RAF East Kirkby
RAF East Kirkby 
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Memorial to Number 57 and 630 Sqn, East Kirkby
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| Summary | |||||||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Military | ||||||||||||||||||
| Owner | Air Ministry | ||||||||||||||||||
| Operator |
Royal Air Force United States Air Force |
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| Location | East Kirkby, Lincolnshire | ||||||||||||||||||
| Built | 1943 | ||||||||||||||||||
| In use | 1943-1958 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 46 ft / 14 m | ||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 53°08′20″N 00°00′02″W / 53.13889°N 0.00056°WCoordinates: 53°08′20″N 00°00′02″W / 53.13889°N 0.00056°W | ||||||||||||||||||
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 RAF East Kirkby
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Royal Air Force East Kirkby or more simply RAF East Kirkby is a former Royal Air Force station near the village of East Kirkby, south of Horncastle in Lincolnshire, just off the A155. The Greenwich meridian passes through the base.
The base opened on 20 August 1943 as a Bomber Command Station and is situated not far from RAF Coningsby.
Stationed at East Kirkby were:
RAF East Kirkby served also as the headquarters of No 5/5 (Bomber) Group RAF in command of satellite stations at RAF Strubby, RAF Spilsby, RAF Hemswell and RAF Manby.
On 17 April 1945, near the end of the Second World War, a 57 Squadron Lancaster was being loaded with bombs when a fully armed 1,000 lb bomb was unintentionally dropped onto the tarmac. Because the bomb had had its fuse inserted it detonated, setting off the rest of the Lancaster's bombload. A massive explosion killed three airmen, injured 16 others, wrote off six other Lancasters beyond repair and badly damaged a nearby aircraft hangar.
The final wartime raid from East Kirkby was flown on 25 April 1945. In total, 212 operations were carried out during the war, from which 121 Lancasters did not return. Another 29 aircraft were lost due to operational crashes or accidents.
630 Squadron disbanded in July that year and its place was taken by No. 460 Squadron RAAF from RAF Binbrook. This squadron joined No. 57 for transfer to the Far East as part of Tiger Force. In the 1950s, the base was used by the United States Air Force for Air Rescue squadrons for four years. The station (code name Silksheen) closed in 1958. It was sold by the government in 1964.
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Wikipedia