RAF Rufforth, Yorkshire.

RAF Rufforth, Yorkshire was a wartime operational bomber station and Heavy Conversion Unit (HCU). Opened in 1942 & closed totally in 1974.

2 x T2 Hangars.

1 x B1 Hangar.

36 x Flying pan dispersals.

1,531 Airmen.

251 WAAF's.

I do not have a plan. My pictures of the Halifax crew all came from International Bomber Command Centre Digital Archive, a brilliant piece of work and well worth looking at ,

Ground floor plan.

Ground plan of a 13079/41 watch office. 13079/41 ARG.

First floor plan of a 13079/41 watch office. 13079/41 ARG.

A nice picture of 125 (Cheltenham) Squadron ATC summer camp, that's right, its raining.
This was before the ATC (Air Traffic Control) was added.

NFES 12411/41ARG.

Post-war Rufforth was retained by the RAF for use as a gliding school. A motor racing track was built on the site opening for racing on the 28th March 1959. It closed in 1977. Rufforth was used by No. 60 Maintenance Unit for storage before the RAF finally departed in November 1974 and the airfield was sold in July 1981.

Crew in a briefing room for the flight.

Stanton air raid shelter.

Crew buses to take the crews out to their planes.

Technical site with the control tower to the left and the only T2 hangar on the right. There was also a B1 repair hangar, now removed.

Pilot.

Yellow : petrol installation (aviation).

Red : butts.

Red arrow : perimeter track.

Green : I think this could have been a frying pan aircraft dispersal.

The back wall of the 127/41 25yd MG range.

Navigator.

Runway & perimeter track.

Heading off.

Bomb store area.

Bomb aimer.

Perimeter viewing the fuzing point hut.

Rear gunner.

Fuzing point hut.

Possibly a Fuzing Point Building UH - 24ft N (Nissen) - 7900/42. UH = Ultra Heavy.

Fuzing point hut.

Possibly a Fuzing Point Building UH - 24ft N (Nissen) - 7900/42. UH = Ultra Heavy.

Bomb store.

Returning home.

Bomb store A set of three Incendiary Bomb and Pyrotechnics Store 18185/40.

Food at last after a long flight.

Bomb store A set of three Incendiary Bomb and Pyrotechnics Store 18185/40.

Entrance through the earth blast wall.

Bomb store A set of three Incendiary Bomb and Pyrotechnics Store 18185/40.

Inside showing the several air vents and there would have been a thin steel blast door.

Bomb store A set of three Incendiary Bomb and Pyrotechnics Store 18185/40.

Handley Page factory.

Bridge of the bomb store road, there would have been another somewhere behind for the return road. There was a one way system for the bomb trains and delivery loads.