RAF Wellingore

Quality 0.50 · 1 view · Updated 2 months ago

Former fighter aircraft station

title: "RAF Wellingore" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["royal-air-force-stations-in-lincolnshire", "1917-establishments-in-england", "royal-air-force-stations-of-world-war-ii-in-the-united-kingdom", "military-airbases-established-in-1917", "military-airbases-closed-in-1947"] description: "Former fighter aircraft station" topic_path: "history" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Wellingore" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Former fighter aircraft station ::

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

FieldValue
nameRAF Wellingore
ensignEnsign of the Royal Air Force.svg
ensign_size90px
partof
locationWellingore, Lincolnshire
nearest_town
countryEngland
image[[File:Technical Site for RAF Wellingore - geograph.org.uk - 116347.jpg
captionTechnical Site for RAF Wellingore
image2
typeRelief Landing Ground
coordinates
pushpin_mapLincolnshire
pushpin_map_captionShown within Lincolnshire
pushpin_labelRAF Wellingore
ownershipAir Ministry
operatorRoyal Air Force
controlledbyRAF Fighter Command* No. 12 Group RAF1940-44RAF Flying Training Command
open_to_public
site_other_label
site_other
site_area
codeJW
built/35
used1935 -
height
length
fate
battlesEuropean theatre of World War II
past_commanders
garrison
occupants
footnotes
elevation79 m
r1-number00/00
r1-length
r1-surfaceGrass
r2-number00/00
r2-length
r2-surfaceGrass
h1-length
airfield_other_label
airfield_other
::

| name = RAF Wellingore | ensign = Ensign of the Royal Air Force.svg | ensign_size = 90px | native_name = | partof = | location = Wellingore, Lincolnshire | nearest_town = | country = England | image = [[File:Technical Site for RAF Wellingore - geograph.org.uk - 116347.jpg|250px]] | alt = | caption = Technical Site for RAF Wellingore | image2 = | alt2 = | caption2 = | type = Relief Landing Ground | coordinates = | pushpin_map = Lincolnshire | pushpin_map_caption = Shown within Lincolnshire | pushpin_label = RAF Wellingore | pushpin_label_position = | ownership = Air Ministry | operator = Royal Air Force | controlledby = RAF Fighter Command* No. 12 Group RAF1940-44RAF Flying Training Command | open_to_public = | site_other_label = | site_other = | site_area = | code = JW | built = /35 | used = 1935 - | builder = | materials = | height = | length = | fate = | condition = | battles = European theatre of World War II | events = | past_commanders = | garrison = | occupants = | designations = | website = | footnotes = | IATA = | ICAO = | GPS = | WMO = | elevation = 79 m | r1-number = 00/00 | r1-length = | r1-surface = Grass | r2-number = 00/00 | r2-length = | r2-surface = Grass | h1-number = | h1-length = | h1-surface = | airfield_other_label = | airfield_other = Royal Air Force Wellingore or more simply RAF Wellingore is a former Royal Air Force fighter relief landing ground located 1.9 mi south of Navenby, Lincolnshire and 10 mi south of Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England.

History

The airfield was originally opened in 1917 as a Royal Naval Air Service station called Wellingore Heath. The airfield reopened in 1935. By the winter of 1939/40, the airfield was fully operational and consisted of two grass runways, a concrete perimeter track and several hangars. It initially operated as a Relief Landing Ground (RLG) for RAF Cranwell before later operating as a RLG for RAF Digby. Various squadrons equipped with Spitfires, Hurricanes, Blenheims and Beaufighters flew from the station.

The airfield was closed in 1947.

Squadrons

John Gillespie Magee Jr

In December 1941, John Gillespie Magee, Jr., author of the famous aviation poem "High Flight", took off from Wellingore on his final flight, in which he was killed.

Guy Gibson

In November 1940, Guy Gibson, who later led Operation Chastise (better known as the Dambusters Raid), was stationed at Wellingore. Later in November 1940, he flew from here to Cardiff for his wedding. He had his first victories as a nightfighter pilot operating from here. In April 1942, a German intruder aircraft attacked Gibson's aircraft while landing at Wellingore, injuring his navigator.

Post-war use

The station was used as a prisoner of war camp before being handed back to the local land owner. Many of the original buildings, including the control have been demolished. A number of airfield defence concrete bunkers remain dotted around the airfield which has been returned to agricultural use.

References

Citations

Bibliography

References

  1. {{Harvnb. Jefford. 1988
  2. {{Harvnb. Jefford. 1988
  3. {{Harvnb. Jefford. 1988
  4. {{Harvnb. Jefford. 1988
  5. {{Harvnb. Jefford. 1988
  6. {{Harvnb. Jefford. 1988
  7. {{Harvnb. Jefford. 1988
  8. {{Harvnb. Jefford. 1988
  9. {{Harvnb. Jefford. 1988
  10. {{Harvnb. Jefford. 1988
  11. {{Harvnb. Jefford. 1988
  12. "Wellingore". [[Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust]].

::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. ::

royal-air-force-stations-in-lincolnshire1917-establishments-in-englandroyal-air-force-stations-of-world-war-ii-in-the-united-kingdommilitary-airbases-established-in-1917military-airbases-closed-in-1947