Ashington

55°11'27"N 001°37'19"W

flying field - grass

Ashington airfield (Royal Flying Corps Station Ashington, also known as RAF Ashington) was an airfield in England
The airfield was built and opened in 1916. The first unit to use the airfield was 'C' Flight of 36 Squadron flying BE2s and Royal Aircraft Factory FE2b two-seater pusher biplanes. The following year 'C' Flight was replaced by 'B' Flight. In November 1918 the remainder of 36 Squadron moved to Ashington and disbanded in June 1919.
After the RFC was transformed into the RAF, a second squadron began to use the airfield, 256 Squadron. 525 Flight conducted coastal patrols in Airco DH6s. The airfield was abandoned in September 1919 and returned to agricultural use.


No photos have been located

The sole remaining structure is believed to be the station bomb store, this being constructed of concrete and evidently too much of an obstacle to remove. In August 2011 however plans were announced to turn the former airfield into an open cast mine. The area is to be opencast over the next six years under the proposed Potland Burn Opencast.


Location of the former airfield in 2006 (Google Earth)