Raf Coleby Grange

Royal Air Force Station Coleby Grange or more simply RAF Coleby Grange was a Royal Air Force station situated alongside the western edge of the A15 on open heathland between the villages of Coleby and Nocton Heath and lying 7. 4mi due south of the county town Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England. Opened in 1939 and operated as a fighter and night fighter airfield during World War II, occupied at various times by UK, US, Canadian and Polish fighter squadrons, the station briefly switched to a training role post-war before being placed on a care and maintenance basis. Reopened in 1959 as an RAF Bomber Command Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) launch facility and placed on a high DEFCON 2 launch alert during the Cuban Missile Crisis, the station was finally closed and decommissioned in 1963. The site has been returned to agricultural use and now has little evidence of its former use, other than several lengths of perimeter track and the original air traffic control tower. HistoryWorld War IIThe station was constructed during late 1938 and opened early in 1939 initially as a relief landing ground for the training facility at RAF Cranwell although quite quickly. In early 1940, two squadrons No. 253 Squadron RAF and No. 264 Squadron RAF took up residence at Coleby Grange.

Royal Air Force Station Coleby Grange or more simply RAF Coleby Grange was a Royal Air Force station situated alongside the western edge of the A15 on open heathland between the villages of Coleby and Nocton Heath and lying 7. 4mi due south of the county town Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England. Opened in 1939 and operated as a fighter and night fighter airfield during World War II, occupied at various times by UK, US, Canadian and Polish fighter squadrons, the station briefly switched to a training role post-war before being placed on a care and maintenance basis. Reopened in 1959 as an RAF Bomber Command Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) launch facility and placed on a high DEFCON 2 launch alert during the Cuban Missile Crisis, the station was finally closed and decommissioned in 1963. The site has been returned to agricultural use and now has little evidence of its former use, other than several lengths of perimeter track and the original air traffic control tower. HistoryWorld War IIThe station was constructed during late 1938 and opened early in 1939 initially as a relief landing ground for the training facility at RAF Cranwell although quite quickly. In early 1940, two squadrons No. 253 Squadron RAF and No. 264 Squadron RAF took up residence at Coleby Grange.