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RAF Middleton St George
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RAF Middleton St George
RAF Middleton St George is a former Royal Air Force (RAF) and Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) Bomber Command station during the Second World War. It was located in County Durham, 6 mi (9.7 km) east of Darlington, England. The station's motto was Shield and Deter. The aerodrome remains active as Teesside International Airport.
Like many similar airfields; RAF Middleton St George was commissioned in 1938 in anticipation of WWII and opened in 1941 under the auspices of Bomber Command. Contrary to popular belief the airfield was never called RAF Goosepool, Goosepool being the name of the farm which made way for the airfield, with the name sticking amongst the local population.
Initial Squadrons based here were 76 Squadron with Handley Page Halifaxes and 78 Squadron which flew Armstrong Whitworth Whitleys.
In 1943 it was allocated to No. 6 Group, Royal Canadian Air Force. A sub-station was located at RAF Croft, Yorkshire although RAF Thornaby was closer yet never held sub-station status. Canadian Squadrons based here were 419 "Moose" Squadron, which flew Vickers Wellingtons, Halifaxes, and Avro Lancasters, 420 "Snowy Owl" Squadron, which flew Wellingtons, and 428 "Ghost" Squadron, which flew Wellingtons, Halifaxes, and Lancasters.
There are two stories of heroism linked with RAF Middleton St George, the most notable being that of Andrew Mynarski, a member of 419 Squadron, who was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. It was bestowed for his actions on 13 June 1944, in a raid on Cambrai, France, in support of the Normandy landings. A statue of Mynarski was dedicated in 2005 outside the former Officers' Mess. The second belongs to William McMullen of 428 Squadron, who was killed during a routine training sortie on 13 January 1945 when his Lancaster crashed on the outskirts of Darlington after he remained with the aircraft to steer it away from houses, having ordered his crew to bail out. McMullen Road adjacent to the crash site was renamed in his honour.
A memorial garden for all aircrew at Middleton St George is also located near the Mess.
After the war, the aerodrome changed hands regularly between Bomber Command, Fighter Command and Flying Training Command, serving various squadrons and units including No. 13 Operational Training Unit (OTU) using de Havilland Mosquitos, No. 2 Air Navigation School using Avro Ansons and Vickers Wellingtons, No. 205 Advanced Flying Training School (later renumbered No. 4 Flying Training School) using de Havilland Vampires and Gloster Meteors, 92 Squadron using Hawker Hunters, 264 Squadron (later renumbered No. 33 Squadron) using Gloster Meteors, the Javelin Instrument Rating Squadron (IRS) using Gloster Javelins and the Lightning Conversion Unit (LCU) (later renamed the Lightning Conversion Squadron) using English Electric Lightnings. The IRS and LCS were later merged to form 226 Operational Conversion Unit (OCU).
In 1962 Flying Officer Jean Oakes became the first woman to fly at over 1,000 mph (1,600 km/h). The Times of 14 September 1962 reported that a Lightning from RAF Middleton St George flew out over the North Sea, and at 35,000 feet (11,000 m), she took over the controls from Flight Lieutenant John Smith and flew up and down the north east coast at about Mach 1.6.
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RAF Middleton St George
RAF Middleton St George is a former Royal Air Force (RAF) and Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) Bomber Command station during the Second World War. It was located in County Durham, 6 mi (9.7 km) east of Darlington, England. The station's motto was Shield and Deter. The aerodrome remains active as Teesside International Airport.
Like many similar airfields; RAF Middleton St George was commissioned in 1938 in anticipation of WWII and opened in 1941 under the auspices of Bomber Command. Contrary to popular belief the airfield was never called RAF Goosepool, Goosepool being the name of the farm which made way for the airfield, with the name sticking amongst the local population.
Initial Squadrons based here were 76 Squadron with Handley Page Halifaxes and 78 Squadron which flew Armstrong Whitworth Whitleys.
In 1943 it was allocated to No. 6 Group, Royal Canadian Air Force. A sub-station was located at RAF Croft, Yorkshire although RAF Thornaby was closer yet never held sub-station status. Canadian Squadrons based here were 419 "Moose" Squadron, which flew Vickers Wellingtons, Halifaxes, and Avro Lancasters, 420 "Snowy Owl" Squadron, which flew Wellingtons, and 428 "Ghost" Squadron, which flew Wellingtons, Halifaxes, and Lancasters.
There are two stories of heroism linked with RAF Middleton St George, the most notable being that of Andrew Mynarski, a member of 419 Squadron, who was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. It was bestowed for his actions on 13 June 1944, in a raid on Cambrai, France, in support of the Normandy landings. A statue of Mynarski was dedicated in 2005 outside the former Officers' Mess. The second belongs to William McMullen of 428 Squadron, who was killed during a routine training sortie on 13 January 1945 when his Lancaster crashed on the outskirts of Darlington after he remained with the aircraft to steer it away from houses, having ordered his crew to bail out. McMullen Road adjacent to the crash site was renamed in his honour.
A memorial garden for all aircrew at Middleton St George is also located near the Mess.
After the war, the aerodrome changed hands regularly between Bomber Command, Fighter Command and Flying Training Command, serving various squadrons and units including No. 13 Operational Training Unit (OTU) using de Havilland Mosquitos, No. 2 Air Navigation School using Avro Ansons and Vickers Wellingtons, No. 205 Advanced Flying Training School (later renumbered No. 4 Flying Training School) using de Havilland Vampires and Gloster Meteors, 92 Squadron using Hawker Hunters, 264 Squadron (later renumbered No. 33 Squadron) using Gloster Meteors, the Javelin Instrument Rating Squadron (IRS) using Gloster Javelins and the Lightning Conversion Unit (LCU) (later renamed the Lightning Conversion Squadron) using English Electric Lightnings. The IRS and LCS were later merged to form 226 Operational Conversion Unit (OCU).
In 1962 Flying Officer Jean Oakes became the first woman to fly at over 1,000 mph (1,600 km/h). The Times of 14 September 1962 reported that a Lightning from RAF Middleton St George flew out over the North Sea, and at 35,000 feet (11,000 m), she took over the controls from Flight Lieutenant John Smith and flew up and down the north east coast at about Mach 1.6.
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