RAF Great Orton

RAF Great Orton
RAF Great Orton
Great Orton, Cumbria in England
	RAF Great Orton Shown within Cumbria
Coordinates	54°52′24″N003°04′32″W / 54.87333°N 3.07556°W
Type	Satellite Station
Code	GE
Site information
Owner	Air Ministry
Operator	Royal Air Force
Controlled by	RAF Fighter Command
Site history
Built	1942/43
In use	June 1943 - 1952
Battles/wars	European theatre of World War II
Airfield information
Elevation	73 metres (240 ft) AMSL
Runways
00/00	Concrete
00/00	Concrete
00/00	Concrete

Last updated December 21, 2023

Royal Air Force Great Orton or more simply RAF Great Orton is a former Royal Air Force satellite station located west of Great Orton, Cumbria and the City of Carlisle, Cumbria, England.

History

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

No. 1 (Coastal) Engine Control Demonstration Unit RAF
No. 3 Tactical Exercise Unit RAF
No. 4 Tactical Exercise Unit RAF
No. 6 Operational Training Unit RAF
No. 55 OTU
No. 60 Maintenance Unit RAF
No. 219 Maintenance Unit RAF
No. 249 Maintenance Unit RAF
A detachment of No. 281 Squadron RAF with the Vickers Warwick I (1944–45)^[3]
A detachment of No. 282 Squadron RAF with the Warwick I (1944–45)^[3]

Current use

The site is currently a nature reserve.^[2]

Related Research Articles

Royal Air Force Tangmere or more simply RAF Tangmere is a former Royal Air Force station located in Tangmere, England, famous for its role in the Battle of Britain.

Royal Air Force Ballyhalbert or more simply RAF Ballyhalbert is a former Royal Air Force station at Ballyhalbert on the Ards Peninsula, County Down, Northern Ireland

Royal Air Force Blackbushe or more simply RAF Blackbushe is a former Royal Air Force station in Hampshire, England, during the Second World War. It is now Blackbushe Airport.

Tain Air Weapons Range is a Ministry of Defence air weapons range on the Dornoch Firth near Tain in Scotland. Royal Air Force aircrews from RAF Lossiemouth are trained in air weaponry on the range, along with NATO aircrew.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RAF Catterick</span> Royal Air Force base in Yorkshire, England

Royal Air Force Catterick or RAF Catterick is a former Royal Air Force airfield located near Catterick, North Yorkshire in England. It is located alongside the A6055 road on the outskirts of Catterick Village.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aston Down</span> Airport in Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire

Aston Down is in Gloucestershire, South West England, 2+1⁄2 miles (4 km) east of Minchinhampton, 6 miles (10 km) southeast of Stroud and 7 miles (11 km) west of Cirencester. The nearest settlement is the large village of Chalford, 1 mile (1.6 km) to the northwest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RAF Beaulieu</span> Former Royal Air Force station in Hampshire, England

Royal Air Force Beaulieu or more simply RAF Beaulieu is a former Royal Air Force station in the New Forest, Hampshire, England. It was also known as Beaulieu airfield, Beaulieu aerodrome and USAAF Station AAF 408. It is located on Hatchet Moor 1 mile (2 km) west of the village of East Boldre, about 2 miles (3 km) west-southwest of the village of Beaulieu and 4 miles (6 km) north-east of Lymington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RAF Kingsnorth (World War II)</span>

Royal Air Force Kingsnorth or more simply RAF Kingsnorth is a former Royal Air Force Advanced Landing Ground in Kent, England. It was at Bliby Corner approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) southeast of Ashford; about 50 miles (80 km) southeast of London. It is not to be confused with RNAS Kingsnorth, later RAF Kingsnorth, which was an airship station in operation during and after the First World War.

Royal Air Force Westhampnett or more simply RAF Westhampnett is a former Royal Air Force satellite station, located in the village of Westhampnett near Chichester, in the English County of West Sussex.

