RAF Dalton
Royal Air Force base in Yorkshire, England
title: "RAF Dalton" 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", "history-of-north-yorkshire", "military-history-of-yorkshire", "military-history-of-north-yorkshire", "military-airbases-established-in-1941", "military-airbases-closed-in-1945"] description: "Royal Air Force base in Yorkshire, England" topic_path: "history" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Dalton" 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 Dalton |
| ensign | [[File:Ensign of the Royal Air Force.svg |
| partof | |
| location | Dalton, North Yorkshire |
| nearest_town | |
| country | England |
| image2 | |
| type | Royal Air Force satellite station 1941-43 |
| 61 (RCAF) Substation 1943-44 | |
| 76 Base Substation 1944- | |
| coordinates | |
| pushpin_map | North Yorkshire#UK |
| pushpin_map_caption | Shown within North Yorkshire |
| pushpin_label | RAF Dalton |
| ownership | Air Ministry |
| operator | Royal Air Force |
| Royal Canadian 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 | DA | | built | /41 | | used | November 1941 – December 1945 | | height | | | length | | | fate | | | battles | European theatre of World War II | | past_commanders | | | garrison | | | occupants | | | footnotes | | | elevation | 24 m | | r1-number | 00/00 | | r1-length | | | r1-surface | Tarmac | | r2-number | 00/00 | | r2-length | | | r2-surface | Tarmac | | r3-number | 00/00 | | r3-length | | | r3-surface | Tarmac | | h1-length | | | airfield_other_label | | | airfield_other | | ::
| name = RAF Dalton | ensign =[[File:Ensign of the Royal Air Force.svg|90px]] [[File:Air Force ensign of Canada (1941–1968).svg|90px]] | ensign_size = | native_name = | partof = | location = Dalton, North Yorkshire | nearest_town = | country = England | image = | alt = | caption = | image2 = | alt2 = | caption2 = | type = Royal Air Force satellite station 1941-43 61 (RCAF) Substation 1943-44 76 Base Substation 1944- | coordinates = | pushpin_map = North Yorkshire#UK | pushpin_map_caption = Shown within North Yorkshire | pushpin_label = RAF Dalton | pushpin_label_position = | ownership = Air Ministry | operator = Royal Air Force Royal Canadian 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 = DA | built = /41 | used = November 1941 – December 1945 | builder = | materials = | height = | length = | fate = | condition = | battles = European theatre of World War II | events = | past_commanders = | garrison = | occupants = | designations = | website = | footnotes = | IATA = | ICAO = | FAA = | TC = | LID = | GPS = | WMO = | elevation = 24 m | r1-number = 00/00 | r1-length = | r1-surface = Tarmac | r2-number = 00/00 | r2-length = | r2-surface = Tarmac | r3-number = 00/00 | r3-length = | r3-surface = Tarmac | h1-number = | h1-length = | h1-surface = | airfield_other_label = | airfield_other = Royal Air Force Dalton or more simply RAF Dalton is a former Royal Air Force satellite station located near to Dalton, North Yorkshire, England.
The airfield was by RAF Bomber Command during the Second World War. It was a satellite of nearby RAF Topcliffe.
History
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/Dalton_Church_(Dalton,_Hambleton).jpg" caption="The village church of the village that gave the station its name"] ::
RAF Dalton was home to No. 102 Squadron beginning in November 1941. No. 102 Squadron returned to Topcliffe in June 1942 and for a time Dalton hosted No. 1652 Heavy Conversion Unit RAF (HCU) flying Handley Page Halifaxes. The airfield was improved in 1942 and in early 1943 was allocated to No. 6 Group Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Canadian squadrons stationed here at one time or another included No. 428 Squadron, No. 424 Squadron, No. 420 Squadron, and No. 1666 Heavy Conversion Unit RAF (which moved to RAF Wombleton in October 1943). The station also housed No. 1691 Bomber Gunnery Flight RCAF and its successor, No. 1695 Bomber Defence Training Flight RCAF, the last RCAF unit to serve at this station.
In November 1944, control passed from No. 6 Group to the new No. 7 (Training) Group. By August 1945 all units at Dalton were disbanded or transferred.
Operational units and aircraft
::data[format=table title="data from{{Harvnb|Jefford|2001|pp=57, 92–93 and 147.}}{{Harvnb|Halley|1988|pp=176, 505, 508 and 510.}}{{Harvnb|Sturtivant|Hamlin|2007|pp=97, 99, 129.}}"]
| Unit | From | To | Aircraft | Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 102 Squadron RAF | 15 November 1941 | 7 June 1942 | Armstrong Whitworth Whitley | |
| Handley Page Halifax | Mk.V | |||
| Mk.II | ||||
| No. 420 Squadron RCAF | 6 November 1943 | 12 December 1943 | Vickers Wellington | Mk.X |
| No. 424 Squadron RCAF | 3 May 1943 | 15 May 1943 | Vickers Wellington | Mk.X |
| No. 428 Squadron RCAF | 7 November 1942 | 31 May 1943 | Vickers Wellington | Mks.III and X |
| No. 1652 HCU | 13 July 1942 | 22 August 1942 | Handley Page Halifax | Mks.I, II |
| No. 1666 'Mohawk' HCU | 5 June 1943 | 21 October 1943 | Handley Page Halifax | Mks.II, III |
| No. 1691 (Bombing) (Gunnery) Flight | 26 June 1943 | 15 February 1944 | Miles Martinet | |
| Airspeed Oxford | Mk.I | |||
| Mk.II | ||||
| No. 1695 (Bomber) Defence Training Flight | 15 February 1944 | 23 April 1945 | Miles Martinet | |
| Hawker Hurricane | ||||
| Supermarine Spitfire | Mk.I | |||
| MksIIc, IV | ||||
| Mk.I, IIa, Vb, Vc | ||||
| :: |
Current use
The aerodrome facilities are now being used for commercial and industrial uses.
A major employer on the estate is Severfield plc. In 2011, Severfield and Mace test assembled the Shard's spire on the airfield before breaking it down again for transport to London and final assembly.
References
Citations
Bibliography
References
- {{Harvnb. Jefford. 2001
- {{Harvnb. Halley. 1988
- {{Harvnb. Sturtivant. Hamlin. 2007
- "Contact Severfield".
- Stewart, Alastair. (20 April 2022). "Orders surge as nuclear market reopens".
- Prigg, Mark. (15 November 2011). "Now comes The Shard part ...". London Evening Standard.
- (30 March 2012). "Shard's spire now in place on Europe's tallest building". BBC News.
::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. ::