Full WW2 control tower details and photos for this wartime airfield are coming soon. Please check back later as this is work progress. If you would like to contribute information or photos please get in touch.
RAF Binbrook in Lincolnshire opened in June 1940, in the dangerous months after Dunkirk when invasion threats and bombing pressures were at their peak. Built as a Bomber Command station, Binbrook quickly became home to Wellington units, and its early history captures the urgency of 1940-41: getting squadrons operational, building crews, and taking the fight back across the North Sea and into occupied Europe.
Among the early residents was No. 12 Squadron, flying Vickers Wellington Mk II and III aircraft from July 1940 until September 1942. No. 142 Squadron also operated from Binbrook, initially with the Fairey Battle and then switching to Wellingtons. These were the years of difficult early bomber operations, when navigation aids were limited, German defences were strengthening, and losses could be severe. Stations like Binbrook were places where aircrews learned – often painfully – what modern air war meant.
Binbrook is linked to one of Bomber Command’s symbolic milestones: the first ‘1,000 bomber’ raid on the night of 30 May 1942. Aircraft from Binbrook contributed to this mass operation, illustrating how even a single station’s output formed part of a much larger attempt to demonstrate concentrated striking power. The raid also highlights the blend of training and operations that characterised Bomber Command in 1942, with conversion units and gunnery flights supporting the push to expand and intensify the bombing campaign.
In 1942 Binbrook closed temporarily for major work, gaining concrete runways and improved facilities. It reopened in 1943 and became associated with No. 460 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force, which flew Lancasters from the station. The arrival of a major Commonwealth Lancaster unit marked a step-change in capability and placed Binbrook firmly within the heavy bomber system that would dominate the later air war. Lancaster operations demanded high levels of engineering support, precise briefing and navigation, and a disciplined ground organisation to handle the constant cycle of servicing and re-arming.
By the end of the war Binbrook’s wartime identity was set: a Lincolnshire bomber station that served in the early Wellington period, contributed to major Bomber Command efforts, and then became a Lancaster base as the strategic offensive reached its height. The airfield’s later post-war fame as a Cold War bomber and then fighter station can sometimes distract from this WWII story, but it was wartime Binbrook that forged the station’s reputation for demanding operations and persistent output.
The move from a grass or semi-prepared field to a fully paved bomber base reflected the increasing weight and complexity of bomber operations as aircraft grew larger and payloads increased.
Lancaster stations required huge stocks of fuel and bombs, well-organised transport on the ground, and a disciplined system of armourers, fitters and controllers to avoid delays on operation days.
Binbrook’s wartime record is preserved through squadron histories and local research that map crash sites, dispersal areas and the social life of a Lincolnshire bomber station.