RAF Middleton St George

RAF Goosepool RAF Middleton St. George
IATA: none – ICAO: none
Summary
Airport type	Military
Owner	Air Ministry
Operator	Royal Air Force Royal Canadian Air Force
Location	Middleton St. George
Coordinates	54°30′33″N 001°25′46″W / 54.50917°N 1.42944°WCoordinates: 54°30′33″N 001°25′46″W / 54.50917°N 1.42944°W
Map
RAF Middleton St. George Location in County Durham
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 05/23 7,516 2,291 Concrete 01/19 3,300 1,006 Concrete 10/28 4,200 1,280 Concrete

RAF. Middleton St. George August 1960

RAF Middleton St. George was a Royal Air Force (RAF) Bomber Command station during World War II. It was located in County Durham, five miles east of Darlington, England.

History

Second World War

The airfield began its life as Royal Air Force Goosepool, and in 1941 became RAF Middleton St. George. The aerodrome opened as a Bomber Command station in 1941. In 1943 it was allocated to No. 6 Group, Royal Canadian Air Force. A sub-station was located at RAF Croft, Yorkshire. Squadrons based here include: 76 Squadron, which flew Handley Page Halifaxes, 78 Squadron, which flew Armstrong Whitworth Whitleys, 419 Squadron RCAF, which flew Vickers Wellingtons, Halifaxes, and Avro Lancasters, 420 Squadron RCAF, which flew Wellingtons, and 428 Squadron RCAF, which flew Wellingtons, Halifaxes, and Lancasters.

Post war

After the war, the aerodrome served various squadrons and units including No. 13 Operational Training Unit (OTU), No. 2 Air Navigation School, No. 4 Flying Training School, and squadrons that used Gloster Meteors, Hawker Hunters, Gloster Javelins and English Electric Lightnings.

The RAF left the station in 1964, but the aerodrome was reopened in 1966 as a civil airport. The airfield was named Teesside International Airport in the 1960s, and was renamed Durham Tees Valley Airport in 2004. In the late 1980s the entire Married Quarter estate was sold to a Roger Byron-Collins company and was renamed The Virginia Estate.

From 1968 to 1979, some of the former station buildings housed Middleton St George College of Education, a teacher training college.^[1]

Units and aircraft

Unit	Dates	Aircraft	Variant	Notes
No. 33 Squadron RAF	1958–1962	Gloster Javelin	FAW.7 and FAW.9 from 1960	Twin-engined jet fighter/interceptor.[2]
No. 76 Squadron RAF	1941–1942	Handley Page Halifax	Mks.I and II	Four-engined piston heavy bomber.[3]
No. 78 Squadron RAF	1941	Armstrong Whitworth Whitley	Mk.V	Twin-engined medium bomber.[3]
	1942	Handley Page Halifax	Mk.II	Four-engined piston heavy bomber.[3]
No. 92 Squadron RAF	1957 1958-1960	Hawker Hunter	F.6	Single-engined jet fighter/fighter-bomber.[4]
No. 264 Squadron RAF	1957	Gloster Meteor	NF.14	Twin-engined jet night-fighter.[5]
No. 419 Squadron RCAF	1942–1944	Handley Page Halifax	Mk.II	Four-engined piston heavy bomber.[6]
	1944–1945	Avro Lancaster	Mk.X	Four-engined piston heavy bomber.[6]
No. 420 Squadron RCAF	1942–1943	Vickers Wellington	Mks.III and later X before move to North Africa	Twin-engined medium bomber.[6]
No. 428 Squadron RCAF	1943–1944	Handley Page Halifax	Mks.V and II	Four-engined piston heavy bomber.[6]
	1944–1945	Avro Lancaster	Mk.X	Four-engined piston heavy bomber.[6]

• 1947-1948 No. 13 Operational Training Unit RAF de Havilland Mosquito Mk.T3 & Mk 6.
• 1951-1953 No. 205 Advanced Flying School RAF Gloster Meteor Mk7 & Mk 8.
• 1963-1964 No. 226 Operational Conversion Unit RAF English Electric Lightning

References

Citations

1. Reunion website
2. Jefford 1988, p. 36.
3. Jefford 1988, p. 48.
4. Jefford 1988, p. 52.
5. Jefford 1988, p. 80.
6. Jefford 1988, p. 91.

Bibliography

• Halley, James J. (1988). The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth, 1918-1988. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN 0-85130-164-9.
• Jefford MBE, Wg Cdr 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.
• Moyes, Philip J.R. (1976). Bomber Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft. London: Macdonald and Jane's (Publishers) Ltd. ISBN 0-354-01027-1.

External links

• 76 Squadron History
• 78 Squadron history and current status
• 419 Squadron History
• 420 Squadron History
• 428 Squadron History
• 608 Squadron History