RAF Desborough

RAF Desborough
Desborough, Northamptonshire in England
Site information
Type	Royal Air Force station Parent station [1]
Code	DS [1]
Owner	Air Ministry
Operator	Royal Air Force
Controlled by	RAF Bomber Command * No. 92 (OTU) Group RAF [1]
Location
RAF Desborough Shown within Northamptonshire Show map of Northamptonshire RAF Desborough RAF Desborough (the United Kingdom) Show map of the United Kingdom
Coordinates	52°28′08″N0°47′51″W / 52.46889°N 0.79750°W / 52.46889; -0.79750
Site history
Built	1943 (1943)
In use	September 1943 - 1953 (1953)
Battles/wars	European theatre of World War II
Airfield information
Elevation	140 metres (459 ft) [1] AMSL
Runways Direction Length and surface 00/00  Tarmac 00/00  Tarmac 00/00  Tarmac

Royal Air Force Desborough or more simply RAF Desborough is a former Royal Air Force station located near Desborough, Northamptonshire, England

History

T.2 hangar during 2009

The following units were here at some point: ^[2]

• No. 108 Gliding School RAF (September 1945 - June 1949) ^[3]
• No. 84 Operational Training Unit RAF (September 1943 - June 1945) ^[4]
• No. 1381 (Transport) Conversion Unit RAF (November 1945 - January 1947) ^[5]
• Satellite of No. 102 Flying Refresher School RAF (May - November 1951) ^[6]

Current use

The site has reverted to farmland. ^[2] An original Ministry of Aircraft Production B.1 type aircraft hangar was destroyed by fire there in the 1980s

A major fire on 20th March 2025 destroyed one of the remaining T.2 type hangars which was being used for storage. ^[7]

References

Citations

1. Falconer 2012, p. 79.
2. "Desborough". Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust . Retrieved 12 May 2020.
3. Sturtivant, Hamlin & Halley 1997, p. 165.
4. Sturtivant, Hamlin & Halley 1997, p. 244.
5. Sturtivant, Hamlin & Halley 1997, p. 99.
6. Sturtivant, Hamlin & Halley 1997, p. 151.
7. Harriet Heywood (21 March 2025). "Fire at ex-RAF base hangar burns through the night". BBC News, Northamptonshire.

Bibliography

• Falconer, J. (2012). RAF Airfields of World War 2. UK: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN   978-1-85780-349-5.
• Sturtivant, R.; Hamlin, J.; Halley, J. (1997). Royal Air Force flying training and support units. UK: Air-Britain (Historians). ISBN   0-85130-252-1.