RAF Hutton Cranswick

RAF Hutton Cranswick, south of Driffield in the East Riding of Yorkshire, opened late in 1941 as a Fighter Command station in No. 12 Group and — unusually for the time — was given concrete runways from the outset. Over the following years a long succession of fighter squadrons rotated through it, among them British, Polish, Czech, Canadian and Australian units flying Supermarine Spitfires and Hawker Typhoons, while other units handled target-towing, air-sea rescue and tactical reconnaissance. Its work was chiefly the air defence of north-east England and the working-up of squadrons before they moved to busier sectors. The station closed in 1946; the land has returned to farming and light industry, the control tower is now a private house, and the battle headquarters bunker still stands in a field.