Timeline Of Events
Military
Highlight = key event
| WWII Years |
| 1938 |
| Construction of what would become Royal Air Force Middleton St George is announced in anticipation of World War II, with work beginning late in the year |
| 1941 |
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15 Jan Royal Air Force Station Middleton St George officially opens as a Bomber Command base The facility was never officially known as RAF Goosepool as is often quoted |
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April Despite having opened three months prior, construction work completes during April |
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09 Apr First aircraft arrives; 78 Squadron move in from RAF Dishforth They bring with them 16x Armstrong Whitworth AW.38 Whitley Mk.Vs |
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14 Apr First operational mission from RAF Middleton St. George takes place To Brest, a port city in the Brittany region of France |
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04 Jun 76 Squadron move in from RAF Linton-on-Ouse With an initial six Handley Page HP.57 Halifax Mk.Is |
| 15 Oct 76 Squadron receive first two upgraded HP.59 Halifax Mk.IIs |
| 17
Oct 78 Squadron temporarily move out to RAF Croft At some point, Croft became a satellite station of Middleton St. George. A satellite station is a reserve air base that takes any excess of aircraft, acts as a diversion facility and is administered by the parent base. RAF Thornaby of similar distance from MSG as Croft, was never a satellite station for MSG |
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18
Nov No.1516 BAT Flight move in Using Airspeed AS.10 Oxford Is. (BAT = "Beam Approach Training") |
| 1942 |
| Work on three more hangars begin, a B1-type and two T2-types. A C1-type (Hangar 1) and a J-type (Hangar 2) were part of the initial construction |
| 30 May A record 21-aircraft departure (76 Squadron Halifax) between 23:21 - 23:53 for Operation Millenium |
| 10 Jun 78 Squadron move back in from RAF Croft |
| 10 Jul Between the 10th and 14th 76 Squadron departed for a detachment to North Africa via Gibraltar supposed to last seven days; but they never returned to MSG |
| 07 Sep No. 1516 BAT Flight temporarily move out to RAF Croft |
| 16 Sep The final wartime RAF aircraft hull loss at MSG involves R9365/MP-C, a Halifax Mk.II of 76 Squadron |
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17 Sep Both 76 and 78 Squadrons move out to RAF Linton-on-Ouse To make way for the incoming Canadian squadrons |
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14 Oct 420 "Snowy Owl" (RCAF) Squadron move in from RAF Skipton-on-Swale Bringing with them Vickers Wellingtons |
| 17 Oct No. 1516 BAT Flight return from RAF Croft |
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13 Nov 419 (RCAF) Squadron move in from RAF Croft Using Handley Page Halifaxes |
| 12 Dec No. 1516 BAT Flight once again move out, this time to Hampstead Heath |
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15 Dec No. 1535 BAT Flight form at RCAF Middleton St George in hangar 1 |
| 23
Dec No. 1535 BAT Flight receive their first aircraft Eight Airspeed Oxfords from RAF Aldergrove |
| 1943 |
| The RAF transfer Middleton St George to the
Royal Canadian Air Force Who move their No.6 Group Bomber Command in |
| 01 Jan 419 declare operational readiness |
| 17 Apr 420 "Snowy Owl" (RCAF) Squadron stand down |
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14 May 420 "Snowy Owl" (RCAF) Squadron move out to North Africa |
| 01 Jun No. 1535 BAT Flight move out to RAF Dalton |
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04 Jun No. 428 (RCAF) Squadron move in from RAF Dalton |
| 01 Jul No. 419 (RCAF) Squadron are Christened "The Moose Squadron" |
| 08 Oct No. 428 (RCAF) Squadron are Christened "The Ghost Squadron" |
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12 Dec No. 419 "Moose" (RCAF) Squadron receive first two Lancaster B.X, including the "Ruhr Express" KB700 |
| 1944 |
| 26 May No. 428 "Ghost" Squadron (RCAF) receive their first Lancaster B.X |
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12 Jun No. 419 "Moose" Squadron (RCAF) Avro Lancaster B.X KB726/VR-A crashes, killing Andrew Mynarski following his famous act of heroism. |
| 11 Aug King George VI, Queen Elizabeth and Princess Elizabeth visit RAF Middleton St. George |
| 1945 |
| 02 Jan Flagship Lancaster B.X KB700 "The Ruhr Express" is written-off in a landing accident |
