Royal Flying Corps airfields

A list of airfields of the Royal Flying Corps.

British Isles edit

Name	From	To	Current county	Country	Current use
Andover	August 1917	1 April 1918	Hampshire	England	British Army Headquarters
Anwick	September 1916	1 April 1918	Lincolnshire	England	Farmland
Ashington	October 1916	1 April 1918	Northumberland	England	Potland Burn Surface Mine
Ayr	1917	1 April 1918	Ayrshire	Scotland	Ayr Racecourse
Bacton	1916	1 April 1918	Norfolk	England
Baldonnel	1917	1 April 1918	Co. Dublin	Ireland	Headquarters Irish Air Corps
Beaulieu	1914	1 April 1918	Hampshire	England	Open land
Beaumont Night Landing Ground	April 1916	August 1916	Essex		farmland
Beddington Aerodrome	January 1916	1 April 1918	Greater London	England	Housing
Bekesbourne	1916	1 April 1918	Kent	England	Housing/Farmland
Beverley Aerodrome	1916	1 April 1918	East Yorkshire	England	Beverley Racecourse^[1]
Bicester	January 1917	1 April 1918	Oxfordshire	England	Bicester Airfield
Biggin Hill	1916	1 April 1918	Greater London	England	London Biggin Hill Airport
Blackheath Common NLG	March 1915	July 1919	Essex		farmland (army)
Bogton	1917	1 April 1918	Ayrshire	Scotland
Boscombe Down	1917	1 April 1918	Wiltshire	England	Military airfield
Bournes Green day LG	May 1917	June 1917	Essex		farmland
Bracebridge Heath Landing Ground	1918	1 April 1918	Lincolnshire	England	Industry/Agriculture
Braceby Landing Ground	1916	1 April 1918	Lincolnshire	England
Braintree NLG	end of January 1917	October 1918	Essex		farmland/housing estate roads
Bramham Moor Aerodrome	1915	1 April 1918	Yorkshire	England	Now farmland
Brattleby (Cliff)	1916	1917	Lincolnshire	England	RAF Scampton (flying)
Brentingby	1916	1916	Leicestershire	England	Farmland
Brooklands Landing Ground	1914	1 April 1918	Surrey	England	Brooklands Museum
Broomfield Court NLG	August 1916	August 1919	Essex		farmland
Brough Landing Ground	1916	1916	East Yorkshire	England
Buckminster	1 October 1916	1 April 1918	Lincolnshire	England	Farmland
Burgh Castle Landing Ground	1915	1 April 1918	Suffolk	England
Burnham-on-Crouch FS	1915	July 1919	Essex		Farmland
Bury/Ramsey	September 1917	1 April 1918	Cambridgeshire	England	Farmland/Housing/Industry
Bury St Edmunds Landing Ground	1916	1916	Suffolk	England
Calshot Naval Air Station	29 March 1913	July 1914	Isle of Wight	England	Calshot Activities Centre
Castle Bromwich	1918	1 April 1918	West Midlands	England	Industry/ Housing
Catterick	September 1914	1 April 1918	North Yorkshire	England	Marne Barracks
Chattis Hill	1917	1918	Hampshire	England
Chiddingstone Causeway	December 1916	1 April 1918	Kent	England	Open land
Chingford FS	December 1914	March 1919	Essex		reservoirs
Clacton seaplane station	August 1914	Autumn 1916	Essex		seafront
Coal Aston	1916	1 April 1918	Yorkshire	England
Collinstown		1 April 1918	Co. Dublin	Ireland	Dublin Airport
Copmanthorpe	1916	1 April 1918	North Yorkshire	England
Coventry (Radford)	1916	1 April 1918	Warwickshire	England
Cramlington	1915	1 April 1918	Northumberland	England
Curragh Camp	1913	1 April 1918	Co. Kildare	Ireland	Irish Army barracks
Detling	1917	1 April 1918	Kent	England
Didsbury	1917	1 April 1918	Lancashire	England
Doncaster	1916	1918	South Yorkshire	England	Doncaster Racecourse
Dover (Swingate Down)	1914	1 April 1918	Kent	England
Eastburn	1917	1 April 1918	East Yorkshire	England	Alamein Barracks
Easington	Oct 1916	Mar 1919	Co. Durham	England	farmland
Easthorpe	April 1916	December 1919	Essex	England	farmland
Eastleigh	1910	1 April 1918	Hampshire	England	Southampton Airport^[2]
Easton-on-the-Hill	1917	1 April 1918	Northamptonshire	England	RAF Wittering (flying)
East Hanningfield NLG	April 1916	January 1917	Essex	farmland
East Retford	1916	1 April 1918	Nottinghamshire	England
Edzell	1916	1 April 1918	Angus	Scotland	Farmland
Elmswell (Great Ashfield)	1917	1 April 1918	Suffolk	England
