RAF North Coates

53.5001, 0.0674 — view on OpenStreetMap ↗

About

RAF North Coates lay on the Lincolnshire coast near the Humber estuary and had been a flying station since the First World War. In the Second World War it became the home of the Coastal Command Strike Wing, whose Bristol Beaufighters — including torpedo-carrying “Torbeaus” of Nos. 143, 236 and 254 Squadrons — attacked German shipping in the North Sea, sinking well over 150,000 tons of vessels at the cost of many crews. After the war it took on a new role as the RAF’s first surface-to-air guided-missile base, operating Bloodhound missiles until 1990. The site is now largely farmland, with a grass flying club still active.

Sources: This page was compiled from publicly available historical sources, including North Coates (North Coates Fitties) — Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust and RAF North Coates — 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- Coastal Command In the summer of 1942 No. 59 Squadron was flying anti-shipping patrols along the Dutch coast, mostly at dusk or on moonlit nights. During one such operation on 6 August this Hudson IIIA FH426, piloted by Squadron Leader Phil Evans, was hit by flak and struggled home to North Coates with a huge hole in its starboard wing.
ⓘ licence & creditHarmsworth (F/LT), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lockheed_Hudson_-_North_Coates_-_Royal_Air_Force_1939-1945-_Coastal_Command_CH6721.jpgView source & full licence →
Bristol Beaufort Mk Is of No. 22 Squadron RAF at North Coates in Lincolnshire, 19 July 1940. Beaufort Mark Is, L4449 ‘OA-H’, L9891 ‘OA-F’ and L4461 ‘OA-J’, of No. 22 Squadron RAF, lined up at North Coates, Lincolnshire.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer, Daventry B J (Mr) / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bristol_Beaufort_Mk_Is_of_No._22_Squadron_RAF_at_North_Coates_in_Lincolnshire,_19_July_1940._CH644.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Coastal Command, 1939-1945. Mark XI aerial torpedoes being taken out on trolleys towards a Bristol Beaufort Mark I, L4516 'OA-W', of No. 22 Squadron RAF at North Coates, Lincolnshire. Shortly after this photograph was taken, L4516 was destroyed when it stalled after a night take-off from North Coates and hit the ground near Marshfield, detonating the mine it was carrying.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer, Daventry B J (Mr) / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bristol_Beaufort_-_North_Coates_-_Royal_Air_Force_Coastal_Command,_1939-1945._CH1851.jpgView source & full licence →
The AMES Type 82 radar, sometimes known by its Rainbow Code "Orange Yeoman", seen at RAF North Coates. This is an unusually "short" mounting, the Type 82s at other locations are normally mounted on a taller version of the octagonal tower. The transmitter is the semi-parabolic antenna lower right, with the tubular feed line positioned in front of it. The receiver is above it, consisting of a radio lens, not really visible here, a parabolic reflector behind it, the series of vertical tubes roughly centred, and receiver feedhorns which are just visible behind the lens assembly, the series of square cones opening toward the reflector.
ⓘ licence & creditUnknown RAF photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AMES_Type_82_at_RAF_North_Coates.jpgView source & full licence →
IWM caption : Mosquito FB Mark XVIII, PZ468 ‘QM-D’ of No. 254 Squadron RAF, on the ground at North Coates, Lincolnshire.
ⓘ licence & creditMinistry of Aircraft Production (MAP) / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:254_Squadron_RAF_Mosquito_North_Coates_IWM_ATP_13854C.jpgView source & full licence →

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