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.
Overview
RAF Thornaby was a wartime airfield at Thornaby-on-Tees, North Yorkshire (then North Riding). During the Second World War it served as a pre-war Auxiliary hub that became a major Coastal Command station for North Sea patrols, anti-shipping work and later training/AA cooperation. opened 1929; remained active through the war and stayed in RAF use until 1958.
Like most British wartime stations, RAF Thornaby functioned as a small, self-contained town. Beyond the runways were technical areas for maintenance and armament, dispersed hardstandings to reduce losses during raids, and domestic sites where airmen, WAAFs or naval personnel lived, trained, and waited for the next tasking. On operational nights or intensive training days the routine revolved around briefings, meteorology, aircraft servicing, and a tight rhythm of take-off and recovery windows.
Who flew from here
Aircraft commonly associated with wartime flying here: Anson, Hudson, Botha, Blenheim, Beaufighter, Wellington, Spitfire, Tiger Moth, Henley, Halifax, B-17 Flying Fortress, Liberator.
Records for RAF Thornaby show a mix of operational and support activity. Some units were long-term residents with a stable identity, while others arrived as detachments – often for conversion training, gunnery work-ups, dispersal, or to cover a specific operational requirement. That pattern is typical of the RAF’s wartime system: stations were constantly re-tasked as the air war shifted from defence to offence, from the Battle of the Atlantic to the bomber offensive, and later to preparations for the invasion of Northwest Europe.
- No. 608 (North Riding) Squadron (Wapiti/Avro 504N; later Botha, Blenheim, Hudson)
- No. 220 Squadron (Anson then Hudson)
- Detachments/related Coastal units including No. 224 Squadron (Hudson), No. 233 Squadron (Anson), and 42 Squadron (Vildebeest, earlier)
- Fighter detachments including 122 Squadron, 332 (Norwegian) Squadron, 403 RCAF, 401 RCAF and 306 (Polish) Squadron (Spitfire Vb detachments)
- No. 1 Anti Aircraft Co-operation Unit (Tiger Moth, Henley)
- No. 6 (Coastal) OTU (Hudson, later Wellington) and later No. 1 (Coastal) OTU with heavy types (Halifax, Flying Fortress, Liberator)
Key moments
Thornaby’s Hudson operations contributed to early-war North Sea patrols and action against enemy shipping and support vessels.
It became notable for air-sea rescue innovation and the ‘Thornaby Bag’ dropped to downed aircrew.
Research tip: if you’re tracing people connected to the airfield, look for unit Operational Record Books (ORBs), station diaries, and local newspaper reports. Squadron codes, aircraft serials and incident cards can often tie a single photograph to a precise date, aircraft and crew – turning a generic image into a documented historical moment.
After the war
The airfield’s long timeline makes it a rich study in how one station could pivot between patrol, training, and coastal defence as the war evolved.
Landscape and flying conditions: RAF Thornaby’s geography influenced operations. Prevailing winds dictated runway selection, while local terrain and weather shaped training and safety. In winter, short daylight and low cloud increased the workload; in summer, longer hours enabled intensive training programmes and high sortie rates. These practical factors are often reflected in accident reports and ORBs, which mention crosswinds, icing, fog, and diversion landings.