RAF Hemswell
Squadrons and units located at RAF Hemswell
No. 542 Operating Canberras in the Nuclear Test (USSR's not ours) Sampling Role.

RAF Hemswell

Section Title: Squadrons and units located at RAF Hemswell
Table Section Text: No. 542 Operating Canberras in the Nuclear Test (USSR's not ours) Sampling Role.

Date of arrival	Unit	Notes

1916	Several RFC Squadrons	Hemswell used as a night landing ground

April 1918	No. 99 (Depot Training) Squadron RFC	Renumbered from No 199 Sqn before arriving at Hemswell from Rochford it was tasked with the training of night bomber pilots destined for service in France.

1918	No. 200 (Depot Training) Squadron RFC	Tasked with the training of night bomber pilots destined for service in France. Disbanded on 13 June 1919.

1935–1937	Building programme constructed station buildings, hangars and married quarter housing

February 1937	No. 144 Squadron RAF	Operating Avro Anson and Hawker Audax and later new Bristol Blenheims and Handley Page Hampdens. Mainly involved in maritime bombing raids on shipping.

March 1937	No. 61 Squadron RAF	61 Sqn's Hemswell-based Handley Page Hampdens were the first Bomber Command aircraft to drop bombs on German soil during the Second World War, on 19 March 1940.

June 1941	No. 305 Polish Bomber Squadron	Operating Vickers Wellingtons. Left Hemswell / Ingham in August 1943 and relocated to RAF Swanton Morley.

June 1941	No. 301 Polish Bomber Squadron	Operating Vickers Wellingtons. Squadron disbanded in April 1943 after major crew losses could not be restaffed.

July 1942	No. 300 Polish Bomber Squadron	Operating Vickers Wellingtons. Left Hemswell / Ingham in March 1944 and relocated at RAF Faldingworth.

February 1943	No. 199 Squadron RAF	Operating Vickers Wellington. Training for maritime mine laying operations. Left Hemswell in July 1943 and relocated to RAF Lakenheath.

July 1943	Concrete runways laid

Autumn 1943	No. 1 (Lancaster Finishing School) Squadron RAF	Operating Avro Lancasters. Squadron disbanded at Hemswell in November 1944

1944	No. 150 (Bomber) Squadron RAF equipped with the Avro Lancaster	No 1 Group RAF. The squadron was disbanded in November 1945.

November 1944	No. 170 Squadron RAF	Operating Avro Lancasters. The squadron was disbanded in 1945

March 1945	No. 1687 (Bomber Defence Training) Flight RAF Regiment	No. 1687 Flight also maintained a Q decoy site on the far side of nearby Caenby village.

July 1946	No. 83 Squadron RAF	Operating Avro Lincolns. Disbanded at Hemswell in January 1956. Reformed at RAF Waddington in 1957, flying Avro Vulcans.

1946 and 1950	No. 109 Squadron RAF	Operating de Havilland Mosquitos in a Pathfinder and Oboe role. Left Hemswell in 1946.

1946 and 1950	No. 139 Squadron RAF	Operating de Havilland Mosquitos. Left Hemswell in 1946.

October 1946	No. 97 Squadron RAF	Operating Avro Lancasters and later Avro Lincolns. The Squadron was disbanded in December 1955

1946	No. 100 Squadron RAF	Operating Avro Lancasters and later Avro Lincolns. Left Hemswell in 1950, relocating to Malaysia for Operation Firedog.

April 1952	No. 199 Squadron RAF	Operating at various times Avro Lincolns, de Havilland Mosquitos, English Electric Canberras. Left Hemswell in September 1957, bringing to an end Bomber Command flights from Hemswell.

December 1959	No. 97 (Strategic Missile) Squadron RAF and 99th Munitions Maintenance Squadron (USAF)	Operating Thor IRBM missiles for RAF Bomber Command. Left Hemswell in May 1963 and its missiles were returned to America where they were used as launch vehicles in the early development of the space programme.

1963	No.2 Wing of 7 School of Recruit Training RAF	Used for follow on training for senior recruits from the Recruit Training School at nearby RAF Swinderby. Closed in December 1967

1967 Station on Care and Maintenance. Parented by RAF Scampton	643 Gliding School Air Training Corps,	Cadet Mk 3, Sedbergh and Prefect winch launched gliders. Moved to Lindholme 1 April 1974	RAF Hemswell finally Closed 1 April 1974

Sentence(s)

No 643 GS from Hemswell moved to RAF Lindholme on 1 April 1974.

final_sentence: No 643 GS from Hemswell moved to RAF Lindholme on 1 April 1974.