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RAF Helperby

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Coordinates: 54°08′02″N 1°19′05″W / 54.134°N 1.318°W / 54.134; -1.318
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RAF Helperby
RAF Brafferton
Brafferton, North Yorkshire in England
A field with woodland in the background
Looking south east across the bomb store
A relief map of North Yorkshire, showing the location of RAF Helperby
A relief map of North Yorkshire, showing the location of RAF Helperby
RAF Helperby
Coordinates54°08′02″N 1°19′05″W / 54.134°N 1.318°W / 54.134; -1.318
Area81 acres (33 ha)
Site information
OwnerAir Ministry
OperatorRoyal Air Force
Site history
In use1916–1918
1939–1947
Garrison information
OccupantsNo. 33 Squadron RAF
No. 76 Squadron RAF
No. 92 MU RAF

RAF Helperby (also known as RAF Brafferton), was a First World War era airfield near to the villages of Brafferton and Helperby in North Yorkshire, England. It was used initially by No. 33 Squadron RAF, and then later by No. 76 Squadron RAF in the home defence (HD) role. During the Second World War, the site was used as an ammunition supply depot, being operated by No. 92 Maintenance Unit RAF, and also by the USAAF. The site was known to have stored mustard gas and other chemical weapons during the period of the Second World War.

First World War

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The grass meadow of Helperby was requisitioned in 1916 for the use of No. 33 Squadron, which used the site between March and October 1916.[1] Helperby was then used by No. 76 Squadron from October 1916 onwards; it was one of three stations in Yorkshire with flight detachments from the 76 Squadron headquarters airfield at RAF Ripon (the other two being Copmanthorpe and Catterick).[2] The detachment at Helperby was designated as B Flight, and flew BE2 and Avro 504 aircraft.[3][4] During this period, No. 76 Squadron were on hand to intercept Zeppelin raids, which they did over Middlesbrough and the east coast of England, frequently during 1917.[5][6]

Unusually for a small airfield in Yorkshire used in the Home Defence role, Helperby was furnished with at least two hangars, and the airfield itself was far larger than the grassed fields normally used.[7] The hangars measured 90-foot (27 m) by 60-foot (18 m) and the overall size of the base was 81 acres (33 ha).[8]

No. 76 Squadron used the airfield until March 1919, when they were transferred to Bramham Moor.[9] A relinquishment notice was posted in November 1919, with confirmation of total abandonment by January 1920.[8]

Second World War

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From 1939, No. 92 Maintenance Unit RAF (No. 92 MU) operated the site, converting it into an Advanced Ammunition Park (AAP), which largely serviced the needs of No. 6 Group Bomber Command, whose airfields were spread out across Yorkshire.[10] The site also made use of civilian labourers, prisoners-of war (usually Italians) and the USAAF, who also had bomb storage at Brafferton.[11] The site was one of three bomb dumps in the Yorkshire region; the other two being at Driffield (Southburn - No. 91 MU), and Bowes Moor, (No. 81 MU).[12] The site had a cinema known as the Brafferdrome, and a siding was installed from the adjacent Pilmoor, Boroughbridge and Knaresborough Railway to bring munitions in by train.[13] It has been estimated that between 1941 and 1947, 250,000 tonnes (280,000 tons) of ordnance were moved in and out of Brafferton by rail.[14]

In December 1940, a 250-pound (110 kg) still-fused bomb was being offloaded at the site. Unbeknownst to the workers, the bomb had been returned from a live mission aircraft which had landed at RAF Linton-on-Ouse. As it was being unloaded, it exploded, killing three airmen and wounding several others. A flight sergeant and a corporal were later awarded the British Empire Medal for retrieving the bodies of the dead from the resulting fire.[15][16]

The site was used up until 1947, when No. 92 MU were disbanded.[17] No. 92 MU was later reformed and was again responsible for storage of bombs at RAF Faldingworth.[18]

