supermarine Spitfire. -History:...
and No. 412 Squadron RAF both flying Supermarine Spitfire
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
s.
RAF Digby received several German bomber raids during 1941 and extensive damage was suffered. It was decided to relocate the 12 Group Sector Operations Centre away from further danger and it moved to a luxurious setting in the west wing of Blankney Hall
Blankney
Blankney is a village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, with a population of 239 according to the 2001 census. The village is about south of Lincoln and north of Sleaford...
where it stayed for the remainder of the war. Several RAF squadrons arrived to serve alongside the Canadians during 1941; No. 92 Squadron RAF
No. 92 Squadron RAF
No. 92 Squadron, also known as No 92 Squadron, of the Royal Air Force was formed as part of the Royal Flying Corps at London Colney as a fighter squadron on 1 September 1917. It deployed to France in July 1918 and saw action for just four months, until the end of the war. During the conflict it...
and No. 609 Squadron RAF
No. 609 Squadron RAF
No. 609 Squadron of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, originally formed as a bomber squadron and in World War II active as fighter squadron, nowadays provides personnel to augment and support the operations of the Royal Air Force. The squadron is no longer a flying Squadron, but instead has the role...
both arrived from RAF Biggin Hill on rotational rest and recuperation leave. There were now so many airmen at RAF Digby that even the two officers' messes could not accommodate them all. Several squadrons commandeered the nearby Ashby Hall
Ashby De La Launde
Ashby de la Launde is a small village, part of the civil parish of Ashby de la Launde and Bloxholm, in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England.The villages is located just west of Digby, and east of the A15 and B1191 roads...
as their officers' mess and the hall remained in this role until the end of the war when it fell into disrepair and its estate was broken up.
American born pilot and poet John Gillespie Magee
John Gillespie Magee, Jr.
John Gillespie Magee, Jr. was an American aviator and poet who died as a result of a mid-air collision over Lincolnshire during World War II. He was serving in the Royal Canadian Air Force, which he joined before the United States officially entered the war. He is most famous for his poem "High...
flying for the Canadian air force was killed at the age of 19 on 30 June 1941 while stationed at RAF Digby with No 412 (Fighter) Squadron, RCAF
No. 412 Squadron RCAF
No. 412 Transport Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force is one of 3 transport squadrons attached to CFB Trenton in Trenton, Ontario. This squadron, however, is based out of Ottawa, Ontario. It had formerly been attached to CFB Ottawa, which closed in 1994. The squadron operates with a strength...
. Magee took off in a Spitfire from the satellite field at RAF Wellingore and, while descending through cloud over Roxholm village just south of Digby, was involved in a mid-air collision with an Airspeed Oxford climbing out of RAF Cranwell. Magee is buried at the War graves section of Scopwick church along with 49 other aviators from local airfields and five German aircrew. On his grave are inscribed the first and last lines from his poem High Flight:
- "Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth –
- Put out my hand and touched the Face of God."
UK bomb disposal teams were having continuing problems rendering safe with German 2 kg (4.4 lb) Butterfly bomb
Butterfly Bomb
A Butterfly Bomb, or was a German 2 kilogram anti-personnel submunition used by the Luftwaffe during the Second World War. It was so named because the thin cylindrical metal outer shell which hinged open when the bomblet deployed gave it the superficial appearance of a large butterfly...
s because no examples had been safely dismantled to learn the best process. This was because butterfly bombs were specifically designed to detonate if they were disturbed in any way. Whilst dealing with eight butterfly bombs which had fallen on RAF Harlaxton
RAF Harlaxton
RAF Harlaxton was a Royal Air Force station near the village of Harlaxton, south west of Grantham, Lincolnshire, England. The airfield was located in a triangle of flat fields midway between Harlaxton Manor and the nearby village of Stroxton.Originally constructed as a Royal Flying Corps...
and failed to explode, Flight Sergeant Hanford of RAF Bomb Disposal (based at RAF Digby) noticed that the arming rods on the bombs had not fully unscrewed themselves i.e. the fuze
Fuze
Fuze Beverage, commercially referred to as just Fuze , is a manufacturer of teas and non-carbonated fruit drinks enriched with vitamins. Currently the brand consists of five vitamin-infused lines: Slenderize, Refresh, Tea, Defensify, and Vitalize...
s were not fully armed. Hanford carefully screwed the arming rods back into the fuze pockets by hand, thereby enabling the bomb disposal scientists to safely dismantle the fuze mechanisms, learn how they worked and develop counter-measures. Highly useful information in the form of diagrams and detailed explanations were then distributed to bomb disposal technicians for instructional purposes. Hanford was later awarded the British Empire Medal
British Empire Medal
The Medal of the Order of the British Empire for Meritorious Service, usually known as the British Empire Medal , is a British medal awarded for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Crown...
for this feat of extreme bravery.
Airfield guarding duties during the war were covered initially by a variety of Army units and later by several squadrons the RAF Regiment. From the middle of 1941 until 1942 Digby was guarded by D Company of the 70th Battalion Royal Welsh Fusiliers. At various times after that elements of No. 2742 Squadron RAF Regiment, No. 2757 Squadron RAF Regiment and No. 2777 Squadron RAF Regiment covered the airfield protection duties.