Elsham	1916	1 April 1918	Lincolnshire	England	Farmland/Industrial estate
Fairlop FS	1916	summer 1919	Essex		sports fields/car sales/WW1 officers' bungalows remain
Farnborough	1912	1 April 1918	Hampshire	England	Farnborough Airport
Feltwell	1917	1 April 1918	Norfolk	England
Fermoy	1917	1 April 1918	Co. Cork	Ireland
Filton	1915	1 April 1918	Gloucestershire	England	Bristol Filton Airport
Finningley	1915	1 April 1918	South Yorkshire	England	Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield
Folkestone/Hawkinge	1915	1 April 1918	Kent	England	Housing/Kent Battle of Britain Museum
Ford Farm/Old Sarum	August 1917	1 April 1918	Wiltshire	England	Old Sarum Airfield
Ford (Junction)/Yapton	1 March 1918	1 April 1918	West Sussex	England	HM Prison Ford
Fyfield NLG	October 1916	December 1919	Essex		farmland
Goldhanger FS	August 1915	March 1919	Essex		farmland
Goldington Aerodrome	October 1916	1 April 1918	Bedfordshire	England	Housing
Gormanstown	1917	1 April 1918	Co. Meath	Ireland	Irish Army barracks
Gosberton	1 October 1916	1 April 1918	Lincolnshire	England
Gosport, Fort Grange	July 1914	1 April 1918	Hampshire	England	HMS Sultan
Goxhill	?	1 April 1918	Lincolnshire	England	Farmland/Industrial estate
Grantham	1915	1 April 1918	Lincolnshire	England	Prince William of Gloucester Barracks
Hainault Farm FS	October 1914	December 1919	was Essex, now Greater London		farmland
Halton	1917	1 April 1918	Buckinghamshire	England	RAF Halton (flying)
Harpswell	1916	1 April 1918	Lincolnshire	England	Farmland/ Museum
Harlaxton	Nov 1916	1 April 1918	Lincolnshire	England	Farmland
Harrietsham	December 1916	?	Kent	England	?
Helperby	1916	1920	North Yorkshire	England	Farmland^[3]
Hendon Aerodrome	November 1916	1 April 1918	Greater London	England	Royal Air Force Museum London Housing
Heathfield	1917	1 April 1918	Ayrshire	Scotland	Housing/Retail
Hingham	1916	1917	Norfolk	England
Hooton Park	1917	1 April 1918	Cheshire	England	Museum & Vauxhall car factory
Horndon-on-the-Hill	April 1916	early 1918	Essex		farmland
Hove			East Sussex	England
Hucknall Aerodrome	1916	1 April 1918	Nottinghamshire	England	Housing
Hounslow Heath Aerodrome	14 October 1914	1 April 1918	Greater London	England	Open land
Hylton	October 1916	1 April 1918	Tyne & Wear	England	Nissan car factory North East Aircraft Museum
Jesson (Hythe)	September 1916	1 April 1918	Kent	England	Farmland
Joyce Green	14 July 1911	December 1919	Kent	England	Open land
Kenley	1917	1 April 1918	Greater London	England	RAF Kenley
Lake Down	1917	1919	Wiltshire	England	Open land
Larkhill	1912	1914	Wiltshire	England	(MoD land) – Artillery training
Leadenham	September 1916	1 April 1918	Lincolnshire	England	Farmland/Quarry
Leavesden Aerodrome			Hertfordshire	England	Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden Housing
Lilbourne	1915	1 April 1918	Warwickshire	England	Open land
Little Clacton NLG	October 1916	July 1919	Essex		sports grounds/housing
London Colney	1916	1 April 1918	Hertfordshire	England	de Havilland Aircraft Museum
Lopcombe Corner	1917	1 April 1918	Wiltshire	England
Lydd St Mary	1917	1 April 1918	Kent	England
Lympne	1916	1 April 1918	Kent	England
Manston	1915	1 April 1918	Kent	England	Manston Airport
Manton	December 1916	1 April 1918	Lincolnshire	England	Farmland
Marden	January 1917	1 April 1918	Kent	England	Farmland
Marham	1916	1 April 1918	Norfolk	England	RAF Marham (flying)^[4]
Marske-by-the-Sea	December 1917	1 April 1918	North Yorkshire	England	Housing
Martlesham Heath	October 1916	1 April 1918	Suffolk	England	Housing
Mattishall	1915	1 April 1918	Norfolk	England
Melton Mowbray	1916	1 April 1918	Leicestershire	England
Mill Farm Night Landing Ground	1917	1 April 1918	Lincolnshire	England	Farmland
Molesworth	1917	1 April 1918	Cambridgeshire	England	RAF Molesworth (non-flying)
Montrose Air Station	26 February 1913	1 April 1918	Angus	Scotland	Montrose Air Station Heritage Centre
