Former RAF Hemswell

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

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RAF Hemswell was an airfield used by RAF Bomber Command for 20 years between 1937 and 1957 and saw most of its operational life during World War II. Later used by RAF Fighter Command as a nuclear ballistic missile base during the Cold War it closed to military use in 1967.

The station is now totally civilian, however, the RAF still own the community centre and have spent considerable money refurbishing it. The old H Block other rank accommodation buildings on the site have now become home to one of Europe's largest antique centres and there are also various shops, a garden centre, hairdresser, used book shop and several cafés. On Sundays there is a very large Sunday market and car boot sale.

Hemswell Cliff Primary School, formally the RAF primary school, still serves the children of the nearby communities. The former station officers' mess is now known as Hemswell Court and provides an elegant venue for weddings, banqueting and conference facilities. The Hemswell hangars have been pressed into service as European Union Common Agricultural Policy Intervention Stores on several occasions as a Lincolnshire location for the occasional EU "grain mountain" excesses.

History RAF Hemswell - Former Thor Missile Base

RAF Hemswell was an airfield used by RAF Bomber Command for 35 years. It was located close to the village of Hemswell in Lincolnshire, England. The first airfield on the site was opened in 1916 by the Royal Flying Corps and called Harpswell after the village of that name across the A631. During World War I it was used as a night landing ground and several training squadrons were established there. After the war it returned to farmland.

A new airbase, now called Hemswell, was opened on New Year's Eve 1936 to accommodate the rapidly expanding Bomber Command. During the war years various squadrons were based at Hemswell and it continued in flying use by bombers until 1956.

From December 1959 until May 1963 the base became the main headquarters of the 5 Lincolnshire Thor missile sites, and three American intermediate range ballistic missiles were based there.

In 1964 it was designated as an operational conversion unit for the new TSR.2 aircraft, but when that was cancelled in 1965 it sealed the fate of Hemswell, which closed in 1967.

RAF Hemswell was used in the filming of The Dambusters

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