RAF Acaster Malbis

RAF Acaster Malbis was a wartime airfield in North Yorkshire, lying a few miles south of York and close to the boundary of the city. It opened at the start of 1942 and was first used as a fighter station: No. 601 Squadron arrived early that year, briefly operating the American Bell Airacobra before re-equipping with Supermarine Spitfire VBs. The Airacobra proved troublesome in RAF hands, and a fatal crash of the type occurred at the field in February 1942.

The station’s main role, however, was training. It passed to RAF Bomber Command and served as a base for crew preparation, hosting the No. 15 (Pilots) Advanced Flying Unit with Airspeed Oxfords and, in 1944, Heavy Conversion Units flying the Handley Page Halifax, alongside No. 4 Aircrew School. These units turned out the pilots and bomber crews needed for the night offensive over Germany.

From early 1946 the airfield was transferred to Maintenance Command and used for aircraft storage and as a maintenance and munitions facility, continuing in this role until it closed in 1957. After the war the site saw occasional light-aircraft flying, but the runways were eventually lifted and the land given over to industrial estates and farming. A T2 hangar and the derelict control tower survived as reminders of its service.