Mountnessing NLG	April 1916	December 1916	Essex		farmland
Narborough	August 1915	1 April 1918	Norfolk	England	RAF Marham (flying)^[5]
Netheravon	16 June 1913	1 April 1918	Wiltshire	England	AAC Netheravon until 2012
North Benfleet NLG	April 1916	March 1919	Essex		farmland/new arterial road
North Coates Fitties	1916	1 April 1918	Lincolnshire	England	Farmland/Housing North Coates Flying Club
North Killingholme	July 1914	1 April 1918	Lincolnshire	England	Farmland/Industry
North Ockendon NLG	April 1916	October 1916	Essex		farmland
Northolt	3 May 1915	1 April 1918	Greater London	England	RAF Northolt (flying)
Orsett NLG	October 1916	December 1919	Essex		farmland/housing/golf course
Perton	1916	1 April 1918	Staffordshire	England	Housing
Plungar			Leicestershire	England
Redcar	1915	1 April 1918	North Yorkshire	England	Housing
Red House Farm	1917	1 April 1918	Wiltshire	England	MoD Boscombe Down (flying)
Ripon	15 September 1916	1 April 1918	North Yorkshire	England	Ripon Racecourse
Rochford FS	Autumn 1915	1920	Essex		airfield
Runwell NLG	August 1917	March 1920	Essex		farmland
Sadberge^[6]			Co. Durham	England	Farmland
Saundby Aerodrome (Gainsborough)^[7]	December 1916	1 April 1918	Nottinghamshire	England	Farmland
Scalford	1916	1 April 1918	Leicestershire	England
Seaton Carew	1916	1 April 1918	Co. Durham	England	Industrial estate
Sedgeford	1916	1 April 1918	Norfolk	England	Farmland
Shawbury	1917	1 April 1918	Shropshire	England	RAF Shawbury (flying)
Shenfield (Palmers Farm) NLG	September 1916	February 1919	Essex		farmland
Shotwick	1916	1 April 1918	Flintshire	Wales	MoD Sealand (non-flying)
Sible Hedingham NLG	April 1916	June 1919	Essex		farmland
South Carlton	November 1916	1 April 1918	Lincolnshire	England	Farmland
Southfields	1916	1 April 1918	Northumberland	England	HM Prisons Acklington & Castington
Stirling	1916	1918	Stirling	Scotland	Farmland
Stow Maries Aerodrome	August 1916	March 1919	Essex	England	airfield/Heritage Site
Sutton's Farm FS	summer 1915	June 1919	was Essex, now Greater London		part housing, part public open space
Swinstead			Leicestershire	England
Tallaght		1918	South Dublin	Ireland
Tangmere	1917	1 April 1918	West Sussex	England	Tangmere Military Aviation Museum
Thaxted NLG	January 1917	summer 1918	Essex		farmland
Throwley Aerodrome	October 1916	1 April 1918	Kent	England	Farmland
Ternhill	1916	1 April 1918	Shropshire	England	RAF Ternhill/Clive Barracks
Turnberry	1917	1 April 1918	Ayrshire	Scotland	Turnberry Golf Course
Turnhouse Aerodrome	1915	1 April 1918	City of Edinburgh	Scotland	Edinburgh Airport
Tydd St Mary	August 1917	1 April 1918	Lincolnshire	England	Farmland
Upavon	19 June 1912	1 April 1918	Wiltshire	England	Trenchard Lines
Uxbridge	19 November 1917	1 April 1918	Greater London	England	RAF Uxbridge/Housing
Vale Farm, Thornaby (Yarm)	1914	1 April 1918	North Yorkshire	England	Housing/Industry
Waddington	1916	1 April 1918	Lincolnshire	England	RAF Waddington (flying)
Waddon Aerodrome	1918	1 April 1918	Greater London	England	Housing
Wellingore Heath	1917	1 April 1918	Lincolnshire	England	Farmland
West Fenton Aerodrome/Gullane	1916	1 April 1918	East Lothian	Scotland	Museum
Weston-on-the-Green	1916	1 April 1918	Oxfordshire	England	RAF Weston-on-the-Green (flying)
Widford NLG	December 1914	summer 1916	Essex		part farmland, part industry
Stamford	1916	1 April 1918	Lincolnshire	England	RAF Wittering (flying)
Wormingford NLG	December 1916	June 1919	Essex	England	farmland/WW2 airfield/gliding
Worthy Down	1917	1 April 1918	Hampshire	England	Worthy Down Barracks
Writtle NLG	October 1914	November 1916	Essex		farmland/nurseries
Wye	May 1916	1 April 1918	Kent	England	Farmland
Wyton	1916	1 April 1918	Huntingdonshire	England	RAF Wyton (flying)
Yatesbury	1916	1 April 1918	Wiltshire	England
Yokes Court	February 1917	November 1917	Kent	England

