RAF Bardney

Royal Air Force BardneyorRAF Bardney is a former Royal Air Force station located 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Bardney, Lincolnshire, England and 10 miles (16 km) east of Lincoln. It was built as a satellite to RAF Waddington in 1943 and the airfield closed in 1963.

RAF Bardney
Bardney, Lincolnshire in England
A wartime building on the airfield
RAF Bardney Shown within Lincolnshire
Coordinates	53°13′31″N 000°17′31″W / 53.22528°N 0.29194°W / 53.22528; -0.29194
Type	Royal Air Force station * No. 53 Base Substation
Code	BA^[1]
Site information
Owner	Ministry of Defence
Operator	Royal Air Force
Controlled by	RAF Bomber Command * No. 5 Group RAF
Site history
Built	1942 (1942)/43
In use	April 1943 - 1963 (1963)
Battles/wars	European theatre of World War II Cold War
Airfield information
Elevation	12 metres (39 ft)^[1] AMSL

It was one of the many bomber bases built in Lincolnshire and was built to the standard design of three concrete runways. All the facilities were wildly dispersed. The tower was built on the south-eastern perimeter, not very far from a minor road. Scotgrove drain runs at the south end of the airfield. The airfield was bordered by woods on three of its sides. ^[2]

Second World War

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Opened on 13 April 1943 as home to No. 9 Squadron.^[3]
October 1944, No. 227 Squadron formed at Bardney^[4] before moving to RAF Balderton.^[5]
November 1944, No. 189 Squadron formed at Bardney.^[6]
7 July 1945, No. 9 Squadron departs and the airfield is closed.^[3]

Cold War

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1945 onwards, site is used by the British Army for vehicle storage.^[7]
From 1959 to 1963, No. 106 Squadron operates as a Thor missile unit here.^[8]

The Bomber Command Film Flight Unit was formed here on 10 March 1945, before moving to RAF Fulbeck on 8 April 1945.^[9]

The control tower is currently being used by the Bardney Flyers Model Club, a model aircraft flying club. The former RAF station's hangars have been turned into warehouses.^[10]

Citations

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^ ^a ^b Falconer 2012, p. 46.

^ Barrymore Halpenny, Bruce (1981). Action Stations 2: Military airfields of Lincolnshire and the East Midlands (reprint 1984 ed.). Wellingborough: Patrick Stephens. p. 37. ISBN 0 85059 484 7.

^ ^a ^b Jefford 1988, p. 27.

^ Jefford 1988, p. 73.

^ Jefford 1988, p. 74.

^ Jefford 1988, p. 66.

^ "RAF Bardney airfield". Control Towers. Retrieved 4 June 2012.

^ Halpenny 1984, p. 38.

^ Sturtivant, Hamlin & Halley 1997, p. 83.

^ Halpenny 1984, p. 39.

Bibliography

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Falconer, J (2012). RAF Airfields of World War 2. UK: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85780-349-5.
Halpenny, B.B. Action Stations: Wartime Military Airfields of Lincolnshire and the East Midlands v. 2. Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Patrick Stephens Ltd, 1984. ISBN 978-0850594843.
Jefford, C.G. (1988). RAF Squadrons. A comprehensive record of the movement and equipment of all RAF squadrons and their antecedents since 1912. Shrewsbury: Airlife. ISBN 1-85310-053-6.
Sturtivant, R; Hamlin, J; Halley, J (1997). Royal Air Force flying training and support units. UK: Air-Britain (Historians). ISBN 0-85130-252-1.