RAF Scampton

RAF Scampton
Formerly RFCS Brattleby
Scampton, Lincolnshire in England
The Red Arrows at their old home, RAF Scampton
Armatus non lacessitur
(Latin for 'An armed man is not attacked')[1][2]
RAF Scampton is located in Lincolnshire
RAF Scampton
RAF Scampton
Shown within Lincolnshire
Coordinates53°18′28″N 000°33′03″W / 53.30778°N 0.55083°W / 53.30778; -0.55083
TypeRoyal Air Force station
Site information
OwnerMinistry of Defence
OperatorRoyal Air Force
ConditionClosed
Site history
Built1916 (1916) and 1936
In use
  • 1916–1919
  • 1936–2023 (2023)
Airfield information
IdentifiersIATA: SQZ, ICAO: EGXP, WMO: 03373
Elevation62 metres (203 ft) AMSL
Runways
Direction Length and surface
04/22 2,740 metres (8,990 ft) Asphalt

Royal Air Force Scampton or RAF Scampton (formerly IATA: SQZ, ICAO: EGXP) is a former Royal Air Force station located adjacent to the A15 road near to the village of Scampton, Lincolnshire, and 6 miles (9.7 km) north-west of the city of Lincoln, England.[3]

RAF Scampton stood on the site of a First World War Royal Flying Corps landing field, which had been called Brattleby.[4] The station was closed and returned to agriculture following the First World War, and reactivated in the 1930s. It has provided an airfield for fighters in the First World War, bombers during the Second World War and V-force Avro Vulcans during the Cold War.

The station was temporarily closed in 1996, but subsequently re-opened to provide a home for the RAF Aerobatic Team the Red Arrows, and to private companies, temporarily, such as Hawker Hunter Aviation, for the maintenance and storage of aircraft.[5][6]

In July 2018, the Ministry of Defence announced that Scampton would close and be sold, with all units relocated elsewhere.[7] The station closed on 31 March 2023.[8]

  1. ^ Pine, L.G. (1983). A dictionary of mottoes (1 ed.). London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. p. 15. ISBN 0-7100-9339-X.
  2. ^ "Scampton | RAF Heraldry Trust". www.rafht.co.uk. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
  3. ^ "RAF Scampton". RAF. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  4. ^ Halpenny 1981, p. 161.
  5. ^ "RAF Scampton Feasibility Study". Lincolnshire County Council. 29 October 2013. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  6. ^ Smith, Steve (23 August 2012). "Hawker Hunter Aviation". AeroResource. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  7. ^ "Red Arrows RAF Scampton air base to be sold off". BBC News. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  8. ^ Turner, James (8 April 2023). "Changes to RAF Scampton as migrant camp preparations get under way". Lincolnshire World. Retrieved 11 April 2023.