RAF Catterick

Marne Barracks
IATA: none – ICAO: none
Summary
Airport type	Military
Owner	Ministry of Defence
Operator	Royal Flying Corps 1914-1918 Royal Air Force 1918-1994 British Army 1994 - Present
Location	Catterick, North Yorkshire, England
Elevation AMSL	171 ft / 52 m
Coordinates	54°21′55″N 001°37′11″W / 54.36528°N 1.61972°WCoordinates: 54°21′55″N 001°37′11″W / 54.36528°N 1.61972°W
Map
Marne Barracks Location in North Yorkshire
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 00/00 3,350 1,020 Concrete 00/00 0 0 Concrete 00/00 0 0 Concrete

Marne Barracks, formerly RAF Catterick, is a former Royal Air Force airfield located near Catterick, North Yorkshire in England. It is located alongside the A1 on the outskirts of Catterick Village. Operationally it falls under the command of Catterick Garrison. It currently houses 5th Regiment Royal Artillery and 32 Engineer Regiment.

History

Catterick airfield first opened in 1914 as a Royal Flying Corps aerodrome with the role of training pilots and to assist in the defence of the North East of England. It came under RAF administration in 1918 and housed Number 49 Training Depot.^[1]

In 1927, it temporarily came under the administration of the British Army, under the Army Air Co-Operation Command which would supply the army with any air support needs that would be required. This continued until 1939 when the station was handed back to the RAF.

During the Second World War, the airfield operated a small satellite station called RAF Scorton near the village of Scorton.

Catterick's runway could not be extended from its existing 3,350 ft (1,020 m) for the jet age due to the perimeter being bounded by the Great North Road (A1) and the River Swale. Therefore, Catterick's importance declined after the Second World War, though it still housed training institutes for many years.

Royal Air Force units

The following squadrons have at some points been stationed at RAF Catterick:

1-99 Squadrons

• No. 17 Squadron RAF with the Hawker Hurricane IIB,^[2] No. 26 Squadron RAF,^[3] No. 41 Squadron RAF,^[4] No. 44 Squadron RAF,^[5] No. 53 Squadron RAF,^[6] No. 54 Squadron RAF,^[6] No. 63 Squadron RAF,^[7] No. 64 Squadron RAF,^[7] No. 68 Squadron RAF,^[8] No. 79 Squadron RAF^[9] and No. 89 Squadron RAF.^[10]

100-199 Squadrons

• No. 107 Squadron RAF, No. 115 Squadron RAF, No. 118 Squadron RAF, No. 122 Squadron RAF, No. 127 Squadron RAF, No. 130 Squadron RAF, No. 131 Squadron RAF, No. 134 Squadron RAF and No. 145 Squadron RAF.

200-299 Squadrons

• No. 219 Squadron RAF, No. 222 Squadron RAF, No. 256 Squadron RAF and No. 289 Squadron RAF.

300-399 Squadrons

• No. 306 Squadron RAF,^[11] No. 313 Squadron RAF,^[12] No. 331 Squadron RAF^[13] and No. 332 Squadron RAF.^[13]

400-499 Squadrons

• No. 401 Squadron RAF^[14] and No. 403 Squadron RAF.^[14]

500-599 Squadrons

• No. 504 Squadron RAF.^[15]

600-699 Squadrons

• No. 600 Squadron RAF^[16] and No. 609 Squadron RAF.^[17]

Other units

• No 6 RAS, No 6 RS, No 6 TS, No 14 RAS, No 14 RS, No 14 TS, No 37 RS, No 46 TS, No 49 TDS, No 52 TS, No 83 (Canadian) RS, No 88 (Canadian) RS, No 645 GS and No 645 VGS.^[18]

Royal Air Force Regiment

Catterick served as a RAF Regiment depot occupied by operational Squadrons and was the training base for the RAF Regiment from 1946-1994 when the Regiment's training facilities moved to RAF Honington. Catterick was also the training centre for the RAF Fire Service until the 1990s. As a fire school it had a "rescue set" the mock up of a house to simulate search and rescue scenarios. It also had a burning area where ex service aircraft were covered in fuel and set alight including in 1983 a complete Avro Vulcan Bomber. There were also a number of retired airframes used for practice rescues and deployments. The Fire Fighting & Rescue squadron moved to RAF Manston in 1989.

Marne Barracks

The base was handed over to the Army in 1994 and as Marne Barracks is part of the Catterick Garrison complex. A number of establishments exist on the barracks, including a HUB bar, a Londis shop, a PRI shop, a hairdresser, and a new 'State Of The Art' gymnasium.^[19] The barracks have had upgraded accommodation installed as part of Project SLAM (Single Living Accommodation Modernisation). This has been undertaken by Corus.^[20] BAM Construction have also undertaken the conversion of some of the old RAF hangars to maintenance depots for the Land Rovers utilised by the two regiments.^[21]

In popular culture

RAF Catterick was used as a location for The Way to the Stars, the 1945 film starring John Mills.^[18]

Motorsport

Between 1958 and 1963, the airfield was partly used as a race track, under the name of Catterick Circuit.^[22]

See also

• List of former Royal Air Force stations

References

Citations

1. "Catterick Ops". Retrieved 6 February 2016.
2. Jefford 1988, p. 30.
3. Jefford 1988, p. 33.
4. Jefford 1988, p. 38.
5. Jefford 1988, p. 39.
6. Jefford 1988, p. 42.
7. Jefford 1988, p. 45.
8. Jefford 1988, p. 46.
9. Jefford 1988, p. 49.
10. Jefford 1988, p. 51.
11. Jefford 1988, p. 85.
12. Jefford 1988, p. 86.
13. Jefford 1988, p. 87.
14. Jefford 1988, p. 89.
15. Jefford 1988, p. 95.
16. Jefford 1988, p. 98.
17. Jefford 1988, p. 99.
18. "Catterick". Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust. Retrieved 10 July 2012.
19. "Life In 5th Regiment Royal Artillery". The Royal Artillery Association. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
20. "Marne Barracks case study" (PDF). Corus. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
21. "Marne Barracks". BAM Construction. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
22. Peter Swinger, “Motor Racing Circuits in England : Then & Now" (Ian Allan Publishing, ISBN 0 7110 3104 5, 2008)

Bibliography

• Halpenny, B, B. Action Stations: Military Airfields of Yorkshire v. 4.Patrick Stephens Ltd, 1982. ISBN 978-0850595321.
• Jefford, C.G, MBE,BA,RAF (Retd). RAF Squadrons, a Comprehensive Record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing, 1988. ISBN 1-84037-141-2.

External links

• ARP Report No.18 - November 2000 Historic Aerodrome Survey for Archaeological Services University of Durham on behalf of the MoD