RAF Driffield
# RAF Driffield

Royal Air Force Driffield or RAF Driffield is a former Royal Air Force station in the East Riding of Yorkshire, in England. It lies about 2 miles (3 km) south-west of Driffield and 11 miles (18 km) north-west of Beverley. It is now operated by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation, as the Driffield Training Area.

## History

The site was first opened in 1918 by the Royal Air Force under the name of RAF Eastburn, and closed in 1920. In 1935 a new airfield was built, initially training bomber crews. In 1977 the site was turned over to the British Army for use as a driving school, and was renamed Alamein Barracks, a satellite to Normandy Barracks of the Defence School of Transport at Leconfield.

The station was the initial posting of Leonard Cheshire VC, who was at that time a member of 102 Squadron.

On 15 August 1940 there was a German air raid on the airfield. Casualties included the first fatality in the Women's Royal Air Force.

On 1 August 1959, the station was armed with PGM-17 Thor ballistic missiles, which were subsequently decommissioned by April 1963.

## Units

The following units were here at some point:

* No. 1 Fighter Command Modification Centre RAF
* No. 2 Blind Approach Training Flight RAF (April – October 1941) became No. 1502 (Beam Approach Training) Flight RAF (October 1941 – July 1943)
* No. 2 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit RAF (October 1940 – 1941)
* No. 2 School of Aerial Fighting RAF (October 1917 – May 1918) became No. 3 School of Aerial Fighting and Gunnery RAF (May 1918)
* No. 4 Group Target Towing Flight RAF (February 1940 – November 1941)
* No. 5 Group Target Towing Flight RAF (February 1940 – April 1941)
* Detachment of No. 5 Service Flying Training School RAF (March 1941)
* Detachment of No. 6 Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit RAF (June – July 1943)
* No. 8 Flying Training School RAF (June 1954 – August 1955)
* No. 10 Air Navigation School RAF (September 1946 – March 1948)
* No. 21 Training Depot Station (July 1918 – July 1919) became No. 21 Training Squadron (July 1919 – February 1920)
* No. 43 Base RAF (June 1943 – September 1945)
* No. 102 Squadron RAF
* No. 104 Squadron RAF
* No. 203 Advanced Flying School RAF (September 1949 – June 1954)
* No. 204 Advanced Flying School RAF (March 1948 – August 1949)
* No. 226 Operational Conversion Unit RAF (August 1949)
* No. 1484 (Target Towing) Flight RAF (November 1941 – January 1942) became No. 1484 (Target Towing and Gunnery Flight) RAF (January – December 1942) became No. 1484 (Bombing) Gunnery Flight RAF (December 1942 – July 1943)
* No. 1613 (Anti-Aircraft Co-operation) Flight RAF (February – July 1943)
* Air Bomber Training Flight, No. 4 Group (June 1942 – March 1943)
* Aircrew Transit Unit (November 1949 – December 1951)
* Detachment of Air Fighting Development Unit RAF
* Fighter Weapons School (October 1957 – March 1958)
