Tholthorpe

54°06'16"N 001°15'47"W

runway: 06/24 - 1430x..yds - concrete
runway: 10/28 - 2000x..yds - concrete
runway: 16/34 - 1400x..yds - concrete

Tholthorpe airfield (RAF Tholthorpe) was an airfield 300 kilometers north of London
The airfield saw its first use in the summer of 1940, when it served as a dispersal field for Whitley bombers from RAF Linton-on-Ouse. However, it proved unsuitable in the winter of 1940/41 and therefore was not used from December 1940. A narrow taxitrack was built around the airfield, which developed further from late 1941. Eventually the whole airfield was upgraded to a Class A standard bomber airfield, which amongst others meant that a local road had to be cut off to make room for the airfield.
The airfield had three large hangars and 36 dispersals. The airfield was allocated to No.6 Group (a RCAF unit). In early summer 1943 434 (Bluenose) Sqn. was formed at the station, flying Halifax bombers. The following month 431 (Iroquois) Sqn. joined them from RAF Burn, also flying Halifaxes. Both began flying operational sorties in August and moved to RAF Croft at the end of the year.


Overview of the air base, shot somewhere between 1943 and 1945 (click here for a larger version of this RAF photo).

At the same time, both squadrons were replaced with 420 (Snowy Owl) and 425 (Alouette) Sqn, which both had to learn to operate their new Halifaxes. Their first operational sorties were made in the second half of the winter of 1944. Both squadrons remained at the base until the end of the war, with 420 Sqn flying its last operational sorties a few weeks before the war ended and 425 Sqn a few days later. In total, Tholthorpe losses amounted 119 Halifaxes (of which 25 Halifaxes were lost by 420 Sqn and 28 by 425Sqn), either having crashed in the UK or missing in action over Europe. Both squadrons were hastily converted to Lancasters before they were sent to Canada in June.

After the departure of the Canadians in June 1945, Tholthorpe came under care and maintenance, although hardly any took place. The RAF holding party had departed by the end of the year. For some years the airfield remained in a reasonably intact state, with its hangars in use for unspecified purposes. Some unlicenced private flying took place from the airfield in the 1980s.
By the 1990s most of the airfield had been reconverted back to farming however. It is still recognisable, but most of the taxyways and the runways, save for a few odd lengths left as farm roads, were erased. The local road that was closed off during World War II has been restored. Light industry now occupies the old technical site area and the three hangars. Both the original Type 13079141 watch office and the later Type 343143 control tower still stand, the latter converted into a house in 1995. A high voltage power line crosses the airfields north side.
Good series of photos taken at the airfield fairly recently can be viewed at airfieldinformationexchange.org and airfieldarchaeology.co.uk.


Overview of RAF Tholthorpe in 2009 (Google Earth).

Note: this airfield was described earlier, using information supplied on the RAF website. Due to a 3rd party copyright claim, the part between 1940 and 1945 was rewritten, omitting certain information on units and dates.