RAF Scampton

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RAF Scampton
Scampton (England)
Scampton
Scampton
Characteristics
ICAO code EGXP
IATA code SQZ
Coordinates

53 ° 18 '28 "  N , 0 ° 33' 3"  W Coordinates: 53 ° 18 '28 "  N , 0 ° 33' 3"  W.
Height above MSL 62 m (203  ft )
Transport links
Distance from the city center 6 miles north of Lincoln
Street A15
Basic data
opening 1916
operator Royal Air Force
Start-and runway
05/23 2740 m of asphalt

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The Royal Air Force Station Scampton , RAF Scampton for short , is a military airfield of the British Royal Air Force on the eastern outskirts of Scampton in the county of Lincolnshire , England . The base is one of the smaller of the RAF, but at the same time one of the oldest. The Red Arrows are the last flying unit to be stationed in Scampton . There are also some non-flying facilities.

RAF Scampton is slated to close by 2022.

history

King George VI visits the 617th squadron, 1943
Lancaster as Gate Guard , 1982 (now East Kirkby)

The Royal Air Force's predecessor organization , the Royal Flying Corps , opened the base in 1916 as the Home Defense Flight Station Brattleby training station . It was named Scampton the following year and was deactivated in 1919.

In the course of upgrading in the run-up to World War II , the airfield was reopened as a bomber base in October 1936. Within the RAF Bomber Command , the task of the two local squadrons, equipped with Handley Page Hampden , was the laying of sea ​​mines and the attack on sea targets. From 1942 the station was home to two squadrons of Lancasters , the 57th and the No. 617 Squadron , the latter were the famous "Dambusters". In 1944 other Lancaster squadrons moved to Scampton.

In 1946 a 10-ton Grand Slam bomb was displayed at the entrance to the airfield , which in 1958 turned out to be a live bomb by mistake. It was removed and blown up in a controlled manner.

After the war ended, Scampton housed training facilities and the runway was expanded for operation with jets. Between 1953 and 1955 the station was the base of up to four Canberra squadrons . It was then expanded and, as the Cold War continued, from 1958 onwards it housed up to three Vulcan squadrons . In addition, there was the retraining unit on this V-bomber .

With the decommissioning of the Vulcan, RAF Scampton was again a training station for a good decade, the Central Flying School and the " Red Arrows " used the space. The airfield was deactivated a second time in 1996, but the airspace over Scampton was still used by the "Dambusters", which are now based in RAF Cranwell .

In 2000 the Red Arrows finally moved back to Scampton, where they are still based today, interim plans to station them in RAF Waddington have been discarded as Waddington is already busy.

Todays use

The airfield is still mainly used by the Red Arrows stationed here.

In addition, the "Scampton Airshow" will take place here from 2017, which is planned annually in the future and which has replaced the previous annual event in Waddington.

See also

Web links

Commons : RAF Scampton  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ George Allison: Red Arrows base RAF Scampton to be sold. In: UK Defense Journal. July 24, 2018, accessed June 28, 2019 .