Former RAF Lissett

 Second World War 1939-1945, abandoned / shut down, RAF - Royal Air Force, interesting place, draw only border, closed / former military

 Upload a photo

Built in 1942 to Class A standard, Lissett was No. 4 Group's nearest operational airfield to the coast, being only two miles from the North Sea. Located six miles due east of Great Driffield town, on the east side of Grassmore Drain and the west side of the A165 Bridlington to Hull road, the site was formerly mostly meadowland. The runways were main 09-27 at 1,900 yards, 03-21 at 1,430 yards and 15-33 at 1,400 yards long. All 36 hardstandings were pan types.

One of the two Type T2 hangars was positioned on the technical site, which lay on the north-east side of the airfield adjacent to Lissett village. The other T2 was located between runway heads 03 and 33 on the south-east maintenance area near the A165. As was standard practice, the bomb stores were as far removed as possible from the main technical site on the opposite side of the airfield between runway heads 09 and 03. Seven domestic sites for a maximum 1,442 males and 351 females were dispersed in farmland to the east of the A165. William Townson & Sons Ltd were involved in part of the construction work.

First occupied by a No. 4 Group operational squadron in February 1943 when No. 158 and its Halifaxes arrived from Rufforth, which was to host an Operational Training Unit, it is believed that Lissett near the coast was considered preferable for an operational unit as opposed to the York area, which was heavily congested. No. 158 participated in most main force operations during 1943 and in December its `C' Flight was taken to form, the nucleus of a new squadron, No. 640 which was to be based at Leconfield. No. 158 continued in occupation right up to the end of the war, flying some 250 raids from Lissett with 144 Halifaxes failing to return or destroyed in operational crashes. One of its aircraft, LV907, NP-F, named Friday the l3th, completed 128 operation sorties in 13 months, a record unsurpassed by any other Bomber Command Halifax. The final operation from Lissett was flown on April 25, 1945.

As with several other No. 4 Group squadrons, No. 158 was transferred to Transport Command on May 7, 1945 when it prepared to convert to Stirling Vs. Once ready for its new role, the squadron was moved south to Stradishall and Lissett was relegated to care and maintenance status with a small caretaker detachment. This was withdrawn by the end of the year and eventually the whole airfield was abandoned. By the 1970s most of the concrete had been removed with the former technical site buildings used by small industrial firms and for farm storage, and at the end of the century little remains to indicate there ever was an airfield at Lissett.

(Edit: There is now a memorial monument to 158 Sqdn on the Gransmore to Lissett road. There is now a windfarm on the site. The company who run the windfarm funded the monument. Each of the turbines has been named after an aircraft that flew from Lissett in WW2. The monument's unveiling is featured at
www.raf.mod.uk/news/archive.cfm?storyid=5D3983C5-1143-E... and www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/2418

It contains the 851 names of aircrew who did not return from missions. There is also a visitors book to sign.