RAF Lissett

RAF Lissett
IATA: none – ICAO: none
Summary
Airport type	Military
Owner	Air Ministry
Operator	Royal Air Force
Location	Lissett, East Riding of Yorkshire
Built	1940
In use	1943-1947
Elevation AMSL	16 ft / 5 m
Coordinates	54°00′19″N 000°16′23″W / 54.00528°N 0.27306°W
Map
RAF Lissett Location in East Riding of Yorkshire
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 00/00 0 0 Concrete 00/00 0 0 Concrete 00/00 0 0 Concrete

Royal Air Force Station Lissett or more simply RAF Lissett is a former Royal Air Force station located 6.1 miles (9.8 km) south west of Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire, England.

History

Originally required as satellite airfield for RAF Catfoss the land was requisitioned in 1940. Although constrained by three roads and the Gransmoor Drain the builders constructed a standard three-runway bomber airfield. It had two hangars and 36 dispersals and three concrete runways.

Lissett opened in February 1943 and No. 158 Squadron RAF arrived from RAF Rufforth to be the resident squadron on 28 February. 158 Sqn was a heavy bomber squadron equipped with the four-engined Handley Page Halifax. The squadron flew the first operational mission on the night of 11/12 March 1943 when ten aircraft were flown to Stuttgart, one failed to return. The squadron carried out operations up to the end of the war from Lissett. At the end of war in May 1945 the squadron was transferred to Transport Command as it prepared to undertook a transport role and the squadron was re-equipped with the Short Stirling before it departed to RAF Stradishall in August 1945.

Apart from a few weeks in early 1944 when 1484 Flight were in residence the station unusually was a one unit station. After the departure of 158 Squadron the station was relegated to a care and maintenance status but by the end of the year the airfield was abandoned and the technical areas used for storage.

Based units

^[1][2][3]

Unit	Aircraft	Variant	From	To	To	Notes
No. 158 Squadron RAF	Handley Page Halifax Short Stirling	II/III/VI V	28 February 1943	17 August 1945	Stradishall	Four-engined heavy bombers
No. 1484 Flight RAF	Boulton Paul Defiant Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Miles Martinet	I	1944	1944		January and February 1944, target towing and gunnery training
No. 14 Maintenance Unit	N/A		1945	1947	Elvington	Sub site
No. 91 Maintenance Unit	N/A		1945	1947	Acaster Malbis	Sub site

Current use

RAF Lissett Memorial at dusk

In December 2008 a 30 MW wind farm housing 12 turbines (Nordex N90's^[4]) each around 100 metres (330 ft) high was constructed across the western end of the airfield.^[5] A memorial sculpture to 158 Squadron in the form of seven airmen has been erected to the memory of the 851 airmen who did not return from operations at the airfield.

References

Citations

1. Jefford 1988, p. 158
2. Sturtivant 2007, p. 124
3. Delve 2006, p. 185
4. "Nordex awarded new contracts for 55 MW: UK customer ordering five wind farms from Nordex". Nordex SE. 14 May 2012. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
5. "Lissett Airfield Wind Farm". .forgottenairfields.com. 4 December 2008. Retrieved 4 November 2009.

Bibliography

• Delve, Ken (2006). The Military Airfields of Britain - Northern England. The Crowood Press. ISBN 1-86126-809-2.
• Jefford, C.G. (1988). RAF Squadrons. Airlife Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1-85310-053-6.
• Sturtivant, Ray (2007). RAF Flying Training and Support Units (Since 1912). Air-Britain Historians Ltd. ISBN 0-85130-365-X.

External links

• Royal Air Force Station Lissett official history