RAF Middleton St George is a former Royal Air Force (RAF) and Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) Bomber Command station during the Second World War. It was located in County Durham, east of Darlington, England. The station's motto was Shield and Deter. The aerodrome remains active as Teesside International Airport.

History

Second World War

Like many similar airfields; RAF Middleton St George was commissioned in 1938 in anticipation of WWII and opened in 1941 under the auspices of Bomber Command. Contrary to popular belief the airfield was never called RAF Goosepool, Goosepool being the name of the farm which made way for the airfield, with the name sticking amongst the local population.

Initial Squadrons based here were 76 Squadron with Handley Page Halifaxes and 78 Squadron which flew Armstrong Whitworth Whitleys.

In 1943 it was allocated to No. 6 Group, Royal Canadian Air Force. A sub-station was located at RAF Croft, Yorkshire although RAF Thornaby was closer yet never held sub-station status. Canadian Squadrons based here were 419 "Moose" Squadron, which flew Vickers Wellingtons, Halifaxes, and Avro Lancasters, 420 "Snowy Owl" Squadron, which flew Wellingtons, and 428 "Ghost" Squadron, which flew Wellingtons, Halifaxes, and Lancasters.

There are two stories of heroism linked with RAF Middleton St George, the most notable being that of Andrew Mynarski, a member of 419 Squadron, who was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. It was bestowed for his actions on 13 June 1944, in a raid on Cambrai, France, in support of the Normandy landings. A statue of Mynarski was dedicated in 2005 outside the former Officers' Mess. The second belongs to William McMullen of 428 Squadron, who was killed during a routine training sortie on 13 January 1945 when his Lancaster crashed on the outskirts of Darlington after he remained with the aircraft to steer it away from houses, having ordered his crew to bail out. McMullen Road adjacent to the crash site was renamed in his honour.

A memorial garden for all aircrew at Middleton St George is also located near the Mess.Middleton St George Memorial Association: http://www.middleton-st-george-memorial-association.org/ ; The Wartime Memories Project: "RAF Middleton St George During the Second World War." https://wartimememoriesproject.com/ww2/airfields/airfield.php?pid=1804

Post war

After the war, the aerodrome changed hands regularly between Bomber Command, Fighter Command and Flying Training Command, serving various squadrons and units including No. 13 Operational Training Unit (OTU) using de Havilland Mosquitos, No. 2 Air Navigation School using Avro Ansons and Vickers Wellingtons, No. 205 Advanced Flying Training School (later renumbered No. 4 Flying Training School) using de Havilland Vampires and Gloster Meteors, 92 Squadron using Hawker Hunters, 264 Squadron (later renumbered No. 33 Squadron) using Gloster Meteors, the Javelin Instrument Rating Squadron (IRS) using Gloster Javelins and the Lightning Conversion Unit (LCU) (later renamed the Lightning Conversion Squadron) using English Electric Lightnings. The IRS and LCS were later merged to form 226 Operational Conversion Unit (OCU).

In 1962 Flying Officer Jean Oakes became the first woman to fly at over . The Times of 14 September 1962 reported that a Lightning from RAF Middleton St George flew out over the North Sea, and at , she took over the controls from Flight Lieutenant John Smith and flew up and down the north east coast at about Mach 1.6.

The RAF left the station in 1964 and handed it over to the Ministry of Civil Aviation who reopened the site as a civil airport. The airfield was named Tees-Side Airport until 1987, then Teesside International Airport until 2004 when it became Durham Tees Valley Airport before reverting to Teesside International in 2019.

From 1968 to 1979, some of the former station buildings housed Middleton St George College of Education, a teacher training college.

The officers' mess at the base was converted into the St George Hotel, complete with the RAF Middleton St George memorial room. The hotel was mothballed in late 2018; the museum is to be relocated in the future.Teesside Live Website | [url=https://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/everything-must-go-entire-contents-15542008

The Sergeants' mess remains in use by Serco, who operate the International Fire Training Centre located on the site, and the Armoury currently houses a flying school, Scenic Air Tours and Flight Training.