RCAF Digby
On 16 September 1942 control of Digby formally passed to Canada and the station was renamed Royal Canadian Air Force Station Digby under the command of Group Captain McNab RCAF. In February 1943 the first de Havilland MosquitoDe Havilland Mosquito
The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito was a British multi-role combat aircraft that served during the Second World War and the postwar era. It was known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews and was also nicknamed "The Wooden Wonder"...
s arrived at Digby and were allocated to No. 410 Squadron.
During early 1944 Digby was a hive of activity with all of the resident squadrons and several visiting squadrons, including several Czech and Belgian squadrons, taken up with training for D-day invasion support. When the invasion took place all of the squadrons relocated to captured airfields in France and Digby became an almost deserted 'ghost town'. All that remained were No. 116 Squadron RAF
No. 116 Squadron RAF
No. 116 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps, was formed on 1 December 1917 at Andover and was intended to become a night bomber unit but the end of the war resulted in the Squadron's disbandment on 20 November 1918....
flying a small number of Airspeed Oxford
Airspeed Oxford
The Airspeed AS.10 Oxford was a twin-engine aircraft used for training British Commonwealth aircrews in navigation, radio-operating, bombing and gunnery during the Second World War.-Design and development:...
s in an anti-aircraft training role and two squadrons flying elderly Blenheims for radar calibration off the east coast.
In May 1945 control of the station was handed back by the Canadians and it again became RAF Digby, although the new station crest showed the autumn gold maple leaf to permanently acknowledge its history as a Canadian facility for three years. By the time the war ended on 8 May 1945, RAF Digby had been the wartime home to 30 RAF squadrons, 13 Canadian squadrons, 4 Polish squadrons, 2 Belgian squadrons and 1 Czech squadron. Those airmen had flown Hurricane, Spitfire, Defiant, Blenheim, Beaufighter, Mosquito, Mustang, Wellington, Oxford and Anson aircraft. The station had also hosted the full range of visiting RAF heavy bombers and their crews, as well as no fewer than 54 USAAF B-17Gs on a foggy night in November 1944.
Post war
Following the end of World War II Digby increasingly took on a non-flying role for RAF Technical Training CommandRAF Technical Training Command
Technical Training Command was an organization within the Royal Air Force which controlled units responsible for delivering aircraft maintenance training and other non-flying training, initially in Berkshire then in Cambridgeshire.-History:...
. In 1948 the Secretarial Branch Training School relocated from RAF Hereford
RAF Hereford
RAF Hereford was a non-flying station of the Royal Air Force. It was the home of a wide variety of training schools from 1940 until it closed for RAF training in 1999. It was also known as RAF Credenhill, as it is situated in Credenhill, north-west of Hereford...
and the Equipment Officers’ School was established at Digby. Between 1948 and 1950 Digby also became home to the No.1 Initial Officer Training unit, the Aircrew Education Unit, the Aircrew Transit Unit and the Instructional Leadership Course. In 1951 No. 2 Aircrew Grading School for both potential pilots and ancillary aircrew was established at Digby using a wide range of elderly aircraft. An experimental and development flight of two Gloster Meteor
Gloster Meteor
The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies' first operational jet. It first flew in 1943 and commenced operations on 27 July 1944 with 616 Squadron of the Royal Air Force...
jet fighters, capable of operating from grassed runways, was based at Digby from 1946.
Flying ceased at Digby when all units and training schools were disbanded or relocated during January 1953 and the station was placed on care and maintenance until October 1954 when building works commenced in preparation for the establishment of the proposed signals units. No. 399 Signals Unit arrived in January 1955 and declared itself fully operational on 15 February, located in No. 2 hangar (now the station gymnasium). The second, No. 591 Signals Unit arrived in July 1955 and set up operations in hangar No. 1 (North).
In September 1959 the Wireless Operators' School and the Aerial Erectors’ School were established at Digby to begin training their respective students.The station continued to expand its scope of operations steadily from the 1970s and into the new millennium. British Army elements arrived in 1994 and were later joined by the Royal Navy. The addition of US detachments signalled the start of yet another era in the history of Digby. On 1 September 1998 399 Signals Unit merged with the newly arrived Special Signals Support Unit from Loughborough to form the Joint Service Signal Unit (Digby).
Current units
RAF Digby contains two elements of the JSSO:- HQ Joint Service Signals Organisation (HQ JSSO)
- The JSSO provides direct support to strategic decision making and operations and is made up of personnel from all three services.
- Joint Service Signal Unit (Digby)
- JSSU(D) is one of several Joint Service Signal Units within the JSSO and provides specialist communications information systems to the British Armed Forces.
Two other units lodge on the site:
- 591 Signals Unit
- 591SU is a Communications and Electronic Security monitoring organisation providing services across defence.
- The Aerial Erector School
- The AES is an element of the communications school at RAF CosfordRAF CosfordRAF Cosford is a Royal Air Force station in Cosford, Shropshire, just to the northwest of Wolverhampton and next to Albrighton.-History:...
and provides training to personnel of the Armed Forces and civilians.
It also houses its own museum:
- RAF Wartime Sector Operations Room Museum
- Normally open to the public from 11.00am on Sundays from 1st Sunday in May to 1st Sunday in October, or by special arrangement.
See also
- List of RAF stations
- Bison concrete armoured lorry - one of which was used by the RAF Regiment to defend the airfield.