RAF Fiskerton explained

RAF Fiskerton
Ensign:Ensign of the Royal Air Force.svg
Ensign Size:90px
Location:Fiskerton, Lincolnshire
Country:England
Type:52 Base substation
Coordinates:53.2436°N -0.4278°W
Pushpin Map:Lincolnshire#UK
Pushpin Map Caption:Shown within Lincolnshire
Pushpin Label:RAF Fiskerton
Ownership:Air Ministry
Operator:Royal Air Force
Controlledby:RAF Bomber Command
Code:FN
Used:January 1943 - December
Battles:European theatre of World War II
Elevation:15m (49feet)
R1-Number:05/23
R2-Number:07/25
R2-Surface:Asphalt
R3-Number:12/30
R3-Surface:Asphalt

Royal Air Force Fiskerton or more simply RAF Fiskerton was a Royal Air Force station located north of the Lincolnshire village of Fiskerton, east of Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England. The airfield closed at the end of the war in 1945 being a satellite to RAF Scampton and very little now exists. The station was home to some 2000 personnel during the war, and various technical sites were in what is now the village of Fiskerton. A small cluster of semi-derelict buildings still exist and are still in use at the end of the present village on the road out to short ferry. Drake's view is the entrance to these old buildings.

History

It was one of many new bomber airfields built in the early part of the Second World War. The airfield was situated north of the village. It was one of only 15 RAF airfields equipped with FIDO,[1] a fog-clearing system utilising petrol pumped through pipes alongside the main runway and burned via a sequence of nozzles.

No. 49 Squadron RAF and No. 576 Squadron RAF were stationed at RAF Fiskerton. 49 Squadron took part in the Peenemünde raid on the research and development centre for the V2 missile. 576 Squadron took part in the raid on Hitler's hideout at Berchtesgaden and in Operation Manna.

During WWII, Billy Strachan, who would go onto become a pioneer of Black civil rights in Britain, took part in 15 bombing missions from RAF Fiskerton as a member of 576 Squadron.[2]

Between 1962 and 1992 a Headquarters of the Royal Observer Corps was located within the airfield boundary.

The following units were here at some point:[3]

Current use

Very little now remains of the old airfield. Land which once formed part of the aerodrome was donated by the owner, the late Geoff Stuffin, so a memorial to 49 and 576 Squadrons could be erected. Today the memorial can be found on the side of the road near the old main runway together with a plaque recording the generosity of Mr Stuffin.[4] The majority of the rest of the airfield was handed back to the farmers.

See also

References

Bibliography

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Barrymore Halpenny, Bruce . Action Stations 2: Military airfields of Lincolnshire and the East Midlands . Patrick Stephens . 1981 . 0 85059 484 7 . reprint 1984 . Wellingborough . 95–97.
  2. News: Horsley . David . 23 May 2019 . Billy Strachan's was a remarkable life . . 7 May 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230507202922/https://www.islingtontribune.co.uk/article/billy-strachans-was-a-remarkable-life . 7 May 2023.
  3. Web site: Fiskerton . Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust. 20 June 2020.
  4. Web site: Memorial Page.