HOLME ON SPALDING MOOR
Six miles south-west of Market Weighton and a mile south of the village for which it was named, on the east side of the A614, this airfield was one of the early wartime bomber stations with hard runways. Construction began in the winter of 1940-41 with three concrete runways, a perimeter track and 36 hardstandings laid by the following summer. The runways were extended from the original planned lengths before completion of the airfield, the main 12-30 ending up at 1,800 yards, 04-22 at 1,200 yards and 08-26 at 1,100 yards. A single Type J hangar was erected by the technical site, situated on the north-east side beside the public road, with two Type T2 added alongside in the later stages of construction. Bomb stores were off the northwest corner of the airfield. The dispersed camp sites to the north-east of the airfield catered for up to 1,941 males and 381 females.
Holme-on-Spalding-Moor, more frequently referred to as plain Holme, even in official documents, was first occupied by flying units in August 1941 with the arrival of No. 458 (RAAF) Squadron, which was being built up to fly Wellingtons in No. 1 Group. The first offensive operations from Holme took place on the night of October 20/21 with ten Wellingtons attacking Antwerp. One aircraft was lost Sergeant Philip Crittenden being the first Australian serving in Bomber Command to be killed from a RAAF Squadron. Another Australian squadron. No. 460, established at Holme, began training at its satellite, Breighton, in November. Tentative plans to convert both units to the Halifax were never brought to fruition, No. 1 Group taking to the Lancaster instead, No. 458 Squadron's operational career in Bomber Command being terminated at the end of January 1942. After a few weeks spent reequipping, No. 458 was sent out to the Mediterranean theatre to meet an urgent requirement for anti-shipping operations. During its time at Holme, the squadron flew 65 sorties losing three aircraft.
During the winter of 1941-42 and the following spring, the runways were extended to 2,000 yards for the main (12-30); 1,400 yards for 04-22 and 1,500 yards for 08-26. The 1230 runway was extended at the south-eastern end and the others at their southern ends. This work completed, in August No. 460 Squadron's Halifax Conversion Flight arrived for a few weeks and then departed to Breighton from whence it came. In September, No. 1 Group's expansion was accelerated by the transfer of No. 101 Squadron from No. 3 Group to No. 1 Group, the squadron moving from Stradishall to Holme-on-Spalding-Moor. No. 101 was re-built as a Lancaster unit, the first in No. 1 Group, and took the type into action for the first time on the night of November 20/21, 1942.
No. 101 flew from Holme until June 1943 when a re-assignment of bomber stations in the Yorkshire and Lincolnshire region saw Holme-on-Spalding-Moor transferred from No. 1 to No. 4 Group. No. 101 Squadron moved to Ludford Magna and its place was taken by No. 76 Squadron from Linton-on-Ouse. This veteran Halifax squadron remained the sole operational unit throughout the remainder of hostilities, its last raid taking place on April 25, 1945 to attack a gun position at Wangerooge during which two machines were lost in a mid-air collision. Bomber command losses on raids flown from Holme amounted to 151 of which six were Wellingtons, 35 Lancasters and 110 Halifaxes.
In common with several other No. 4 Group units and stations, on the penultimate day of hostilities in Europe the airfield and its resident squadron were transferred to Transport Command. In the following weeks, No. 76 changed its Halifaxes for Dakotas, which it flew to the Far East on leaving Holme in July 1945. Dakotas of No. 512 Squadron arrived at Holme the same month and stayed until October when they too departed overseas. The station was then put on care and maintenance with a small caretaker unit until its runways were used for two years by a maintenance unit to store redundant bombs.
In 1951, Holme was prepared for a new lease of life, re-opening the following year to operate an advanced flying school; then early in 1954, the station became another of those turned over to the USAF for upgrading in case East-West relations deteriorated. American engineers arrived to strengthen and lengthen the main runway and refurbish some installations, leaving Holme as a reserve station in 1957. In the same year, Blackburn's acquired use of this rejuvenated airfield as a flight test centre and satellite for their main airfield at Brough, an arrangement perpetuated by British Aerospace until December 1983. Buccaneers were taken by road from the Brough factory for flight, testing at Holme during this period. The site was then sold. Fisher Thompson Group of seed and grain merchants acquired the hangars and Rotherham Stonemasons the technical site buildings. Most of the runway and perimeter track concrete has now been removed for hardcore and little evidence of the airfield remains.
