RAF Kirton in Lindsey
| RAF Kirton in Lindsey Rapier Barracks USAAF Station 349 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire in England | |||||||||
| Site information | |||||||||
| Type | Royal Air Force station sector station 1940-42 | ||||||||
| Code | KL | ||||||||
| Owner | Ministry of Defence | ||||||||
| Operator | Royal Air Force United States Army Air Forces | ||||||||
| Controlled by | RAF Fighter Command 1940-?? * No. 9 Group RAF * No. 12 Group RAF * No. 81 (OTU) Group RAF RAF Flying Training Command Eighth Air Force | ||||||||
| Location | |||||||||
| Coordinates | 53°27′41″N 000°34′41″W / 53.46139°N 0.57806°W | ||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||
| Built | 1939/40 | ||||||||
| Built by | John Laing & Son Ltd | ||||||||
| In use | May 1940 – 2013 | ||||||||
| Battles/wars | European theatre of World War II, Cold War, War in Afghanistan | ||||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||||
| Elevation | 61 metres (200 ft) AMSL | ||||||||
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Royal Air Force Kirton in Lindsey or more simply RAF Kirton in Lindsey is a former Royal Air Force station located 15 miles (24 km) north of Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England.
It is a custom of the RAF (inherited from the RFC) to name its bases after the nearest railway station, possibly to simplify the process of issuing Rail Warrants to personnel posted there. By that token, the site should be RAF Kirton Lindsey, Kirton Lindsey being the name of the nearby railway station constructed in 1849. No.255 Squadron's Operations Record Book (ORB) consistently uses that version of the name. So does the airfield's separate ORB, from the date of the site's WWII creation (15 May 1940) through to May 1941. After mid-1941 and the departure of No. 255 Squadron, the name RAF Kirton-in-Lindsey begins to appear in the site's own records; eventually dominating.
On 25 March 2013 it was announced the MOD planned to dispose of the airfield and technical facilities with only accommodation remaining, which was emptied later that year. The airfield used to host No. 1 Air Control Centre (1ACC), the RAF's only deployable ground-based early warning and air control radar unit, which was parented by RAF Scampton.