The shell of at least one of the hangars was still there in the early 1980s,[19] and in 1985, it was revealed as one of the sites formerly used to store mustard gas ordnance,[20] some of which had been disposed of by burning, and so some of the chemicals may have leached into the ground.[21] Large quantities of mustard gas stocks were sent to the Port of Cairnryan to be disposed of in the Irish Sea as part of Operation Sandcastle.[22] Parts of the site have been returned to farmland.[23]

References

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  1. ^ Halpenny, Bruce Barrymore (1982). Action stations. Wellingborough: Stephens. p. 88. ISBN 0-85059-532-0.
  2. ^ Clarke, Bob (2007). The archaeology of airfields. Stroud: Tempus. p. 30. ISBN 978-0-7524-4401-7.
  3. ^ "Yorkshire's Lions". www.key.aero. 19 May 2021. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  4. ^ Philpott, Ian (2013). The birth of the Royal Air Force. Barnsley: Pen & Sword. p. 270. ISBN 978-1-78159-333-2.
  5. ^ Sutherland, Jonathan (2006). Battle of Britain 1917 : the first heavy bomber raids on England. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Aviation. p. 106. ISBN 1-84415-345-2.
  6. ^ Castle, Ian (2015). First Blitz. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. p. 201. ISBN 978-1-4728-1529-3.
  7. ^ Delve, Ken (2006). Northern England : Co. Durham, Cumbria, Isle of Man, Lancashire, Merseyside, Manchester, Northumberland, Tyne & Wear, Yorkshire. Ramsbury: Crowood. p. 293. ISBN 1-86126-809-2.
  8. ^ a b Chorlton, Martyn (2014). Forgotten airfields of World War I. Manchester: Crécy. p. 167. ISBN 9780859791816.
  9. ^ Philpott, I. M. (2008). The Royal Air Force : an encyclopedia of the inter-war years. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Aviation. p. 244. ISBN 978-1844151547.
  10. ^ McCamley, N. J. (2004). Disasters underground. Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Pen & Sword Military. p. 8. ISBN 1-84415-022-4.
  11. ^ McCamley, N. J. (2004). Disasters underground. Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Pen & Sword Military. p. 89. ISBN 1-84415-022-4.
  12. ^ Jones, Trevor (2016). Royal Air Force logistics during the Second World War : transformation, sustainment and flexibility (Thesis). Exeter: University of Exeter. p. 78. OCLC 1064904724.
  13. ^ Bottomley, F David (2000). Brafferton & Helperby : a millenium miscellany. Brafferton: Brafferton Parish Council. p. 76. ISBN 0-9539109-0-3.
  14. ^ Suggitt, Gordon (2005). Lost railways of North and East Yorkshire. Newbury: Countryside Books. p. 33. ISBN 978-1-85306-918-5.
  15. ^ Wooldridge, Mike (2005). "Explosives". Journal of the Royal Air Force Historical Society (35). Royal Air Force Historical Society: 48. ISSN 1361-4231.
  16. ^ "No. 35152". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 May 1941. p. 2570.
  17. ^ "92 Maintenance Unit, formed at Brafferton August 1939; disbanded December 1947 (MU UK)..." discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  18. ^ "No 92 Maintenance Unit RAF Faldingworth". discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  19. ^ Halpenny, Bruce Barrymore (1982). Action stations 4. Wellingborough: Stephens. p. 89. ISBN 0-85059-532-0.
  20. ^ Hindmarch, Tamzin (3 June 1998). "Mustard gas alert at Clifton sites". infoweb.newsbank.com. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  21. ^ Perera, Judith; Thomas, Andy (9 May 1985). "Alert at Britain's gas dumps". New Scientist. Vol. 106, no. 1, 455. London: New Science Publications. p. 4. ISSN 0262-4079.
  22. ^ McCamley, N. J. (2006). The secret history of chemical warfare. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Military. p. 191. ISBN 1783409096.
  23. ^ "Helperby (Brafferton) - Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust UK". www.abct.org.uk. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
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