RAF Kirton in Lindsey

[Av18tor]

Was driving through Kirton in Lindsey, Lincs. yesterday evening and was amazed to see that Rapier Barracks had been renamed RAF Kirton in Lindsey, again!!


And I thought RAF stations were being closed down not reopened. Nice to see it back in the hands of the RAF again. Doesn't make up for the closure of RAF Coltishall but still nice to see another station coming back to life.

[Regie Mental]

Believe 1 ACC will move from Boulmer if they haven't already done so.

[Pontius Navigator]

Bet it costs a bomb to bring up to brillcream standards - see USAF thread :)

[highcirrus]

Did my “B Certificate” gliding course there with the ATC in 1963 – that one-week event saw me ditch studies towards a law degree and enter as GD (Pilot) in Jan ’65 (much to the chagrin of family) – Present day policy makers and recruiters please note!

Look forward to hearing confirmation of RAF Kirton-in-Lindsey reactivation (despite best efforts of Bufhoon and fellow Bliairistas!)

[Bunker Mentality]

1ACC are there now. I was at a tremendously rowdy and thoroughly enjoyable Dining-In at KIL on 1 Apr to celebrate the 10 anniversary of 1ACC's re-formation.

I think it's basically an overflow site for the expanding Scampton, so I don't know whether it'll ever be a full-up stn in its own right again. It's got a lovely old fighter Mess, which has been hardly fiddled with at all, although one of the accom wings is in pretty dire condition, by all accounts.

Any KILlers on the boards?

[Av18tor]

I guess it has been reactivated already as the signs have been changed from Rapier Barracks to RAF Kirton in Lindsey very recently...

but then again, its only a couple of months since the county council replaced an accident damaged sign at Blyth services (A1) with a bright shiny new RAF Finningley one!

[TACC-tician]

1ACC is indeed now garrisoned at RAF Kirton in Lindsey, mainly due to the need to make room at Boulmer for all those Buchan and Neat types, and the fact that Scampton needs rather a lot of work doing to it.

Kirton, in contrast, is habitable now, and has a surplus of MQs still on DHE books. And we quite like it.

More here:

http://www.thisisscunthorpe.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=152576&command=displayContent&sourceNode=152559&contentPK=12109600&moduleName=InternalSearch&keyword=raf%20kirton&formname=sidebarsearch

[Pontius Navigator]

What runways does it have? Hard or grass?

In 1944 it was indeed a fighter base in 12 Gp. It had been opened in 1940 so is a fairly new base. It was home to 53 OTU with Spitfires and 3 sqns of Bofors AA.

[TACC-tician]

Grass. Though most of it is now a golf course and shooting range, there is a gliding club on the site.

[Widger]

Ahhhhhh a Golf Course. Now it all becomes clear, got nothing to do with not enough room elsewhere!

;) ;)

[tablet_eraser]

Kirton-in-Lyndsey is indeed the new home of 1ACC. The plan was that Scampton's new CRC would eventually take over from Boulmer, allowing Buff to close yet another Stn... by (re)opening two others. Maths, anyone?

Anyhoo, logisically it makes sense to move 1ACC closer to heavy-lift capable airfields in order to ease deployments. Previously 1ACC would have to thunder around the country in convoy to Brize or Lyneham to deploy anywhere. It carries a LOT of kit. Being near, for example, Waddo should help ease this problem somewhat. It also moves us cheerful scopies closer to the rest of the RAF... a good thing or a bad thing, depending upon your point of view.

Certainly, the Fighter Control branch's centre of gravity is shifting massively towards Lincolnshire. No surprises there, then!

[charliegolf]

sorry

been out 15 years- what's an ACC?

CG

[TACC-tician]

An Air Control Centre - presumably derived from CRC, though we now do Reporting as well!

http://www.raf.mod.uk/rafboulmer/1acc.html

[Brit55]

You can move 1ACC to whatever air head you like but I think it's unlikely to ever get anywhere other than by sea, it would take up far too many C130s and lets face it, 1ACC is so far down the pecking order that the C17s are never going to be dedicated to moving it!!

The move to KL was all about getting out of Boulmer before Buchan closed. As for whether it ever moves to Scampton... time will tell!

[Pontius Navigator]

Ah, the move to KL I remember well. Well not KL as such but the 112SU setup at Butterworth. Very impressive! But that was back in '64 and the air lift was of course much smaller.

[TACC-tician]

Brit55,

So those weren't C17s and C130s that deployed 1ACC in 2003? My mistake! ;-)

What is unlikely is that the AT fleet will want to eat into crew hours by doing a UK hop prior to an OOA move in order to pick up freight at somewhere like Scampton.

The way things are going, we may as well all go and live equidistant between EGDL and Marchwood, though not every destination is by the sea!