RAF Burn

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title: "RAF Burn" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["royal-air-force-stations-in-yorkshire", "royal-air-force-stations-of-world-war-ii-in-the-united-kingdom", "military-airbases-established-in-1942", "military-airbases-closed-in-1945"] description: "Royal Air Force base in Yorkshire, England" topic_path: "history" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Burn" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Royal Air Force base in Yorkshire, England ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox military installation"]

Field	Value
name	RAF Burn
ensign	Ensign of the Royal Air Force.svg
ensign_size	90px
partof
location	Burn, North Yorkshire
nearest_town
country	England
image	[[File:Burn Airfield. From Northeast Corner. - geograph.org.uk - 1727027.jpg
caption	Former northeast-southwest runway
image2
type	Royal Air Force satellite station 1942–4442 Base substation 1944–46
coordinates
pushpin_map	North Yorkshire#UK
pushpin_map_caption	Shown within North Yorkshire
pushpin_label	RAF Burn
pushpin_label_position	top
ownership	Air Ministry
operator	Royal Air Force
controlledby	RAF Bomber Command* No. 4 Group RAF* No. 6 Group RCAF
open_to_public
site_other_label
site_other
site_area
code	AZ
built	/42
used	November 1942 -
height
length
fate
battles	European theatre of World War II
past_commanders
garrison
occupants
footnotes
IATA	XBRN
ICAO	XBRN
elevation	6 m
r1-number	01/19
r1-length	1820 m
r1-surface	Concrete
r2-number	07/25
r2-length	1420 m
r2-surface	Concrete
r3-number	15/33
r3-length	1320 m
r3-surface	Concrete
h1-length
airfield_other_label
airfield_other
::

| name = RAF Burn | ensign = Ensign of the Royal Air Force.svg | ensign_size = 90px | native_name = | partof = | location = Burn, North Yorkshire | nearest_town = | country = England | image = [[File:Burn Airfield. From Northeast Corner. - geograph.org.uk - 1727027.jpg|250px]] | alt = | caption = Former northeast-southwest runway | image2 = | alt2 = | caption2 = | type = Royal Air Force satellite station 1942–4442 Base substation 1944–46 | coordinates = | pushpin_map = North Yorkshire#UK | pushpin_map_caption = Shown within North Yorkshire | pushpin_label = RAF Burn | pushpin_label_position = top | ownership = Air Ministry | operator = Royal Air Force | controlledby = RAF Bomber Command* No. 4 Group RAF* No. 6 Group RCAF | open_to_public = | site_other_label = | site_other = | site_area = | code = AZ | built = /42 | used = November 1942 - | builder = | materials = | height = | length = | fate = | condition = | battles = European theatre of World War II | events = | past_commanders = | garrison = | occupants = | designations = | website = | footnotes = | IATA = XBRN | ICAO = XBRN | FAA = | TC = | LID = | GPS = | WMO = | elevation = 6 m | r1-number = 01/19 | r1-length = 1820 m | r1-surface = Concrete | r2-number = 07/25 | r2-length = 1420 m | r2-surface = Concrete | r3-number = 15/33 | r3-length = 1320 m | r3-surface = Concrete | h1-number = | h1-length = | h1-surface = | airfield_other_label = | airfield_other = Royal Air Force Burn or more simply RAF Burn is a former Royal Air Force satellite station located 5 mi south of Selby and 0.5 mi east of Burn in North Yorkshire, England which opened in 1942 before closing in 1946.

Station history

The airfield was opened in 1942 and first hosted No. 431 Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force as part of 4 Group RAF Bomber Command which formed at the airfield on 13 November 1942 flying Vickers Wellington Mark X aircraft while at Burn. On 15 July 1943 the squadron was transferred to RAF Tholthorpe and became part of No. 6 Group RCAF.

On 1 January 1944 No. 658 Squadron RAF moved to the airfield from RAF Clifton flying the Taylorcraft Auster III but left after only seven days, moving to RAF Doncaster. On 21 January 1944 the squadron returned, this time staying until 14 March 1944 when they moved to RAF Collyweston. The squadron was briefly joined on 31 December 1943 by 659 Squadron which moved to RAF Clifton the following day.

During its use the airfield was also used by No. 10 Air Crew Holding Unit RAF.

On 6 January 1944 No. 578 Squadron RAF squadron was relocated to RAF Burn from RAF Snaith. This Bomber Command squadron flew Handley Page Halifax Mk. III before disbanding on 15 April 1945 and the station was closed for flying operations in July 1945.

On the night of 30 March 1944, Pilot Officer Cyril Joe Barton took off from RAF Burn in Halifax LK797 for a raid on Nuremberg, and won a posthumous Victoria Cross for valour.

Shortly after flying was discontinued, the Royal Army Service Corps took over some facilities to store surplus equipment. Many of the buildings have been dismantled but all three runways remain intact and are used by Burn Gliding Club Ltd.

Current use

The runways and hardstands are relatively intact, with Burn Gliding Club using the old aerodrome. The perimeter track of the airfield is also the location for the weekly Selby parkrun.

References

Citations

Bibliography

References

1. {{Harvnb. Jefford. 1988
2. "Bomber Command – Burn". Royal Air Force.
3. {{Harvnb. Jefford. 1988
4. "Burn". [[Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust]].
5. {{Harvnb. Jefford. 1988
6. "RAF Burn". The Wartime Memories Project.
7. "Burn Gliding Club – Flying in the heart of Yorkshire". Burn Gliding Club.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::