RAF Middleton St George

RAF Middleton St. George was a Royal Air Force (RAF) Bomber Command station during World War II. It was located in County Durham, five miles east of Darlington, England. The stations' motto was Shield and Deter.

History

Second World War

Like many similar airfields; RAF Middleton St George was commissioned in 1938 in anticipation of WWII and opened in 1941 under the auspices of Bomber Command. Contrary to popular belief the airfield was never called RAF Goosepool, Goosepool being the name of the farm which made way for the airfield, with the name sticking amongst the local population. In 1943 it was allocated to No. 6 Group, Royal Canadian Air Force. A sub-station was located at RAF Croft, Yorkshire. Squadrons based here include: 76 Squadron, which flew Handley Page Halifaxes, 78 Squadron, which flew Armstrong Whitworth Whitleys, 419 Squadron RCAF, which flew Vickers Wellingtons, Halifaxes, and Avro Lancasters, 420 Squadron RCAF, which flew Wellingtons, and 428 Squadron RCAF, which flew Wellingtons, Halifaxes, and Lancasters.

Post war

After the war, the aerodrome served various squadrons and units including No. 13 Operational Training Unit (OTU), No. 2 Air Navigation School, No. 4 Flying Training School, and squadrons that used Gloster Meteors, Hawker Hunters, Gloster Javelins and English Electric Lightnings. In 1947, the airfield became a satellite station of RAF Leeming, North Yorkshire.

In 1962 Flight Officer Jean Oakes became the first woman to fly at over 1,000 mph. The London Times of 14 September 1962 reported that from RAF Middleton St George, she took over the controls from Flight Lieutenant John Smith and flew up and down the north east coast at about 1.6 mach.

The RAF left the station in 1964, but the aerodrome was reopened in 1966 as a civil airport. The airfield was named Teesside International Airport in the 1960s, and was renamed Durham Tees Valley Airport in 2004. In the late 1980s the entire Married Quarter housing estate was sold to Roger Byron-Collins' company the Welbeck Estate Group and following all the housing being upgraded it was reopened by the local Mayor naming it The Virginia Estate after Welbeck's USA office in Arlington Virginia.

From 1968 to 1979, some of the former station buildings housed Middleton St George College of Education, a teacher training college.

The officers' mess at the base was converted into the St George Hotel, complete with the RAF Middleton St George museum. The hotel was mothballed in late 2018, the museum is to be relocated in the future.

Units and aircraft

 1947-1948 No. 13 Operational Training Unit RAF de Havilland Mosquito Mk.T3 & Mk 6.
 1951-1953 No. 205 Advanced Flying School RAF Gloster Meteor Mk7 & Mk 8.
 1963-1964 No. 226 Operational Conversion Unit RAF English Electric Lightning

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links

 76 Squadron History
 78 Squadron history and current status
 419 Squadron History
 420 Squadron History
 428 Squadron History
 608 Squadron History

Category:Royal Air Force stations in County Durham
Category:Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom