RAF Melbourne

53.8700, -0.8404 — view on OpenStreetMap ↗

About

RAF Melbourne opened in the East Riding of Yorkshire in 1940 and served as a Bomber Command station in No. 4 Group. Its main resident was No. 10 Squadron, which flew Handley Page Halifax heavy bombers from the airfield on the offensive against Germany from 1942 to 1945; the station was fitted with the FIDO fog-dispersal system, making it a valued diversion field in bad weather. Bomber flying gave way to a transport role at the end of the war, and the station closed in the 1950s. The site is now used for drag racing and light flying.

Sources: This page was compiled from publicly available historical sources, including Melbourne — Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust and RAF Melbourne — Wikipedia. The text is original and has been written from factual source material; no source text has been copied unless specifically quoted and attributed.

Photographs

Royal Air Force 1939-1945- Bomber Command A bomb aimer demonstrates the selector switches and bomb release in the cramped nose of a Halifax of No 10 Squadron at Melbourne, Yorkshire in December 1942.
ⓘ licence & creditBrock F J (F/O), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_1939-1945-_Bomber_Command_CH7905.jpgView source & full licence →
ⓘ licence & creditIan S / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Former_RAF_Melbourne_building_near_East_Farm_-_geograph.org.uk_-_6521366.jpgView source & full licence →
ⓘ licence & creditIan S / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Former_RAF_Melbourne_building_near_East_Farm_-_geograph.org.uk_-_6521364.jpgView source & full licence →
Former R.A.F. Melbourne: aerial 2014, Melbourne, East Riding of Yorkshire, England.
ⓘ licence & creditChris / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Former_R.A.F._Melbourne-_aerial_2014_(geograph_4079854).jpgView source & full licence →
AWM caption : Group portrait of aircrew of No. 10 Squadron RAF in front of a Halifax bomber at Yorkshire, England. Identified, left to right: * Butler, RCAF, Bomb Aimer * Devereux, Wireless Operator * Langworthy, Flight Engineer * 408168 Flight Lieutenant (Flt Lt) Kenneth Munro RAAF, DFC * McDougle, Rear Gunner * Arrieta, Navigator * Robinson RAAF, Machine Gunner Flt Lt Munro received the Distinguished Flying Cross on 15 December 1942 for 'displaying exceptional courage whilst flying.'
ⓘ licence & creditUnknown authorUnknown author / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:10_Squadron_RAF_Halifax_aircrew_AWM_P04218.002.jpgView source & full licence →

No people are cross-referenced to this airfield yet. Links appear as squadron postings, crews and service records are added.