RAF Silloth
Former RAF airfield in Cumbria, England
title: "RAF Silloth" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["royal-air-force-stations-in-cumbria", "history-of-cumbria", "military-airbases-established-in-1939", "military-airbases-closed-in-1960"] description: "Former RAF airfield in Cumbria, England" topic_path: "history" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Silloth" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Former RAF airfield in Cumbria, England ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox military installation"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | RAF Silloth |
| ensign | Ensign of the Royal Air Force.svg |
| ensign_size | 90px |
| partof | |
| location | Silloth, Cumbria |
| country | England |
| image | |
| image2 | |
| type | Royal Air Force Station |
| coordinates | |
| pushpin_map | Cumbria#UK |
| pushpin_map_caption | Shown within Cumbria |
| pushpin_label | RAF Silloth |
| ownership | Air Ministry |
| operator | Royal Air Force |
| controlledby | RAF Coastal CommandRAF Maintenance Command |
| open_to_public | |
| site_other_label | |
| site_other | |
| site_area | |
| code | |
| built | |
| used | 1939 - |
| battles | European theatre of World War II |
| past_commanders | |
| garrison | |
| occupants | |
| footnotes | |
| elevation | 7 m |
| r1-number | 04/22 |
| r1-length | 1420 m |
| r1-surface | Asphalt |
| r2-number | 09/27 |
| r2-length | 980 m |
| r2-surface | Asphalt |
| r3-number | 18/36 |
| r3-length | 1050 m |
| r3-surface | Asphalt |
| h1-length | |
| airfield_other_label | |
| airfield_other | Operational dates. |
| :: |
| name = RAF Silloth | ensign = Ensign of the Royal Air Force.svg | ensign_size = 90px | native_name = | partof = | location = Silloth, Cumbria | country = England | image = | caption = | image2 = | alt2 = | caption2 = | type = Royal Air Force Station | coordinates = | gridref = | pushpin_map = Cumbria#UK | pushpin_map_caption = Shown within Cumbria | pushpin_label = RAF Silloth | pushpin_label_position = | ownership = Air Ministry | operator = Royal Air Force | controlledby = RAF Coastal CommandRAF Maintenance Command | open_to_public = | site_other_label = | site_other = | site_area = | code = | built = | used = 1939 - | builder = | fate = | condition = | battles = European theatre of World War II | events = | past_commanders = | garrison = | occupants = | designations = | website = | footnotes = | IATA = | ICAO = | LID = | GPS = | WMO = | elevation = 7 m | r1-number = 04/22 | r1-length = 1420 m | r1-surface = Asphalt | r2-number = 09/27 | r2-length = 980 m | r2-surface = Asphalt | r3-number = 18/36 | r3-length = 1050 m | r3-surface = Asphalt | h1-number = | h1-length = | h1-surface = | airfield_other_label = | airfield_other = Operational dates. Royal Air Force Silloth, or more simply RAF Silloth, is a former Royal Air Force station 1 mi north-east of Silloth, Cumbria, England, and 6.7 mi south-west of Kirkbride, Cumbria. The station was used by RAF Coastal Command.
The airfield is also known as Silloth Airfield/Aerodrome.
Station history
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/RAF_Silloth_aerial_photograph_WWII_IWM_MH_30769.jpg" caption="The airfield as camouflaged during World War II}}"] ::
The airfield was originally designed to be used by RAF Maintenance Command but was handed over to Coastal Command in November 1939. It had a satellite at RAF Hornby Hall.
Based units
- No. 1 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit RAF (OTU) using Avro Ansons, Bristol Beauforts and Bothas.
- No. 6 Operational Training Unit RAF with the Vickers Wellington and Anson.
- No. 215 Squadron RAF using the Wellington.
- No. 320 (Netherlands) Squadron RAF using the Avro Anson I.
- No. 22 Maintenance Unit RAF.
- No. 1353 (Target Towing) Flight RAF using the Supermarine Spitfire and the Vultee A-31 Vengeance.
- No. 5 Ferry Pool RAF.
Current use
Many of the buildings still survive, including the hangars, but the runways are in a bad condition.
A farmers' market and Solway Holiday Park occupy the outer edge of the airport. A number of private homes are found on the north-west side of the former airfield. Enkev, a natural fibre company, has its UK office at the airfield.
References
Citations
Bibliography
References
- "RAF Silloth". Control Towers.
- "Silloth Airfield".
::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. ::