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13 Jan P/O William McMullen of 428 Squadron is killed steering his stricken Lancaster away from a built up area of Darlington |
| 13 Apr Last operational loss of WWII for 419 Squadron |
| 19 Apr Last aircraft loss of MSG residency for 419 Squadron (KB762/VR-J) |
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25 Apr Last operational sortie of WWII for RCAF Middleton St George |
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31 May 428 begin their journey back to Canada, with the departure of 15x Lancasters The remainder leave the next day |
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01 Jun 419 begin their journey back to Canada, with the departure of 10x Lancasters The remainder leave on/by the 4th |
| RCAF hand MSG back to the RAF Bomber Command, who place the airfield on care and maintenance |
| Fight Command take over the airfield from Bomber Command |
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27 Jul 13 Operational Training Unit move in Using De Havilland DH98 Mosquitos |
| Post-War Years |
| 1946 |
| Jan No. 28 Gliding School move in Noted as operating Slingsby T.7 Kirby Cadet TX1/2 |
| May No. 26 Gliding School move in Noted as operating Slingsby T.7 Kirby Cadet TX? and T.21B Sedbergh TX1 |
| 1947 |
| 21 Apr 13 OTU move to RAF Leeming |
| 16 Jun Fighter Command hand over the airfield to Flying Training Command |
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16 Jun No. 608 (North Riding) Squadron of the Royal Auxillary Air Force move in from nearby RAF Thornaby With De Havilland DH1xx Vampire, DH98 Mosquito NF30 and Supermarine Spitfire F22s Confirmation needed! |
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15 Oct No.2 Air Navigation School move in Bringing with them Avro Anson and Vickers Wellingtons |
| 1948 |
| Feb No. 28 Gliding School move out |
| 1949 |
| Apr The station receives its first Wellington T10 |
| 1950 |
| 28 Apr No 2 ANS begin move out to RAF Thorny Island |
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07 Sep No 205 Advanced Flying Training School move in Using Gloster Meteor F4/T7, a Percival Prentice and an Airspeed Oxford |
| 1954 |
| 01 Jun No. 205 AFTS rebrands as No 4 Flying Training School |
| 1955 |
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Jan 4 FTS gain Vampire T11s At some point during 1955, Jet Provosts may or may not have been acquired by 4 FTS - confirmation needed |
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01 Sep No. 26 Gliding School are disbanded |
| 1956 |
| 22 Jun 4 FTS move out to RAF Worksop |
| 25 Jun Flying Training Command hand the airfield back to Fighter Command under 13 Group |
| 1957 |
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27 Feb 92 and 264 Squadrons move in from RAF Linton-on-Ouse, Middleton St. George Station Flight re-forms A 16x aircraft formation from both squadrons lands at 11:30. 264 are a night fighter squadron operating Gloster Meteor NF14s, whilst 92 operate Hawker Hunter F6. The station flight operate unknown aircraft types but in 1959 they were noted as operating Meteor, Vampire and Anson aircraft. It is not known when their original formation here was. |
| 28 Mar 92 Squadron move the bulk of their Hunters in when 12 arrive from a detachment in Cyprus |
| Apr The first of three sightings of the famous "Goosepool Ghost", named "Horace" by 92 Squadron - the current day consensus is it is that of P/O William McMullen |
| 23 Sep 264 Squadron temporarily move out to RAF Leeming To allow for air base upgrades to take place |
| 25 Sep 92 Squadron temporarily move out to RAF Thornaby For the same reason as above |
| 30 Sep The Middleton Station Flight temporarily moves out To an unknown location |
| 01 Oct Main 05/23 runway extension begins in readiness for new generation fighters such as the English Electric Lightning. New length will be 7,300ft (2,225m). At the same time, the runway is strengthened to accommodate the V-force, who will be detached to the airfield until the RAF leave in 1964 (mainly Vulcans) |
| 1958 |
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Aug No 645 Volunteer Gliding Squadron move in Despite the air base still being closed |
| 11 Sep Airfield re-opens following runway works, 92 squadron move back in from RAF Thornaby |
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01 Oct 33 Squadron move back in - formerly 264 Squadron they merged into 33 during their temporary relocation They are also now using Javelin FAW7 |
