Driffield
DRIFFIELD see also EASTBURN and EASTBURN FARM
DRIFFIELD: Military aerodrome (aka EASTBURN?)
Note: These two pictures were obtained from Google Earth ©
Note: Pictures by the author.
Military users: WW1: RFC/RAF (Royal Flying Corps / Royal Air Force) Landing Ground
33 [Home Defence] Sqdn (1916) (Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2 and later F.E.2)
RFC/RAF Flying School and Training Depot Station (1917 to 1920)
Inter-war years: Bomber Command
77 & 102 Sqdns (Armstrong Whitworth Whitleys)
WW2: RAF Bomber Command 2 Group 4 Group
88 Sqdn (Fairey Battles)
102 Sqdn (Armstrong-Whitworth Whitleys)
104, 196 & 405 (RCAF) Sqdns (Vickers Wellingtons)
107 Sqdn (Bristol Blenheims)
462 & 466 (RAAF) Sqdns (Handley Page Halifaxs)
Post 1945: RAF Flying Training Command 21 Group
203 AFS (Gloster Meteors & DH Vampires)
204 AFS
RAF Fighter Command
33 Sqdn (DH Venom NF.2s)
Location: 2nm WSW of Great Driffield
Period of operation: 1916 to 1920 then 1936 to 1977
Site area: WW1: 240 acres 1097 x 960
Runways: WW2: 05/23 1829x46 hard 10/28 1280x46 hard
15/33 1280x46 hard
NOTES: The reason I mention 88 Sqdn being here is that their stay was rather temporary and this was so often the case for many RAF and indeed Fleet Air Arm squadrons, who suffered being shuffled around from pillar to post throughout WW2.
In doing this research certain patterns emerge and it seems that 36 hardstandings at most RAF WW2 bomber bases during WW2 appears to be the norm, but why 36? The reason was that a typical RAF squadron of both Bomber and Fighter Command comprised three flights, (A, B & C Flights), each of twelve aircraft. I imagine different structures applied in the Coastal, Training and Transport Commands?
THE HALIFAX
The Handley Page Halifax was the second four-engine bomber type to enter service with the RAF in WW2, the first being the Short Stirling and the third the Avro Lancaster - developed from the ill-fated twin-engine Avro Manchester. It appears that the first operational Halifaxs were based here. But, were they flown by 462 and 466 (RAAF) Squadrons?
LEONARD CHESHIRE VC, OM, DSO & Two Bars, DFC
It was here in June 1940 that Pilot Officer Geoffrey Leonard Cheshire flew his first operation as second pilot in a Whitley to bomb a target in northern France. Quite why the RAF Bomber Command senior officers thought that flying their bombers in such small formations from as far away as Yorkshire to bomb a target in northern France was a good idea in 1940 will, I suppose, remain a mystery.
This situation didn’t much improve until early 1943. By then the introduction of ever better technical equipment certainly helped but the facts do seem to indicate that generally those crews in Bomber Command were mostly fighting a war of attrition not too dissimilar from WW1 trench warfare. On the basis that if you throw just more than enough bodies required at the enemy, it follows they’ll get through. I have made comments on the bombing campaign in the listings for other airfields in this region, so there is no need to repeat them here.
Except to say that we must remember that the huge advances made in trying to understand the ‘human condition’ we have today simply didn’t exist then. Nor did concepts such as ‘efficiency’ or ‘overall effectiveness’ and ‘damage limitation’ exist. In fact the general military mentality of regarding a major war still appears to have rested mostly in the WW1 experience.
And why not? It was only about twenty years later on when WW2 was declared! Needless to say, for most of the senior staff in the RAF their air combat experience was learnt
Leonard Cheshire was of course later to become known as a very famous Bomber Command figure and after the war established the ‘Cheshire Homes’ for the disabled.
Suzanne Woodhouse
This comment was written on: 2020-04-03 08:49:34I have been trying to track down a Bomber Command Halifax Squadron during WW11 of which I have a photograph. There is some vague detail in the background which could correspond with the furthest building in your picture of the airbase. Could you indicate the age of the four buildings, please?
Dick Flute
This comment was written on: 2020-04-03 19:54:13Hi Suzanne, I am not enough of an expert to be certain about this. However, the four hangars look to me to be quite typical of many bomber stations constructed in the 1930s. Also, most of these aerodromes were laid out to a standard pattern. It might help to get copies of the Action Stations series to see if they have any pictures that could marry up with yours. Best regards, Dick
Michael T Holder
This comment was written on: 2020-05-25 00:27:16From the Driffield Times – Saturday 12 October 1929 – The visit of an aeroplane to a field on Nafferton Road, on the Nafferton side of Slack Hill, attracted many people to view activities on Wednesday. The machine, which is attached to the Berkshire Aviation Co., is in the charge of Pilot A V Heaton of Liverpool, and is intended for joy-riding purposes in the Driffield District. It is an Avro 504K, 130Hp, and is stated to be capable of 90 miles per hour, though for joy-riding 75mph is to be the approximate speed. An altitude of 1000ft is the usual limit, though it would be exceeded on special occasions, such as the exhibition flying or “stunts” on Sunday. Our representative was the first to take a flight on Wednesday afternoon and he found the experience to be quite a revelation. Only those who have been in the air can picture what Driffield looks like from above. The machine is to stay around Driffield until 22 October. The field used is probably West Field just to the north of West Field Farm
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