Former RAF Spilsby

 abandoned / shut down, RAF - Royal Air Force, closed / former military, historical layer / disappeared object

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Three miles east of Spilsby town, and taking in much of the parish of Monksthorpe, this was a Class A standard airfield built during 1942-43. Construction contracts issued allowed £62,000 for preparing the site, £260,000 for runways, £60,000 for aircraft dispersals and £175,000 for buildings. Several minor roads had to be closed including that between Monkthorpe and Gunby. The runways were OS-23, 11-29 and 16-34 of which the first two were 1,400 yards long and the 16-34 at 1,430 yards.

The OS-23 and 11-29 were both later extended to 2,000 yards although 11-29 was, for some unrecorded reason, restricted to 1,400 yards use, one source stating that it was extended due to an Air Ministry clerical error! Hardstandings were 17 pans and 19 loops, but two of the pans were lost through later ground work. There were three T2 hangars, one on the technical site between runway heads OS and 11, another south-west between runway heads 29 and 34 and a third east of runway head 16.

The bomb store was off the north side between runway heads 16 and 23. The camp, to the south-west of the airfield around Monkthorpe village and the area known as Sand Hills, consisted of two communal, two WAAF, six domestic and a sick quarters site with maximum accommodation for 2,112 males and 222 females.

The first occupant of the station was No. 207 Squadron, removed from Langar in October 1943 to make way for USAAF occupation. The squadron had Spilsby to itself for a year when it was joined by another Lancaster squadron, No. 44, which had to vacate Dunholme Lodge when that airfield was transferred to No. 1 Group.

The two squadrons were not disturbed from their base until after victory in Europe. Their combined operational loss in raids flown from this station was 85 Lancasters. In July, No. 44, selected to form part of Tiger Force to be sent to the Far East, exchanging places with No. 75 Squadron at Mepal, the New Zealand manned unit disbanding at Spilsby in October that year. The same month No. 207 was moved to Methwold whereupon Spilsby closed for flying.

An armament practice school was installed at the station in November, which remained for a year, after which the base was relegated to care and maintenance status. The caretaker party was withdrawn in 1947 and the airfield left unattended but it remained in a reasonably complete state until the early `fifties. The Cold War had brought a considerable number of USAF personnel to the UK and Spilsby was one of the stations held ready for possible reception of flying units should the Cold War intensify.

The Americans carried out some refurbishment and also modified the control tower but the USAF occupation was brief and they were gone by the end of the `fifties. No further military use was made of the airfield and most of the concrete was removed over the following two decades apart from lengths used for reinstating minor roads. A memorial to No. 207 Squadron stands on the base of the Fire Tender shed.