Royal Air Force Acklington, simply known as RAF Acklington, is a former Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force station located 3.2 miles (5.1 km) south west of Amble, Northumberland and 8.8 miles (14.2 km) north east of Morpeth, Northumberland.

Royal Air Force Grangemouth or more simply RAF Grangemouth is a former Royal Air Force station located 3 mi (4.8 km) north east of Falkirk, Stirlingshire, Scotland.

Royal Air Force Zeals, or more simply RAF Zeals, is a former Royal Air Force station in Wiltshire, sited to the north of the village of Zeals, next to the village of Stourton and the Stourhead estate.

Royal Air Force Hawkinge or more simply RAF Hawkinge is a former Royal Air Force station located 13.23 miles (21.29 km) east of Ashford, 2.2 miles (3.5 km) north of Folkestone, Kent and 7.1 miles (11.4 km) west of Dover, Kent, England. The airfield was used by both the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Air Force during its lifetime and was involved during the Battle of Britain, as well as other important aerial battles during the Second World War and the early stages of aerial usage in war in the First World War.

Royal Air Force Poulton or more simply RAF Poulton (X4PL) is a former Royal Air Force satellite station located near Poulton, Cheshire and was operational from 1 March 1943 until 1945. It was used as an Operational Training Unit (OTU) and Tactical Exercise Unit (TEU) for Hawker Hurricanes.

RAF Caistor is a former Royal Air Force Relief Landing Ground located 6.2 miles (10.0 km) south east of Brigg, Lincolnshire and 9.1 miles (14.6 km) north west of Binbrook, Lincolnshire, England, the site is now used for farming.

Royal Air Force Needs Oar Point or more simply RAF Needs Oar Point is a former Royal Air Force advanced landing ground located near Lymington in Hampshire, England. Constructed in 1943 it was used from April 1944 as a base for Hawker Typhoon fighter-bomber squadrons of No. 146 Wing of the 2nd Tactical Air Force supporting the Normandy landings. All four operational squadrons moved to RAF Hurn for two weeks before moving on to France by July 1944 and the airfield was returned to agricultural use in 1945.

Royal Air Force Bradwell Bay or more simply RAF Bradwell Bay is a former Royal Air Force station located 9.5 miles (15.3 km) east of Maldon, Essex, England and 3.1 miles (5 km) south west of West Mersea, Essex.

Royal Air Force Shepherds Grove or more simply RAF Shepherds Grove is a former Royal Air Force station located in Suffolk, active from 1943–44 to 1966. Shepherds Grove was host to units of the United States Army Air Forces, Eighth Air Force. During the Cold war it was also one of the 20 Thor IRBM missile bases in the UK, as part of Project Emily.

Royal Air Force Alconbury, or more simply RAF Alconbury, is an active Royal Air Force station near Huntingdon, England. The airfield is in the civil parish of The Stukeleys, close to the villages of Great Stukeley, Little Stukeley, and Alconbury. Flying operations are no longer based at the site, with most of the land, including the runway, having been sold in 2009 to become the new settlement of Alconbury Weald.

Royal Air Force Montford Bridge, or more simply RAF Montford Bridge, is a former Royal Air Force satellite station, located near Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England.

References

Citations

↑ Falconer 1998, p. 41.
1 2 "Great Orton". Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust . Retrieved 19 April 2022.
1 2 Jefford 1988, p. 83.

Bibliography

Falconer, J (1998). RAF Fighter Airfields of World War 2. UK: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 0-7110-2175-9.
Jefford, C.G. (1988). RAF Squadrons. A comprehensive record of the movement and equipment of all RAF squadrons and their antecedents since 1912. Shrewsbury: Airlife. ISBN 1-85310-053-6.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[FOOTNOTEFalconer199841-1] Falconer 1998, p. 41.

[ABCT-2] 1 2 "Great Orton". Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust . Retrieved 19 April 2022.

[FOOTNOTEJefford198883-3] 1 2 Jefford 1988, p. 83.

[1]

[2]

[3]