Sitting on the southern edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds, the sleepy village of East Kirkby changed forever when during 1941 the British Air Ministry purchased over 800 acres of land to construct a Class A Standard airfield, mostly to the south and east of the tiny rural village.

In response to an Invitation to Tender issued by the Air Ministry on January 26th 1942, John Laing & Son Ltd were awarded the tender to build the airfield. A sum of £248,000 was allocated for main buildings and £310,000 for runways (including drainage and lighting [Drem Mk.II] for runways & perimeter). The total cost, including land purchases and ground levelling was some £1,000,000. The runways, in an ‘A’ Frame lay out were an average thirty-three feet above sea level with the main 02-20 at 6,000 feet in length and subsidiaries 08-26 and 13-31 both 4,200 feet long. All runways had a width of 150 feet and an extensive perimeter track with a width of fifty feet was laid with a length of some three miles, linking twenty-seven pan and eight loop type hard standings. Initially two T2 hangars were provided, one on the technical site between runway heads 08 and 13, and the second south of runway 26. Later a B1 hangar was erected between the technical site T2 and runway 08. Visible from Fen Road, and just off the northern perimeter track, was the aircrew survival equipment building and stores. This would have been one of the last buildings a crew would visit before heading off to their Lancaster at dispersal prior to operations. In the spring of 1944 four T2 hangars were added west of runway 20 and near the A155 road.  The Watch Office, also known post-war as the Control Tower, was built to specifications 12779/41, modified to specification 343/43.

Under the auspices of 5 Group, these later served No.55 BASE Headquarters, overseeing the administration and maintenance of Lancasters and personnel from sub-stations at nearby RAF Spilsby and Strubby until November 1945.

Extensive bomb stores were situated to the north east, between runway thresholds 20 and 26. The dispersed camps were located just to the north of East Kirkby village and consisted of six domestic, two WAAF, two communal and a sick quarters site, providing for a maximum of 1,965 males and 486      females. The airfield also swallowed up land in the small hamlet of Hagnaby (population forty-seven) to the south of East Kirkby, and used since 1940 by the Air Ministry as a ‘K’ Site. This was just one of a number of similar sites established around the country to divert Luftwaffe nocturnal bomber and Intruder operations away from their intended targets. Under the control of RAF Coningsby, this was a secretive installation and, in this case, operated primarily as a decoy site for pre-war constructed RAF bomber stations such as Coningsby, Waddington, Scampton and Hemswell. Overlooked by Hagnaby Grange only a few hundred yards to the west, huts were built near the village of Stickney, to the east, to house the airmen who were trained to operate the site. On the site a flare path would be lit and machine gun posts manned. A searchlight was shone down the flare path from on top of an air raid shelter and bounced up and down a little to represent an aircraft landing. This seemed to have the desired effect as the area was bombed on a number of occasions. A worn-out ambulance and fire tender were delivered to the site for added effect and realistic Whitley bombers, produced by a film studio, were dotted around and moved regularly in case German aerial photo reconnaissance aircraft or enemy agents were watching. The site was closed down as the airfield became operational. 

RAF Station East Kirkby commenced service life on July 27 1943 when a Royal Air Force Opening Party arrived consisting of five Officers, eight SNCOs and fifty-three other ranks. During this period the last of the building works were completed, supplies steadily arrived and more personnel were posted in. Much like many of the other hundreds of airfields appearing around the country, the majority of personnel arrived via train. The nearest railway station was Stickney, a sleepy station on a rural branch line running from Lincoln to Boston and Little Steeping, but that all changed with the opening of the airfield with many thousands of personnel posted to, and from, the airfield. On arrival at Stickney kit bags were thrown into a lorry and the personnel would be transported to the airfield’s main gate by any means possible; motorbike, Jeep, crew bus or staff car.

August 27-28 would see the advance party from 57 Squadron arrive, bringing one Officer and seven other ranks. Further postings in at this stage included operationally vital staff such as Intelligence Officer, Armament Officer, Code & Cypher Officer, Engineering Officer and Flying Control. The Station’s callsign was allocated as SILKSHEEN.

By the afternoon of the 30th 57 Squadron was deemed ready. Fourteen crews were detailed for RAF East Kirkby’s first raid, operating as a part of a 660 strong force (including 297 Lancasters) detailed for sorties against the twin targets of Mönchengladbach and Rheydt. One Lancaster returned early with engine failure, Flt Sgt Duff and crew in ED655 DX-X, but the remaining thirteen crews bombed the target and returned safely to home base. Post raid photo reconnaissance photography showed half of each town destroyed.

