RAF Milfield

RAF Milfield
Milfield, Northumberland in England
RAF Milfield Shown within Northumberland
Coordinates	55°35′26″N 2°5′14″W / 55.59056°N 2.08722°W / 55.59056; -2.08722
Type	Royal Air Force station
Code	IL
Site information
Owner	Air Ministry
Operator	Royal Air Force
Controlled by	RAF Fighter Command
Site history
Built	1917 (1917) & 1942
In use	1917 - Unknown August 1942 - February 1946 (1946)
Battles/wars	European theatre of World War II
Airfield information
Elevation	46 metres (151 ft)[1] AMSL
Runways Direction Length and surface 00/00  Concrete 00/00  Concrete 00/00  Concrete

Royal Air Force Milfield or more simply RAF Milfield is a former Royal Air Force station which operated during the Second World War, located near Milfield, Northumberland, England.

The airfield opened on 26 January 1942, hosting No. 59 Operational Training Unit RAF, a fighter training unit, later joined by the Specialised Low Attack Instructors School RAF. The OTU trained ground-attack pilots for the Hawker Typhoon.

In January 1944, both units were disbanded and merged to become the Fighter Leaders School RAF. That specialised in training officers in commanding ground attack units, with a focus on the skills which would be needed to lead close support operations from front-line airfields in Europe.

No. 56 Operational Training Unit RAF operated from Milfield from January 1945 onwards, training replacement Hawker Tempest pilots for Second Tactical Air Force in Europe. That continued to operate until 14 February 1946, when it was disbanded and RAF Milfield closed.

The following units were based at RAF Milfield at some point:^[2]

• No. 77 Squadron RAF
• No. 183 Squadron RAF
• No. 184 Squadron RAF
• Day Fighter Development Wing RAF

After the RAF had departed, some of the outlying buildings at the site were converted into housing. The central airfield continued in use by the Borders Gliding Club until the mid-1970s, and was briefly used by Air Anglia for regional flights in 1977-78.

The Borders Gliding Club moved back to Milfield in 1992 by which time the remaining part of the airfield had been levelled and grassed over.^[3]

The site now contains a food-processing facility and sawmill, as well as a former sand and gravel quarry operated by Tarmac Limited.

• Falconer, J (1998). RAF Fighter Airfields of World War 2. UK: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 0-7110-2175-9.

• Evans, Alan. "Milfield, not just an airfield..."
• "RAF Stations: M". Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation.