RAF Barkston Heath Royal Air Force Station Barkston Heath or RAF Barkston Heath is a Royal Air Force station near Grantham , Lincolnshire , England . RAF Barkston Heath is the home of the Defence Elementary Flying Training School ( DEFTS ) which , for a period between approximately 1995 - 2010 operated the Slingsby T67M260 Firefly two seat trainer . The school now operates the Grob Tutor . A secondary role of RAF Barkston Heath is as a Relief Landing Ground for the flying training activities at RAF Cranwell . DEFTS provides elementary flying training for Royal Navy and Army Air Corps students , the distinctive black and yellow Slingsby Firefly was a common sight above the skies of Lincolnshire until replaced by the somewhat quieter Grob Tutor . History . USAAF use . By this time , in common with a number of other airfields in the Grantham area that had been planned for the RAF ' s No . 7 Group . Barkston was made available to the United States Army Air Forces Ninth Air Force . It was earmarked for basing troop carrier units scheduled to be transferred from Sicily to participate in the forthcoming cross - Channel invasion , Operation " Overlord " . During its time as a USAAF airfield , Barkston Heath was designated as USAAF station 483 . 61st Troop Carrier Group . The first US personnel arrived on 13 February from Sciacca , Sicily , and most of their Douglas C - 47 Skytrain s on the 17th and 18th , although not all aircraft were in place until a month later . These new occupants were the 61st Troop Carrier Group with its components being : The 61st TCG was part of the 52nd Troop Carrier Wing , IX Troop Carrier Command . The headquarters of the 61st Troop Carrier Group moved to an Advanced Landing Ground ( ALG ) at Abbeville ( ALG B - 92 ) , in France , on 13 March 1945 , but its squadrons went to RAF Chipping Ongar from where they participated in Operation " Varsity " on 24 March carrying British paratroops who dropped near Wesel . 349th Troop Carrier Group . An increased demand for theatre air transport brought the 349th TCG from Baer Field Indiana in late March 1945 with its Curtiss C - 46 Commando transports . Group headquarters was established at Barkston on 30 March , but the group only remained three weeks , moving to Rove / Amy , France , on 18 April . The squadrons of the 349th TCG were coded as follows : the 23rd - 08 , 312th - 9E , 313th - 3F , and 314th - LY . It was assigned to the 52nd Troop Carrier Wing . In May , a detachment of C - 46s from this group returned to airlift British 1st Airborne Division troops to Norway . Postwar use . Today , Barkston Heath remains a beautifully unspoiled Second World War airfield . It remains an active base , providing a home to both 703 Naval Air Squadron and 674 Squadron Army Air Corps who operate the Grob Tutor in a training role . The airfield was also used during the 1980s by a number of privately operated aircraft of various types , and for several years it has also been the venue for the British National Model Aircraft Championships . Because the aircraft used are trainers , the runways have not needed to be lengthened , preserving the layout the station had during the war . Many of the wartime loop dispersals still survive , along with the T - 2 hangars . The current generation of training aircraft are operated by the Defence Elementary Flying Training School but provided by a civilian contractor who also provides a significant proportion of the instructional staff and the majority of support and airfield services . On 11 July 2003 the airfield was the venue for a parade to mark the formation of 674 Squadron Army Air Corps and the re - formation of 703 Naval Air Squadron . The Saluting Officer was Major General Richard Gerrard - Wright CB CBE DL .