A little village history lesson

Only 4.5 miles east of the city of Lincoln, this bomber airfield was constructed to Class A standard on the west side of Fiskerton Moor, south-east of the LNER line from Lincoln to Market Rasen. At the same time the road from Fiskerton village to Reepham had to be closed. The normal 36 hardstandings were provided, all of the pan type, but one was lost with the erection of a T2 hangar on the north side between runway heads 23 and 26. Another T2 and a B1 were put up near the technical site on the east side between runway heads 26 and 31, the B1 being the southernmost. The bomb stores were to the north between runway heads 13 and 23. Most of the domestic sites were dispersed in fields close to the Fiskerton village to Stainfield road, comprising seven domestic, two communal, one WAAF and sick quarters. Maximum accommodation was put at 2016 males and 297 females. F.G. Mintee Ltd and Constable Hart & Co. Ltd were involved in the later stages of construction.

Built in 1942 and assigned to No.5 Group, Fiskerton opened in January 1943 as a satellite to RAF Scampton. The airfield was ready for occupation by the end January and No.49 Squadron brought its Lancaster's in from RAF Scampton in January 1943. Operation HYDRA, the Peenemunde Raid, was launched on 17th August 1943 from Fiskerton, and involved Lancaster's from No.49 Squadron. During runway repairs effected during September and October 1944, the opportunity was taken to install the fog dispersal system called FIDO. Fiskerton was one of only 15 airfields to receive this system. While this work was carried out No.49's Lancasters operated from RAF Dunholme Lodge. No.49 Squadron remained in residence until October 1944 when a re-allocation of airfields in the area put Fiskerton into No.1 Group's control and No.49 moved to RAF Fulbeck, recently vacated by the USAAF. At the end of the same month, No.1 Group brought in No.576 Squadron to give more space at RAF Elsham Wolds. At around the same date C Flight of No.550 Squadron was detached and sent to Fiskerton to become the nucleus of a re-formed No.150 Squadron but within a few days No.1 Group had a change of plan and the emergent squadron was moved to RAF Hemswell, which had also been acquired from No.5 Group.

No.576 Squadron stayed at Fiskerton until the end of the war, thereafter gradually reducing in both personnel and equipment to being officially disbanded in September 1945. During hostilities, 117 Lancasters of the two squadrons were lost in the course of operations from this station. Before the end of the year the base was put on care and maintenance but as there was no further need for the flying field it was returned to agriculture.

Immediately after the war, due to an acute shortage, the accommodation sites at Fiskerton were used as temporary housing up until 1954. The four sites on the Bardney road were called, The Crescent, Ferryside; Woodlands, Longwood. The four on the accommodation access road were named, Hallfields, Fenlands, Moorlands and Birchill. The Sergeant mess on Site 3 was used as the village school up until 1970.

In 1954, a protected Royal Observer Corps group headquarters control room was built adjacent to the former technical site and it remained in use until the Corps was disbanded in September 1991. Only small areas of runway concrete and the odd building ruin remain now. A memorial to Nos.49 and No.576 Squadrons is on the roadside near the old main runway.

Today, the airfield is used for a variety of purposes. Oil was discovered under the airfield in 1977 and production with two pumps began a year later. As the remaining sections of peri-track and runways are used for access these hopefully should survive for many years to come.