630 Squadron formed at RAF East Kirkby during October 1943 and combined, 57 & 630 Squadrons would carry out 212 wartime operations from RAF East Kirkby, with 2147 operational flights equating to some 20,000 operational flying hours; 121 aircraft were lost during operations and an additional twenty-nine on training flights; 848 personnel were killed on operations, during training flights, from Lancaster bombing-up accidents or as a result of Luftwaffe Intruder attacks.

157 airmen became Prisoners of War, forty-eight evaded capture and eight more were interned in neutral countries such as Sweden or Switzerland.

RAF East Kirkby's worst night of aircraft losses was June 21 1944 when eleven aircraft were lost from the two resident Squadrons in an attack against Wesseling. The Lancasters of 57 Squadron would fly the most sorties to Berlin in 5 Group, and share with RAF Spilsby’s 44 Squadron the highest losses.

Sixty-one personnel were awarded decorations by HM King George VI, including forty-two awarded the DFC.

RAF EAST KIRKBY/55 BASE PRINICPAL SQUADRONS/UNITS

57 Squadron:

Moved to RAF East Kirkby from RAF Scampton on August 27 1943.

Disbanded November 27 1945 and reformed at RAF Scampton the following day.

Aircraft Types Operated at RAF East Kirkby: Avro Lancaster Mk.I & Mk.III, Avro Lincoln B.2

Aircraft Code: DX

Call Sign ‘Acquire’

Unofficial WWII name: “Cheltenham’s Own Squadron”

Motto: “Corpus non animum muto” (“I change my body, not my spirit”)

630 Squadron:

Formed at RAF East Kirkby on November 15 1943 and disbanded at the same location on July 18 1945.

Aircraft Types Operated at RAF East Kirkby: Avro Lancaster Mk.I & Mk.III

Aircraft Code LE

Call Sign ‘Gauntley’

Motto: “Nocturna mors” (“Death by night”)

RAF EAST KIRKBY/55 BASE STATION FLIGHT

Aircraft Types Operated: Avro Lancaster, Avro Anson & Airspeed Oxford

460 Squadron RAAF:

Relocated from RAF Binbrook on July 27 1945 for Tiger Force. Disbanded at RAF East Kirkby October 10 1945. Commanding Officer Wing Commander P. Swann DSO DFC

Aircraft Types Operated at RAF East Kirkby: Avro Lancaster Mk..I & Mk.III

Aircraft Code AR

Motto: “Strike and return”

139 (Jamaica) Squadron:

Operated from RAF East Kirkby on detachment from nearby RAF Coningsby, Spring 1946 until early February 1948.

Aircraft Types Operated at RAF East Kirkby: de Havilland Mosquito B.IV

Aircraft Code: XD

Motto: “Si placet necamus” (“We destroy at will”)

231 Operational Conversion Unit:

Formed at RAF Coningsby March 14 1947 and flew from RAF East Kirkby on detachment from August 1947 until February 1948.

Aircraft Types Operated at RAF East Kirkby: Avro Anson, Airspeed Oxford & de Havilland Mosquito B.IV

Motto: “Prepared to attack”

7th Air Division, 3rd Air Force USAF:

The 3931st Air Base Group took over the Station on April 17 1954, subsequently handing it over to the 3917th Air Base Group in July 1954. The 3917th ABG acted as parent unit for SC-47 Air Rescue Squadrons, deploying on Ninety Day Rotations until mid 1958.

Located on parts of the former RAF East Kirkby since the late 1980s is the  Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre; a privately owned and run museum set up by two farming brothers, Fred and Harold Panton. The Centre is the world famous home of Avro Lancaster NX611 "Just Jane"  and utilises parts of the former RAF East Kirkby both as a memorial to Bomber Command, and as a tribute to their eldest brother Christopher Whitton Panton, a Halifax bomber Flight Engineer who was shot down and killed during the Nuremberg raid of March 30/31 1944.



Why SILKSHEEN?

During the Second World War this was the callsign of the airfield Control Tower at RAF East Kirkby:

By keeping this historical detail alive, our website remembers the service and sacrifice of those who served at SILKSHEEN.

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For the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre website please click below: