© Crown Copyright/MOD 2010

RAF Scampton

(Map edited to show runways)

Airfield Code: EGXP

Google Earth Co-ordinates: 53°18'31.9"N       0°33'9.9"W

Runways: 01/19 = 4500 x 150 ft        05/23 = 6000 x 150 ft         11/29 = 4200 x 150 ft

Current Runways:   05/23 = 9000 x 200 ft

Probably most well known of all Bomber Command stations, RAF Scampton is located partly on the site of a First World War landing ground known as Brattleby or Brattleby Cliff. Located four miles north of Lincoln, the first of several airfields built on the rise known as the Lincoln Cliff running north on the west side of the A15, the original station opened in 1916. A number of timber administration and barrack huts were erected and six large wooden hangars. Reserve squadrons were the first residents, soon joined by a flight of No.33 Squadron's FE2bs for home defence. By the spring of 1917 Brattleby, then known as Scampton, had become a training establishment supporting No.60 Training Squadron. No.81 Training Squadron was formed at the station in the summer and a third training squadron, No.11 squadron arrived from Grantham in September. In July 1918 these squadrons were incorporated in No.34 Training Depot Station, which endured until April 1919, although its activities were severely reduced during the last four months of its existence. The landing ground was relinquished in January 1920 and within the next five years all buildings, including six hangars, were removed leaving little trace of wartime usage.

With the expansion of the RAF to meet developments in Germany, during the 1930s the Air Ministry turned first to abandoned First World War landing grounds when looking to build the required new airfields. The Scampton aerodrome site proved suitable although a larger acreage was required taking in farmland to the south in the parish of Scampton, a village to the west of the B 1398. Compulsorily purchased in 1935, work took the best part of two years and the RAF appeared before completion. The camp area was placed in the south-east corner and accessed from the A15 which formed the eastern border of the station. Substantial flat-roofed, brick buildings predominated and four Type C hangars were erected. The weapons stores were further north on the eastern side of the airfield.

By October 1936, No.9 Squadron and its Heyford's and No. 214 Squadron with Virginias arrived from  Northern Ireland with No.3 Group administering the station. No.214 Squadron converted to Harrows early in 1937 only to be transferred south to RAF Feltwell in April. In June, 'C' Flight of No.9 Squadron became the reformed No.148 Squadron, flying Audax biplanes for two months while awaiting Wellesley monoplanes. In March 1938, the recently formed No.5 Group was given bomber stations in Lincolnshire so No.9 and No.148 Squadrons moved south to No.3 Group's new station at RAF Stradishall. Their place was taken by No.49 and No.83 Squadrons, ex-Worthy Down and Turnhouse respectively. Both surrendered their Hawker Hinds for Handley Page Hampden's later in the year.

With the outbreak of war, the most frequent operational commitment of the Hampden's was mine-laying approaches to the enemy's ports. The first two Bomber Command VC's went to men from the Scampton squadrons. On August 12th, 1940, Flight Lieutenant Roderick Learoyd's No.49 Squadron Hampden was badly damaged by ground fire when he pressed home a low-level attack on the Dortmund-Ems canal. The award was made for his conduct in this action and bringing the badly mauled bomber safely back to base. Sergeant John Hannah was a wireless operator/ air gunner in a No.83 Squadron Hampden, which was set on fire from a direct flak hit in the bomb-bay while attacking invasion barges on September 15th, 1940. Sergeant Hannah could have baled out but he stayed and fought the fire, which enabled his Canadian pilot to fly the crippled machine back to Scampton. Sergeant Hannah was the youngest recipient of the VC for aerial operations during the war.

In December 1941, No.83 Squadron began to receive Avro Manchester's with No.49 Squadron using the type the following April. This troublesome aircraft had limited operational use before it was gradually phased out (starting in May 1942) in favour of its four-engined successor, the Lancaster. No sooner had No.83 Squadron converted to the Lancaster than it was selected as one of the squadrons for the new Pathfinder Force and departed to Wyton. Its replacement was No.57 Squadron from RAF Feltwell. In fact, this former No.3 Group Wellington squadron was re-built with Lancaster crews and aircraft, becoming operational in October. Early the following month, No.467 Squadron, an Royal Australian Air Force-manned unit, was formed at Scampton to fly Lancaster's in No.5 Group. As was current practice, once in being it was transferred to another station, in this instance Bottesford. Then in January 1943, No.49 Squadron was moved from its home of near five years to the new Scampton satellite at RAF Fiskerton, apparently to allow both squadrons to expand to three flights and 30 Lancaster's each.

On March 15th, 1943, a bomb accidentally released from a No.57 Squadron Lancaster detonated and destroyed this and four visiting No.50 Squadron aircraft parked nearby. Six days later No.617 Squadron was formed at Scampton for the task of attacking Ruhr dams with the Barnes Wallis's rotating mine. The raid, carried out on the night of May 16/17, 1943, brought No.617's Squadron leader, the legendary Wing Commander Guy Gibson, the station's third Victoria Cross.

At the end of August 1943, No.57 Squadron moved to East Kirkby and No.617 to RAF Coningsby so that Scampton could be upgraded with concrete runways. In the early war years, 36 asphalt hard standings had been built round the airfield and several of these were lost when the hard runways were added. A total of 11 loop hard standings were laid down along the perimeter track to replace those lost or isolated by the construction. New bomb stores were fashioned on land north of the north-west corner of the airfield and a T2 erected nearby. Total accommodation available at Scampton at this time was given as 1844 males and 268 females.

Work was not completed until the summer when a fighter affiliation unit, No.1690 Flight, moved in to conduct exercises for bomber defence training. As of October 1944, Scampton passed to No.1 Group which immediately moved in the newly re-formed No.153 Squadron with its Lancaster's. No.1687 Bomber Defence Training Flight took up station in December 1944 to perform much the same duties for No.1 Group as No.1690 BDT Flt had done for No.5 Group. At the end of March this unit moved to RAF Hemswell and Scampton once again had two operational bomber squadrons when No.625 Squadron arrived from RAF Kelstern. The two Lancaster squadrons undertook their last bombing raids from Scampton on April 25th, 1945 when they mounted an attack on Hitler's mountain retreat at Obersalzberg. During the war the total losses of all squadrons operating from Scampton was 266 aircraft. Of these 155 were Hampden's, 15 Manchester's and 95 Lancaster's.

In the weeks following the last bombing raid, No.153 and No.625 participated in food drops and the ferrying of POWs and displaced persons before both units were disbanded in the early autumn. Within a month, however, No.57 Squadron returned and No.100 joined it early in December. Both units were flying Lancaster's but No.57 Squadron prepared to convert to Lincoln's and had just done so when both were transferred to RAF Lindholme in May 1946. As with many other former bomber stations, Scampton then became host to training organisation's, Bomber Command Instructors' School appearing in January 1947 and remaining for the next six years. From July 1947 to April the following year runway strengthening and other upgrading was carried out.

Between July 1948 and February 1949 Scampton played host to 30 B-29 Superfortresses of the 28th Bomb Group of the US Strategic Air Command, being relieved by the 301st Bomb Group with a similar strength. This was because Scampton was one of the few stations with runways long and strong enough to sustain these large aircraft. When Strategic Air Command had no further use for Scampton, it became the home of No.230 Operational Conversion Unit, specialising in Lincoln's. In 1953 the station once again supported regular bomber squadrons, No.10, No.18, No.21 and No.27 Squadrons, all Canberra equipped, but by June 1955 all had been moved elsewhere so that Scampton could be redeveloped for heavy jet bomber use. The main runway was re-laid to Class 1 standard and extended to 3,000 yards necessitating a diversion of the A15. On completion of this work, No.617 Squadron was re-formed at Scampton in May 1958 to fly Vulcan's, joined in 1960 by another former resident, No.83 Squadron, also on Vulcan's. The latter squadron was disbanded in 1969. No.230 OCU appeared again that year, its task being the preparation of Vulcan crews, and in 1973 a second regular Vulcan squadron was again added to the station complement when No.27 Squadron was re-formed. Two years latter a third Vulcan squadron appeared, No.35 Squadron. The V-bomber force remained in being until 1982 from when Scampton again reverted to a training role, the Central Flying School taking up station in September 1984 and remaining until 1996 when the station was closed.

RAF Scampton was then reopened in December 2000, becoming the new home for the Red Arrows, shortly after. They were shortly followed to RAF Scampton by Hawker Hunter Aviation Ltd. RAF Scampton also house’s a public museum in one of the former hangers, entry to this is by prior appointment only. The Red Arrows are due to leave RAF Scampton in 2011, and take up residence at RAF Waddington. The long term future for RAF Scampton looks very bleak, but there may just be life left in her yet !

Aircraft & Squadrons