RAF North Coates

RAF North Coates
North Coates, East Lindsey, Lincolnshire
Aircrew and Bristol Beaufort Mk Is of No. 22 Squadron at North Coates
RAF North Coates Location in Lincolnshire
Coordinates	53°29′59.3″N 0°3′57.7″E / 53.499806°N 0.066028°E / 53.499806; 0.066028Coordinates: 53°29′59.3″N 0°3′57.7″E / 53.499806°N 0.066028°E / 53.499806; 0.066028
Code	NC
Site information
Operator	Royal Flying Corps Royal Air Force
Condition	Mainly returned to agricultural use; part occupied by North Coates Flying Club
Website	www.northcoatesflyingclub.co.uk
Site history
Built	1914 (1914)
In use	1916–1919 1926–1990
Fate	Sold to private ownership
Battles/wars	First World War Second World War
Garrison information
Occupants	See list below
Airfield information
Identifiers	ICAO: EGYO
Elevation	17 ft (5.2 m) AMSL
Runways Direction Length and surface 07/25 4,260 ft (1,300 m) Concrete (closed) NW/SE 4,380 ft (1,340 m) Grass (closed) 05/23 760 m (2,490 ft) Grass (current)

RAF North Coates was a former Royal Air Force station in Lincolnshire, England, six miles south-east of Cleethorpes, and close to the mouth of the Humber estuary, which was an active air station during World War I, and then again from the mid-1920s. Between 1942 and 1945, during the Second World War, it was the home of a Coastal Command Strike Wing, and from 1958 was a base for Bloodhound surface-to-air missiles, until closed in 1990.

The camp at North Coates Fitties was opened by the army in 1914 and occupied by men of the Lincolnshire Regiment. In 1916 it was converted into a forward landing ground for aircraft from the Royal Flying Corps' No. 33 (Home Defence) Squadron, based at Brattleby, and tasked with coastal patrols in North Lincolnshire. From October 1918 it was occupied by No. 248 Squadron RAF, but after the armistice the airfield was gradually run down and eventually closed in March 1919, and the land was returned to its original owner.

The site was reacquired in 1926 to serve as a base for aircraft using the bombing range at nearby Donna Nook, and designated No. 2 Armament Practice Camp. The station also served as a training facility for observers and air gunners from 1936 up until the beginning of World War II.

Following the declaration of war on 3 September 1939, the training units were transferred elsewhere, and No. 2 Recruit Training Pool was formed at the airfield, followed by the Ground Defence Gunnery School in November. In February 1940 the station was transferred to No. 16 Group, Coastal Command, and was first occupied by No.'s 235, 236 and 248 Squadrons, flying the Blenheim in both bomber and long-range fighter variants, until April 1940. North Coates was then occupied by a number of Coastal Command squadrons over the next two years, mostly RAF, but including Fleet Air Arm and Royal Canadian Air Force units, flying a variety of aircraft, mainly Beaufort and Hudson light bombers, but also Hampden and Swordfish torpedo bombers, Avro Anson reconnaissance aircraft and Maryland light bombers.