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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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RAF Dalton
Royal Air Force Dalton or more simply RAF Dalton is a former Royal Air Force satellite station located near to Dalton, North Yorkshire, England.

The airfield was by RAF Bomber Command during the Second World War. It was a satellite of nearby RAF Topcliffe.

History

The village church of the village that gave the station its name

RAF Dalton was home to No. 102 Squadron beginning in November 1941. No. 102 Squadron returned to Topcliffe in June 1942 and for a time Dalton hosted No. 1652 Heavy Conversion Unit RAF (HCU) flying Handley Page Halifaxes. The airfield was improved in 1942 and in early 1943 was allocated to No. 6 Group Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Canadian squadrons stationed here at one time or another included No. 428 Squadron, No. 424 Squadron, No. 420 Squadron, and No. 1666 Heavy Conversion Unit RAF (which moved to RAF Wombleton in October 1943). The station also housed No. 1691 Bomber Gunnery Flight RCAF and its successor, No. 1695 Bomber Defence Training Flight RCAF, the last RCAF unit to serve at this station.

In November 1944, control passed from No. 6 Group to the new No. 7 (Training) Group. By August 1945 all units at Dalton were disbanded or transferred.

Operational units and aircraft

data from
Unit From To Aircraft Version
No. 102 Squadron RAF 15 November 1941 7 June 1942 Armstrong Whitworth Whitley
Handley Page Halifax		 Mk.V
Mk.II
No. 420 Squadron RCAF 6 November 1943 12 December 1943 Vickers Wellington Mk.X
No. 424 Squadron RCAF 3 May 1943 15 May 1943 Vickers Wellington Mk.X
No. 428 Squadron RCAF 7 November 1942 31 May 1943 Vickers Wellington Mks.III and X
No. 1652 HCU 13 July 1942 22 August 1942 Handley Page Halifax Mks.I, II
No. 1666 'Mohawk' HCU 5 June 1943 21 October 1943 Handley Page Halifax Mks.II, III
No. 1691 (Bombing) (Gunnery) Flight 26 June 1943 15 February 1944 Miles Martinet
Airspeed Oxford		 Mk.I
Mk.II
No. 1695 (Bomber) Defence Training Flight 15 February 1944 23 April 1945 Miles Martinet
Hawker Hurricane
Supermarine Spitfire		 Mk.I
MksIIc, IV
Mk.I, IIa, Vb, Vc

Current use

The aerodrome facilities are now being used for commercial and industrial uses. A major employer on the estate is Severfield plc.

References

Citations

  1. ^ Falconer 2012, p. 75.
  2. ^ Jefford 2001, pp. 57, 92–93 and 147.
  3. ^ Halley 1988, pp. 176, 505, 508 and 510.
  4. ^ Sturtivant & Hamlin 2007, pp. 97, 99, 129.
  5. ^ "Contact Severfield". Severfield. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  6. ^ Stewart, Alastair (20 April 2022). "Orders surge as nuclear market reopens". Research Tree. Retrieved 25 April 2022.

Bibliography

  • Falconer, J. (2012). RAF Airfields of World War 2. UK: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85780-349-5.
  • Halley, James J. (1988). The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth 1918-1988. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN 0-85130-164-9.
  • Jefford, C. G. (2001). RAF Squadrons, a Comprehensive record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing. ISBN 1-85310-053-6.
  • Moyes, Philip J. R. (1976). Bomber Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft (2nd ed.). London: Macdonald and Jane's (Publishers) Ltd. ISBN 0-354-01027-1.
  • Sturtivant, Ray; Hamlin, John (2007). RAF Flying Training And Support Units since 1912. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN 978-0-85130-365-9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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