RAF Wellingore

RAF Wellingore
Technical Site for RAF Wellingore. A few buildings remain including a power house, two large Maycrete type workshops and a blast shelter together with around four building bases.
IATA: none ICAO: none
Summary
Airport type	Military
Owner	Air Ministry
Operator	Royal Air Force
Location	Wellingore, Lincolnshire
Built	1917 (1917)
In use	1917-1947 (1947)
Elevation AMSL	269 ft / 82 m
Coordinates	53°04′42″N 000°31′30″W / 53.07833°N 0.52500°W / 53.07833; -0.52500Coordinates: 53°04′42″N 000°31′30″W / 53.07833°N 0.52500°W / 53.07833; -0.52500
Map
RAF Wellingore Location in Lincolnshire
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 00/00 0 0 Grass 00/00 0 0 Grass

Royal Air Force Station Wellingore or more simply RAF Wellingore was a Second World War Royal Air Force fighter station located 1.9 miles (3.1 km) south of Navenby, Lincolnshire and 10 miles (16 km) south of Lincoln, England.

The airfield was originally opened in 1917 as a Royal Naval Air Service station called Wellingore Heath. The airfield reopened in 1935. By the winter of 1939/40, the airfield was fully operational and consisted of two grass runways, a concrete perimeter track and several hangars. It initially operated as a Relief Landing Ground (RLG) for RAF Cranwell before later operating as a satellite station for RAF Digby. Various squadrons equipped with Spitfires, Hurricanes, Blenheims and Beaufighters frew from the station.

The airfield was closed in 1947.

In December 1941, John Gillespie Magee, Jr., author of the famous aviation poem "High Flight", took off from Wellingore on his final flight, in which he was killed.

The station was used as a prisoner of war camp before being handed back to the local land owner. Many of the original buildings, including the control have been demolished. A number of airfield defence concrete bunkers remain dotted around the airfield which has been returned to agricultural use.