| During the year, 92 Squadron became the Royal Air Force official aerobatic team, under the banner "The Blue Diamonds" |
| 1960 |
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26 Mar No. 645 VGS move out to RAF Catterick Their departure was due to the air base regaining military Master Diversion Airfield status once again, which we believe is still current today |
| 27 May The station is visited by the Queen and Prince Phillip |
| 1961 |
| Jan / Feb 33 Squadron convert to the Javelin FAW9 |
| 27 Mar 92 Squadron once again provide an aerobatic display team, this time known as "The Falcons", they are Fighter Commands official display team for the 1961 season |
| 26 May 92 Squadron move out, with all 16 of their Hunters departing to Leconfield. 33 Squadron also move out to Leconfield, but only temporarily to allow civil engineering works to upgrade the airfield further between 1st June - 31st July |
| 31 Jul Six of 33 squadrons Javelins returned, with the airfield properly reopening the next day |
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03 Aug The Instrument Rating Squadron (IRS) move in With only three Javelin T3s |
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10 Aug The Lightning Conversion Unit (LCU) move in But with no aircraft yet. Soon after arriving their name changed to Lightning Conversion Squadron (LCS) |
| 29 Aug The first Lightning arrives - an F1 for ground familiarisaton purposes |
| 03 Nov LCS receive their first operational Lightning, XM970 a T4 But the aircraft failed its entry into service acceptance checks and was quietly returned to English Electric at Warton from where it came on the 23rd November |
| 1962 |
| 27 Jun Lightning T4 XM970 is re-delivered to the LCS after seven months This time it is accepted and coded 'G' |
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19 Nov 33 Squadron depart for a new home at RAF Geilenkirchen with the departure of nine aircraft They rebrand as 5 Squadron in the process, the remaining eight aircraft depart on the 26th |
| 1963 |
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01 Jun The LCS are rebranded as No. 226 OCU (Operational Conversion Unit) The Instrument Rating Squadron were also merged into 226 OCU |
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26 Aug Lightning speed record During the year Diana Barnato Walker became the first British female to brake the sound barrier and in doing so also set the air speed record for a female at Mach 1.6 (1,262 mph). It is believed the flight in question (in a Lightning T4) originated at RAF Middleton St. George. Conflicting reports suggest Flying Officer Jean Oakes achieved the feat the prior September, more sources reference the Diana attempt. Confirmation needed |
| 1964 |
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Jan The former IRS Javelins of 226 OCU moved out to Leuchars during the month The fate of RAF Middleton St. George was starting to become apparent |
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13 Apr 226 OCU move out to RAF Coltishall and the stations Master Diversion Airfield status was transferred to RAF Leconfield |
| 15 Apr The final RAF Middleton St George resident departed for a new home following CAT3 repairs - Javelin T3 "XH436" |
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20 Apr Airfield is handed over to the Ministry of Civil Aviation Thus ending an era! The airfield is purchased from the military for £340,000 (£6.7m at 2019 value). A further £110,000 (£2.2m today) is spent re-equipping the airfield for civil use, and another £144,000 (£2.9m) constructing an airliner apron |
| 01 Oct Final remaining RAF assets are handed over to RAF Catterick, bringing to an end 23 years of military occupation |
| 1995 |
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Apr FR Aviation's Hangar 360 is completed and they begin operations from Teesside International Airport The company can trace it's history back to Flight Refuelling Ltd which is presumably what the "FR" stands for. Hangar 360 is named after RAF No. 360 Squadron whom FR Aviation replaced. They would rebrand as Cobham Aviation Services during the noughties |
| 2003 |
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21 Nov US Presidential visit US President George W Bush visits UK Prime Minister at his Sedgefield constituency resulting in a wealth of US and UK military visitors including Air Force One and Two |
| 2020 |
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29 Sep Draken International purchase Cobham Aviation Services Rebranding them as Draken Europe |