Units and aircraft Unit Dates Aircraft Variant NotesBomber Command No.4 Group RAF No. 76 Squadron RAF 1941-1942 Handley Page HP.57 Halifax Mk.I Four-engined piston heavy bomber.Handley Page HP.59 HalifaxMk.II No. 78 Squadron RAF1941 Armstrong AW.38 Whitworth Whitley Mk.V Twin-engined medium bomber. 1942 Handley Page HP.57 Halifax Mk.II Four-engined piston heavy bomber.No. 1516 BAT Flight RAF1941-1942Airspeed AS.10 OxfordMk.ITwin-engined training aircraft.No. 1535 BAT Flight RAF1942-1943Airspeed AS.10 OxfordMk.ITwin-engined training aircraft.Bomber Command No.6 Group RCAF No. 419 "Moose" Squadron RCAF 1942-1944 Handley Page HP.59 Halifax Mk.II Four-engined piston heavy bomber. 1943-1945 Avro 683 Lancaster Mk.X Four-engined piston heavy bomber.No. 420 "Snowy Owl" Squadron RCAF 1942-1943 Vickers 417 Wellington Mk.III Twin-engined medium bomber.Vickers 440 WellingtonMk.X No. 428 "Ghost" Squadron RCAF 1943-1944 Handley Page HP.59 Halifax Mk.II Four-engined piston heavy bomber.Handley Page HP.63 HalifaxMk.V 1944-1945 Avro 683 Lancaster Mk.X Four-engined piston heavy bomber.Fighter Command RAFNo. 13 Operational Training Unit RAF1945-1947de Havilland DH.98 MosquitoFB.VITwin-engined fighter-bomber.NF.IITwin-engined night fighter.T.3Twin-engined training aircraft.No. 26 Gliding School Air Cadets1946-1955Slingsby T.7 Kirby CadetTX.1Training glider.Slingsby T.21B SedberghTX.1Training glider.No. 28 Gliding School Air Cadets1946-1948Slingsby T.7 Kirby CadetTX.1Training glider.TX.2Flying Training Command RAFNo. 2 Air Navigation School RAF1947-1950Avro 652A AnsonMk.ITwin-engined multi-role aircraft.Vickers 440 WellingtonB.XTwin-engined medium bomber.1949-1950Vickers 619 WellingtonT.10No. 205 Advanced Flying Training School RAF1950-1954de Havilland DH.100 VampireFB.5Single-engined fighter-bomber.Gloster MeteorF.4Twin-engined single-seat fighter.T.7Twin-engined two-seat training aircraft.No. 4 Flying Training School RAF1954-1956de Havilland DH.100 VampireFB.5Single-engined fighter-bomber.Gloster MeteorF.4Twin-engined single-seat fighter.T.7Twin-engined two-seat training aircraft.1955-1956de Havilland DH.115 VampireT.11Single-engined training jet.Fighter Command No.13 Group RAF No. 92 Squadron RAF 1957-1961 Hawker Hunter F.6 Single-engined jet fighter/fighter-bomber. No. 264 Squadron RAF 1957 Gloster Meteor NF.14 Twin-engined jet night-fighter.Middleton St George Station Flight RAF1957Avro 652A AnsonMk.ITwin-engined multi-role aircraft.de Havilland DH.115 VampireT.11Single-engined training jet.Gloster MeteorT.7Twin-engined two-seat training aircraft.No. 33 Squadron RAF 1958-1962 Gloster Javelin FAW.7 Twin-engined jet fighter/interceptor.1960-1962FAW.9No. 645 Volunteer Gliding Squadron Air Cadets1958-1960Instrument Rating Squadron RAF1961-1963Gloster JavelinT.3Twin-engined jet fighter/interceptor.Lightning Conversion Unit RAF1961-1963English Electric LightningF.1Twin-engined single-seat fighter-interceptor.Lightning Conversion Squadron RAFT.4Twin-engined two-seat fighter-interceptor.No. 226 Operational Conversion Unit RAF1963-1964English Electric LightningF.1Twin-engined single-seat fighter-interceptor.T.4Twin-engined two-seat fighter-interceptor.

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links

76 Squadron History 78 Squadron history and current status 419 Squadron History 420 Squadron History 428 Squadron History 608 Squadron History