France edit

Saint-Omer, France, 1914–1918 (Headquarters) - now Saint-Omer Wizernes Airport and site of British Air Services Memorial
Candas No 2 Aircraft Depot (2AD) formed 13.12.15 - Spring 1918^[8]
Fienvillers No 2 Aeroplane Supply Depot (2ASD) formed 1.11.17^[8]
Rang-du-Fliers 2AD moved after German Spring Offensive^[8]
St Andre aux Bois/Verton 2ASD moved after German Spring Offensive^[8]
Saint-Léger-lès-Authie^[9]
Sombrin (Vaulx-Vraucourt)^[10]

Canada edit

The Royal Flying Corps Canada was established by the RFC in 1917 to train aircrew in Canada. Air stations were established in southern Ontario at the following locations:

Camp Borden 1917–1918
Armour Heights Field 1917–1918 (pilot training, School of Special Flying to train instructors)
Leaside Aerodrome 1917–1918 (Artillery Cooperation School)
Long Branch Aerodrome 1917–1918
Curtiss School of Aviation (flying-boat station with temporary wooden hangar on the beach at Hanlan's Point on Toronto Island 1915–1918; main school, airstrip and metal hangar facilities at Long Branch)
Camp Rathbun, Deseronto 1917–1918 (pilot training)
Camp Mohawk (now Tyendinaga (Mohawk) Airport) 1917-1918 – located at the Tyendinaga Indian Reserve (now Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory) near Belleville 1917–1918 (pilot training)
Hamilton (Armament School) 1917–1918
Beamsville Camp (School of Aerial Fighting) 1917-1918 - located at 4222 Saan Road in Beamsville, Ontario; hangar remains and property now used by Global Horticultural Incorporated

Other locations edit

Ismailia, Egypt (training - No. 57 TS, 32 (Training) Wing HQ) - now Al Ismailiyah Air Base
Aboukir, Egypt 1916–1918 (training - No. 22 TS & No. 23 TS, 20 (Training) Wing HQ)
Abu Sueir, Egypt 1917-1918 (training - No. 57 TS & No. 195 TS) - now Abu Suwayr Air Base, also used by RAF during World War II
El Ferdan, Egypt (training – No. 17 TDS)
El Rimal, Egypt 1917-1918 (training – No. 19 TDS) - later as RAF El Amiriya and now abandoned (after World War II)
Camp Taliaferro, North Texas, USA 1917–1918 (training) - sites now either residential development or commercial/industrial parks

References edit

^ Administrator. "RFC Beverley". hullandeastridingatwar.co.uk.
^ "Naval Air Station Eastleigh". Retrieved 29 March 2022.
^ "Helperby (Brafferton) - Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust UK". www.abct.org.uk. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
^ "RAF Marham - RAF Marham 1916 - 1919". Archived from the original on 13 July 2007.
^ "RAF Marham - Narborough Aerodrome". Archived from the original on 29 October 2007.
^ "Sadberge Landing Ground".
^ "Beckingham cum Saundby ..."
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d RAF Flying Training And Support Units since 1912. Air-Britain (Historians). 2007. ISBN 978-0-85130-365-9.
^ Philpott, Ian (2013). The Birth of the Royal Air Force. Pen & Sword. p. 452. ISBN 978-1781593332.
^ Cross & Cockade Vol 4 No 3 1973 pp. 114–117 and papers of Lt H. Rhodes (12 Squadron).

[1] Administrator. "RFC Beverley". hullandeastridingatwar.co.uk.

[2] "Naval Air Station Eastleigh". Retrieved 29 March 2022.

[3] "Helperby (Brafferton) - Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust UK". www.abct.org.uk. Retrieved 19 November 2021.

[4] "RAF Marham - RAF Marham 1916 - 1919". Archived from the original on 13 July 2007.

[5] "RAF Marham - Narborough Aerodrome". Archived from the original on 29 October 2007.

[6] "Sadberge Landing Ground".

[7] "Beckingham cum Saundby ..."

[Sturtivant&Hamlin-8] RAF Flying Training And Support Units since 1912. Air-Britain (Historians). 2007. ISBN 978-0-85130-365-9.

[9] Philpott, Ian (2013). The Birth of the Royal Air Force. Pen & Sword. p. 452. ISBN 978-1781593332.

[10] Cross & Cockade Vol 4 No 3 1973 pp. 114–117 and papers of Lt H. Rhodes (12 Squadron).

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