RAF Dalton

Royal Air Force Station Dalton
Located near, Topcliffe, North Yorkshire, UK
Type	Military Airfield
Coordinates	54°10'38.25"N 1°21'37.93"W
Controlled by	Royal Air Force Royal Canadian Air Force
Garrison	RAF Bomber Command No. 6 Group RCAF No. 7 Group RAF
Battles/wars	Second World War Map showing the location of RAF Dalton within North Yorkshire.

RAF Dalton was an airfield used by RAF Bomber Command during the Second World War. It was a satellite or sub-station of nearby RAF Topcliffe and actually nearer to the village of Topcliffe than the station so named.

1 History
2 Operational units and aircraft
3 References
- 3.1 Notes
- 3.2 Bibliography
4 External links

History

RAF Dalton, Hambleton was home to No. 102 Squadron beginning in November 1941. No. 102 Squadron returned to Topcliffe in June 1942 and for a time Dalton hosted No. 1652 Heavy Conversion Unit (HCU) flying Halifaxes. The airfield was improved in 1942 and in early 1943 was allocated to No. 6 Group Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Canadian squadrons stationed here at one time or another included No. 428 Squadron, No. 424 Squadron, No. 420 Squadron, and No. 1666 Heavy Conversion Unit (which moved to RAF Wombleton in October 1943). The station also housed no. 1691 Bomber Gunnery Flight (BGF) RCAF and its successor, No. 1695 Bomber Defence Training Flight (BDTF) RCAF, the last RCAF unit to serve at this station.

In November 1944, control passed from No. 6 Group to the new No. 7 (Training) Group. By August 1945 all units at Dalton were disbanded or transferred. The aerodrome facilities are now being used for commercial and industrial uses.

Operational units and aircraft

data from^[1]^[2]^[3]
Unit	From	To	Aircraft	Version
No. 102 Squadron RAF	15 November 1941	7 June 1942	Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Handley Page Halifax	Mk.V Mk.II
No. 420 Squadron RCAF	6 November 1943	12 December 1943	Vickers Wellington	Mk.X
No. 424 Squadron RCAF	3 May 1943	15 May 1943	Vickers Wellington	Mk.X
No. 428 Squadron RCAF	7 November 1942	31 May 1943	Vickers Wellington	Mks.III and X
No. 1652 HCU	13 July 1942	22 August 1942	Handley Page Halifax	Mks.I, II
No. 1666 'Mohawk' HCU	5 June 1943	21 October 1943	Handley Page Halifax	Mks.II, III
No. 1691 Bomber Gunnery Flight	26 June 1943	15 February 1944	Miles Martinet Airspeed Oxford	Mk.I Mk.II
No. 1695 Bomber Defence Training Flight	15 February 1944	23 April 1945	Miles Martinet Hawker Hurricane Supermarine Spitfire	Mk.I MksIIc, IV Mk.I, IIa, Vb, Vc

References

Notes

^ Jefford 2001, pp. 57, 92–93 and 147.
^ Halley 1988, pp. 176, 505, 508 and 510.
^ Sturtivant and Hamlin 2007, pp. 97, 99, 129.

Bibliography

Halley, James J. The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth 1918-1988. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1988. ISBN 0-85130-164-9.
Jefford, Wing Commander C.G., MBE, BA, RAF(Retd.). RAF Squadrons, a Comprehensive record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing, 1988 (second edition 2001). ISBN 1-85310-053-6.
Moyes, Philip J.R. Bomber Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft. London: Macdonald and Jane's (Publishers) Ltd., 2nd edition 1976. ISBN 0-354-01027-1.
Sturtivant, Ray, ISO and John Hamlin. RAF Flying Training And Support Units since 1912. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., 2007. ISBN 0-85130-365-X.