RAF Silloth
RAF Silloth | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Near Silloth, Cumbria in England | |||||||||||
| Site information | |||||||||||
| Type | Royal Air Force Station | ||||||||||
| Owner | Air Ministry | ||||||||||
| Operator | Royal Air Force | ||||||||||
| Controlled by | RAF Coastal Command RAF Maintenance Command | ||||||||||
| Location | |||||||||||
  RAF Silloth Shown within Cumbria  RAF Silloth RAF Silloth (the United Kingdom) | |||||||||||
| Coordinates | 54°52′10″N 003°21′37″W / 54.86944°N 3.36028°W | ||||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||||
| Built | 1939 | ||||||||||
| In use | 1939 - 1960 | ||||||||||
| Battles/wars | European theatre of World War II | ||||||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||||||
| Elevation | 7 metres (23 ft) AMSL | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Other airfield facilities | Operational dates. | ||||||||||
Royal Air Force Silloth, or more simply RAF Silloth, is a former Royal Air Force station one mile (1.6 km) north-east of Silloth, Cumbria, England, and 6.7 miles (10.8 km) south-west of Kirkbride, Cumbria. The station was used by RAF Coastal Command.
The airfield is also known as Silloth Airfield/Aerodrome.
Station history
The airfield was originally designed to be used by RAF Maintenance Command but was handed over to Coastal Command in November 1939. It had a satellite at RAF Hornby Hall.
Airfield defences
In February 2026, a Pickett-Hamilton fort, excavated from its originally location at RAF Silloth, was restored and moved, becoming part of the Silloth Military Trail display on The Green, Silloth, Cumbria.
Based units
- No. 1 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit RAF (OTU) using Avro Ansons, Bristol Beauforts and Bothas
- No. 6 Operational Training Unit RAF with the Vickers Wellington and Anson
- No. 215 Squadron RAF using the Wellington
- No. 320 (Netherlands) Squadron RAF using the Avro Anson I
- No. 22 Maintenance Unit RAF
- No. 1353 (Target Towing) Flight RAF using the Supermarine Spitfire and the Vultee A-31 Vengeance
- No. 5 Ferry Pool RAF
Current use
Many of the buildings still survive, including the hangars, but the runways are in a bad condition.
A farmers' market and Solway Holiday Park occupy the outer edge of the airport. A number of private homes are found on the north-west side of the former airfield. Enkev, a natural fibre company, has its UK office at the airfield.
See also
References
Citations
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "RAF Silloth". Control Towers. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
- ↑ "Silloth Airfield". Silloth Airfield.
- ↑ Swain, Sophie (26 February 2026). "Installation of Hamilton Picket Fort Structure in Silloth". The Cumberland News - News & Star. Retrieved 29 October 2026.
- ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 71.
- ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 86.
Bibliography
- Jefford, C G (1988). RAF Squadrons. A comprehensive record of the movement and equipment of all RAF squadrons and their antecedents since 1912. Shrewsbury: Airlife. ISBN 1-85310-053-6.
